The Rolling Stones
John Hoppy
Hopkins/Redferns
"It is quite amazing when you think about it," Mick Jagger recently told
Rolling Stone, reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones
first show on July 12th, 1962 at London's Marquee Jazz Club. "But it was so long
ago. Some of us are still here, but it's a very different group than the one
that played 50 years ago."
On that summer night in 1962, the Rollin' Stones were Jagger on vocals,
guitarists Brian Jones and Keith Richards, pianist Ian Stewart and bassist Dick
Taylor. The drummer is up for debate; some fans contend it was their frequent
early drummer, Tony Chapman, but Richards insisted in his 2010 memoir
Life
that it was friend Mick Avory. The Stones got the gig when Alexis Korner's
Blues Incorporated – the club's Thursday night regulars fronted by Jagger – were
invited to play a BBC live broadcast. Jagger didn't take part in the broadcast,
and Jones persuaded Marquee club owner Harold Pendleton to let their new group
fill in. When Jones called local listings paper
Jazz News to advertise
the gig, the famous story goes, he was asked what the band was called. His eyes
went straight to the first song on the nearby LP
The Best of Muddy
Waters: "Rollin' Stone."
The band borrowed money from Jagger's dad to rent equipment for the gig. In
Life, Richards recalled playing songs like "Dust My Broom," "Confessin'
the Blues" and "Got My Mojo Working." "You're sitting with some guys, and you're
playing and you go, 'Ooh yeah!' That feeling is worth more than anything," he
wrote. "There's a certain moment when you realize that you've actually left the
planet for a bit and that nobody can touch you … it's flying without a
license."
The band continued to play around London clubs that summer. In August,
Jagger, Richards and Jones moved into a grimy second-floor apartment at 102
Edith Grove in Fulham, living amongst dirty dishes, two beds and no furniture.
Soon, Charlie Watts moved in. "The Rolling Stones spent the first year of their
life hanging places, stealing food and rehearsing," Richards remembered. "We
were paying to be the Rolling Stones."
Today, Jagger admits feeling uneasy about celebrating the milestone. "One
part of me goes, 'We're slightly cheating,'" he says. "Because it's not the same
band, you know. Still the same name. It's only Keith and myself that are the
same people, I think. I've tried to find out when Charlie's first gig was, and
none of us can really remember and no one really knows. But it's an amazing
achievement, and I think it's fantastic and you know I'm very proud of it."
Richards is less reflective. "Man, I don't count!" he says with a laugh. "The
Stones always really consider '63 to be 50 years, because Charlie didn't
actually join until January. So we look upon 2012 as sort of the year of
conception. But the birth is next year."
On Wednesday, the Stones
met
at the Marquee Club to shoot an anniversary photo. And while they might look
a little worse for wear and tear than they did 50 years ago, they haven't lost
any cool. After more than 400 songs, over two-dozen studio albums, ten
mega-tours, turmoil and countless public squabbles, they look dangerous and
commanding as ever, still capable of giving crowds more satisfaction than any
band 50 years their junior.
Richards says the band will discuss recording new material during their
London stay, and the band is
strongly
considering at least one gig this year, while a tour is more likely next
year. Here's hoping it all happens. As Pete Townshend told the band while
inducting them in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, "Guys, whatever you
do, don't grow old gracefully. It wouldn't suit you."
Here is what the Stones played on that night in 1962, according to
meticulous, setlist-documenting Stones fansite
It's Only Rock and Roll –
though the setlist differs slightly from Richards' memory of the show described
in
Life.
1. "Kansas City"
2. "Baby What's Wrong"
3. "Confessin' the Blues"
4.
"Bright Lights, Big City"
5. "Dust My Broom"
6. "Down the Road Apiece"
7. "I'm a Love You"
8. "Bad Boy"
9. "I Ain't Got You"
10.
"Hush-Hush"
11. "Ride 'Em on Down"
12. "Back in the U.S.A."
13. "Kind
of Lonesome"
14. "Blues Before Sunrise"
15. "Big Boss Man"
16. "Don't
Stay Out All Night"
17. "Tell Me You Love Me"
18. "Happy
Home"