Are the Rolling Stones headed to Shanghai?

There are strong rumors that four Englishmen in their 60s will strut what is left of their stuff on a stage somewhere in Shanghai this April. At this point they are still just rumors, but here are some reasons why Shanghaiist believes the Rolling Stones will bring their A Bigger Bang tour to our fair city this year (unless China's "mysterious" disease du jour once again scares them away):

• A source within the local music industry told Shanghaiist that the Stones and a Chinese company had "signed on the dotted line" for a Shanghai performance (or performances) in April 2006.
• The director of a Shanghai-based English-language training company confirmed that they had been offered the opportunity to sponsor the event by an unnamed Shanghai advertising company.
• An employee at one of Shanghai's five-star hotels told Shanghaiist they were bidding on the rights to house the aged rockers.
• Call it a hunch.

As for an exact date, this site guesses April 8, three days after a confirmed show in Nagoya, Japan. If two months is just too long for you to wait, you can catch the Rolling Stones during halftime of Super Bowl XL on Monday morning.

(One Shanghai concert that is most definitely confirmed is James Brown, who makes even the Stones look young ... except maybe Keith Richards. Go to Yunfeng Theater on Wednesday, February 22 to see if "Soul Brother No. 1" indeed does have "Oriental blood" flowing through his veins, as he claims in this interview.)