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Keith and co mark the end of the Stone age... for now

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28 AUGUST 2007

Although the Rolling Stones, all now in their 60s, recently declared: "We'll never quit", their fans weren't taking any chances. They turned out in droves to fete their idols for what some fear may be the last time, at a party marking the finish of the group's epic Bigger Bang world tour.

Rock survivor Keith Richards, in particular, got a hero's welcome for seeing it through to the end, despite suffering an accident in Fiji a year ago.

Ronnie Woods' pretty daughter Leah was among friends and relatives joining "the boys" as she referred to them for the knees-up at a swanky central London hotel. Showing that old rifts have healed, former bassist Bill Wyman, who left the Stones in 1993, was there with his wife Suzanne Accosta and their two young daughters, eight-year-old Jessie and Katie, nine.

And for Bill's ex-band mates, there was certainly plenty to celebrate. At an age when most people's thoughts are turning towards retirement, the veteran musicians have kept on rocking, playing 146 shows in 31 countries since August 21, 2005.