The bionic brain in the head of Keith Richards has been beaten vigorously with drugs, alcohol, and rock 'n' roll for the last 45 years or so and demonstrated little apparent ill effect.

Then, in the brain's greatest challenge yet, it was hurled to the sands of Fiji from its coconut tree aerie by its owner in April, proving to even the most steadfast doubters that this was a brain that could indeed take a licking and keep on ticking.

However, this time the brain did require a bit of an adjustment in the form of a craniotomy, involving drilling and/or cutting into the skull to remove pressure on the brain from internal bleeding.

But after this little 62-year tuneup and a little time to grab its bearings, the brain and its proud owner have made a "full recovery" and are ready to hit the road again as co-leaders of the Rolling Stones.

The Stones announced today — Charlie Watts' 65th birthday — they will now kick off their "A Bigger Bang European Tour" at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, July 11, and do 21 stadium dates in 11 countries across Europe.

The concerts that were originally announced to take place in Barcelona, Madrid (Spain), Brussels (Belgium), Gothenburg (Sweden), St Petersburg (Russia), Brno (Czech Republic), Warsaw (Poland), Athens (Greece), Zagreb (Croatia), and Frankfurt (Germany) are still postponed. Concert promoters CPI/TNA are reportedly in the process of rescheduling these cities and ask ticket holders to hold on to their tickets and await further announcements.

The concerts originally scheduled for Nurnberg and Leipzeig, Germany, however, are cancelled.

Promoter Michael Cohl said, "We are delighted to announce the Stones tour is back on track and thank all the fans and ticket holders for their patience. We have put in as many shows in as many countries as was feasible. This is still going to be the most incredible rock show ever."

Keith said, "Excuse me, I fell off of my perch! Sorry to disrupt everyone's plans but now - It's FULL STEAM AHEAD! Ouch!!"

Rolling Stones "A Bigger Bang European Tour"
Date - City, Country - Venue
July 11, 2006 Milan Italy San Siro
July 14, 2006 Vienna Austria Ernst Happel Stadion
July 16, 2006 Munich Germany Olympiastadion
July 19, 2006 Hannover Germany AWD - Arena
July 21, 2006 Berlin Germany Olympiastadion
July 23, 2006 Koln Germany Rhein - Energie Stadion
July 28, 2006 Paris France Stade de France
July 31, 2006 Amsterdam Holland Amsterdam Arena
Aug 3, 2006 Stuttgart Germany Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion
Aug 5, 2006 Zurich Switzerland Dubendorf Airfield
Aug 8, 2006 Nice France Le Palais Nikala
Aug 12, 2006 Porto Portugal Estadio do Dragao
Aug 14, 2006 Valladolid Spain Estadio Jose Zorrilla
Aug 16, 2006 El Ejido Spain Estadio Santo Domingo
Aug 20, 2006 London UK Twickenham Stadium
Aug 22, 2006 London UK Twickenham Stadium
Aug 25, 2006 Glasgow UK Hampden Park
Aug 27, 2006 Sheffield UK Don Valley Stadium
Aug 29, 2006 Cardiff UK Millennium Stadium
Sept 1, 2006 Bergen Norway Koengen
Sept 3, 2006 Horsens Denmark Forum Horsens