It's surely not the first time a vast consignment of horse tranquilizers has been delivered to a Rolling Stones gig - in fact, that's probably the first item on Keith Richards' rider. But this time the sedatives will serve not to keep the guitarist royally bombed, but rather to pacify 300 nearby horses, who otherwise might be traumatised by the din of the amplifiers.

The Stones are due to play a huge 100,000 capacity concert in Belgrade in July. The owners of the large stable nearby have vowed to sedate their horses with the drug diazepam, "If they start to panic". Animal rights campaigners are naturally horrified.

"Research has shown that noise and vibrations are the strongest causes of stress to animals," said activist Elvir Burazerovic. "We think the arena should be left to horses."

Surely there's an easier solution. Don't they make ear muffs in horse sizes?

While we're on the subject of the Stones, the legend of Keith Richards snorting his own ashes is now so entrenched in the public psyche it seems almost churlish to point out that it's not remotely true. Richards himself gave the following explanation, but it was rather lost amid the din of sensationalist chatter: "The complete story is lost in the usual slanting. The truth of the matter is that I planted a sturdy English Oak. I took the ashes [and sprinkled them beneath the tree], and he is now growing oak trees and he would love me for it."

The guitarist added: "I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life. Unless I wished to commit suicide."

Anyway, to return to the spirit of the original post, here's a transcendent performance of Wild Horses from Knebworth, 1976. Christ, they looked cool back then. And not a startled mare in sight.