NEW YORK – Rolling Stones fans who bought scalped tickets for Bill Clinton’s birthday show Sunday night quickly discovered “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – especially when the Secret Service is involved.

Stones-heads – or Shidoobees, as they call themselves – snapped up tickets for the pricey Beacon Theater show, only to find out they couldn’t get inside unless their name was on a special security list.

“I’m very frustrated,” said John DiMartino, 41, of Hicksville, N.Y. “They said I’m not on the list.”

Dave Dzula has already seen 61 Stones shows, but he had his heart set on seeing Mick and the boys in the cozy confines of the 2,900-seat Beacon.

“This is the show to hit,” said Dzula, 52, of Williamsburg, Va.

Dzula scored a precious ducat for the show but was turned away by agents.

Inside the show, there was no doubt who the real rock star was. Clinton stole the show from the Stones, getting a huge ovation from the star-studded crowd that included Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello.

He ribbed the wrinkly rockers for saying that he had inspired them to get serious about helping to fight for issues like climate change.

“You know you have one foot in the grave when I’m the serious one,” said the ex-president, who was accompanied by his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The gig mercifully marked the end of Bubba’s boffo 60th birthday tour.

Clinton’s actual birthday was in August, but he scheduled a slew of events this weekend to raise megabucks for his foundation.

But most of the crowd outside was more worried about seeing Mick, Keith and the boys than toasting Bill’s big day.

Stones junkie Dr. Richard Weiss complained that ticket brokers seemed to have scooped up most of the tickets to the big show.

“You had to be connected,” moaned Weiss, 49, a dentist. “It’s a real scam.”