On This Day: The Rolling Stones played their first gig
English rock and roll group the Rolling Stones posed in 1964. Photo: Getty
It was a summer night in 1962 when six young musicians took to the stage, unaware of how famous they would become.
Mick Jagger was on vocals, Brian Jones and Keith Richards were on guitar, Ian Stewart was on piano and Dick Taylor was on bass.
According to a tribute piece in Rolling Stone magazine, the drummer was either Tony Chapman or Mick Avory.
Together, they were the Rolling Stones.
The Rolling Stones pose for a very early portrait circa 1962 in London. Photo: Getty
Known for hits such as Sympathy for the Devil, Satisfaction and Miss You, the Rolling Stones took the world by storm.
Over the next five decades, they performed more than 2000 concerts around the world.
It all started when they played their first show on July 12, 1962 at London’s Marquee Club.
“It is quite amazing when you think about it,” Jagger recently told Rolling Stone.
“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.”
The Stones still play gigs today. The line-up sits with Jagger and Richards, along with Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood.
The Rolling Stones live on stage in 1968. Photo: Getty
The Stones reportedly got the gig when a band called 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 the owner of Marquee Club to let their new group fill in.
The famous story goes that when Jones called local listings paper Jazz News to advertise the gig, he was asked what the band was called.
His eyes darted to the first song on the nearby LP The Best of Muddy Waters.
It was titled Rolling Stone.
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