WHEN THE BLIMP COMES DOWN.(Rolling Stones tour publicity stunt)

Best ever Rolling Stones tour publicity stunt? No contest. "Flatbed truck," James Karnbach said. He was standing behind a fence in Van Cortlandt Park, in the Bronx, where the Stones were scheduled to announce a new world tour to an audience of media and mediacredentialled fans. He had on a black tennis hat and thick eyeglasses, and was pointing a video camera across a giant field to the patch of grass where the band--Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ronnie--was disembarking from the cockpit of a customized blimp. Photographers charged across the field. Under a big tent set up for a press conference, a layout of cheese and chocolate melted in the heat, and "Sticky Fingers" played good and loud.

Karnbach was referring to the time, in 1975, when the Stones rode down Fifth Avenue on a flatbed truck, performing "Brown Sugar," to promote a concert tour. It was the best Rolling Stones tour publicity stunt because the band actually played music. But Karnbach missed it. "Tickets to the shows went on sale that same day," he said. "I had to go get tickets." Karnbach has been following the Stones--though he might prefer the term "covering"--since he saw them on television in 1964, on "The Hollywood Palace." He is what you might call an archivist, and has co-authored a few Stones books (including "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Guide to the Rolling Stones") and done research for some of their film projects. He leans toward the band's earlier work. His favorite album is "Aftermath"--"British version." Favorite Stone? "He's dead."

Out on the field, the surviving Stones wriggled and mugged, while Karnbach recalled other tour-promotion press conferences. Steel Wheels, 1989: The Stones rolled into Grand Central on a Metro-North train ("It was ninety degrees. They were late. It was horrible"). Voodoo Lounge, 1994: They chartered a yacht on the Hudson ("The pier was all ...