Review by Richard Limbert – 16.01.2026

A Rolling Stones cover tribute band can only exist with a real Mick Jagger. And the band Sticky Fingers, which has been around for almost 50 years, proved that at the Harmonie in Bonn. The hall was packed on Friday evening. Naturally, with one of the country’s longest-running Rolling Stones tribute bands performing, there was a fair amount of gray hair in the audience. But by no means only gray hair. Above all, there were genuine music fans. The front row was filled with people of all ages wearing band t-shirts. There were plenty of Rolling Stones logos, but also Black Sabbath, Suzi Quatro, and others. It was clear: this evening was for true rock fans.

Right on 8 p.m., the first sounds blare from the speakers: “Sympathy for the Devil” begins, as five men take the stage. At first glance, a perfectly ordinary band. But as the first notes of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” ring out, it’s practically Mick Jagger himself standing in front of the microphone. Günther Grothaus has been singing Mick’s voice with Sticky Fingers since 1979, and again since 2004. And how! Sticky Fingers deliberately see themselves not as a cover band, but as a tribute band. They aim to truly capture the spirit of the Stones. Grothaus not only looks strikingly similar to Mick Jagger, he also has the moves and, above all, the voice. And “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is just his warm-up. I think I’ve rarely heard so many Chuck Berry songs live as on the evening I saw a Rolling Stones tribute band perform live. The guys play “Sweet Little Sixteen” as their next song, followed later by “Reelin’ and Rockin'” and “Let it Rock.” At their core, the Rolling Stones were a very unique blues band who found their own style. Chuck Berry definitely belongs in that category. And Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” is also performed superbly.

You have to understand early rock ‘n’ roll and old blues to understand the Stones. And Sticky Fingers understands that perfectly. You simply have to play the old rock ‘n’ roll numbers. Completely without frills or grandeur. That’s exactly how Sticky Fingers play them. The songs are presented with a dry, masterful, and honest approach. But it’s always clear: all eyes are on Mick Jagger. Grothaus really has to work hard up there on stage to draw the audience in so magnetically. He bends down, stretches out his arms, gives a high-five, and strides across the stage. It must be something like being at a real Rolling Stones concert. Only crammed in among tens of thousands of people. The band is also very close to the original and impresses with its understated style. Sticky Fingers’ Keith Richards, played by Volker Hovestadt, stands out from the crowd. He not only resembles the Stones guitarist and has copied his wardrobe down to the last detail, but he also plays a beautiful, bluesy, carefree guitar with plenty of 60s charm.

The General-Anzeiger interviewed Günther Grothaus in 2015. Regarding his Mick Jagger impersonation, he said: “Pure technical imitation, whether on the instruments or in the performance, is merely a soulless copy of the original, the adoption of someone else’s sounds and gestures. That’s clowning, quickly becoming parody, bad theater.”1 And that describes the singer’s persona on stage this evening very well. There’s soul behind the gestures and dance moves. I commend Sticky Fingers for seeking and finding the origin of Jagger’s mannerisms in the African-American musical culture of the last 100 years. Only in this way can one truly pay tribute in a fitting and appropriate manner. As an old acquaintance of mine once said: “The question of why usually also answers the question of how.” On this evening, with Grothaus as frontman, you can feel the spirit of Mick Jagger fluttering through the room with Sticky Finger, without it seeming formulaic. He definetly knows how.

It’s also nice that this isn’t purely about looking and sounding like Jagger & co with Grothaus proving himself to be an entertaining frontman, even offering a few philosophical pronouncements between songs. For him, it’s important to understand what the Rolling Stones are actually saying, especially today. He recounts how he once read in the newspaper that a particular politician was the “Mick Jagger of the FDP” (who this was exactly I don’t recall). The stage banter also touches on what one can’t live without. Grothaus mentions, for example, that he doesn’t own a cell phone and that, according to sociological studies, music fans, in particular, couldn’t live without memories of their favorite band. A fitting statement for the evening. “Now you can consider whether you could still live with or without the Stones!,” Grothaus concludes.

Of course, Sticky Fingers also played “Under My Thumb,” “Off the Hook,” and “As Tears Go By” (a truly atmospheric acoustic set with a tribute to a deceased friend). But they also included “Under the Broadway” and “Crazy Mama”—songs that true fans would associate with the Stones. A particularly cool touch was “Miss You,” the Rolling Stones’ interminable disco number (bravo to the rhythm section!). The music was diverse yet cohesive. Towards the end, the real classics were added to the setlist: “Gimme Shelter,” “Honky Tonk Women,” and “Paint It Black” (the last song for now). Naturally, the audience clamored for encores, and Sticky Fingers showed their charming side. A playful and enjoyable rendition of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and (if not now, when?) “Satisfaction” brought the concert to a close.

I ended up feeling very close to the Rolling Stones tonight. The sheer joy of playing the blues and the energy of Mick Jagger, which seemed to float through the room that evening and inspired Günter Grothaus, may not have quite transformed the atmosphere into Hyde Park in July 1969, but it certainly brought it very close.