Stones to join Clinton birthday bash

Bill Clinton is reportedly set to celebrate his 60th birthday with a special performance by the Rolling Stones.

The band will play at New York’s Beacon Theatre on October 29 as part of a series of events to raise money for the former US president’s charitable foundation, according to The New York Post.

The gig is being organised by movie producer Steve Bing and will be filmed by Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, the newspaper said.

Mr Clinton’s actual birthday is on August 19, but the celebrations will stretch for months and the Stones concert will conveniently coincide with his wife Hillary’s 59th birthday on October 26.

The events, which reportedly also include a gala dinner at the American Museum of Natural History, were said to have been timed so that the couple would get widespread news coverage just before the US mid-term elections, helping boost votes for Mrs Clinton, a New York senator.

Her performance is seen as important as she prepares for a possible presidential bid in 2008.

Mr Clinton’s spokesman, Jay Carson, told The New York Post: “President Clinton has dedicated his life to public service and his 60th birthday celebration will be no different.

“All of the funds from these events will go to support his foundation and its work around the world.”

The three main causes the foundation works for are providing Aids drugs in Africa, fighting global warming and combating childhood obesity.