COME TOGETHER FOR BEATLES HEAVEN & STONES SPECTACULAR
Festival to mark Stones’ first gig in Brum
SATISFACTION is guaranteed for Rolling Stones fans following news that the band’s first Birmingham gig will be marked by a five-hour tribute.
A mini-festival will celebrate the Stones’ September 14, 1963, concert at Kings Heath’s Ritz Ballroom.
The day after that historic performance, the band performed before thousands at the Royal Albert Hall’s Great Pop Prom.
The Sunday September 15 tribute will kick off at 3pm at Fletchers Bar, in Kings Heath.
The Ritz Ballroom is sadly long gone, having been burned to the ground in March 2013.
Local musicians will perform their favourite Stones songs and the event will end with a concert by Europe’s top tribute act, The Stones, at the Hare and Hounds pub.
Co-organiser Bob Prew said: “It is quite amazing to think that The Rolling Stones’ Birmingham debut took place in a tiny venue on a Kings Heath side
street. But the owners of the Ritz Ballroom, Ma and Pa Regan, had a real eye for spotting up-and-coming talent. They had already put on The Beatles earlier in 1963.
“While the ballroom burned down several years ago, we are determined that its legacy should live on.
“So Kings Heath’s York Road will be rocking again on September 15 to the sounds of the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world.”
Formed in London in 1962 by Brian Jones after he met up with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones started out as a blues group, taking their name from the title of a Muddy Waters song.
“For the whole of 1962 they played exclusively in the London area,” says Mr Prew. “But all that changed on June 7, 1963, after they released their first single, a cover version of Chuck Berry’s Come On.
“On September 14, 1963, they played one of their first gigs outside London, and their first in Birmingham, at the Ritz Ballroom.
“Joining Brian, Mick and Keith on the tiny stage were Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Immediately afterwards they had to return to London to get ready to open the Great Pop Prom.
“When they returned to Birmingham the following year, they played the much larger venues of the Hippodrome and the Town Hall.
“Then, of course, they went on to become the world’s greatest rock’n’roll band.
Tickets for Fletcher’s cost just £5 in advance from the Kitchen Garden Café, or £5.50 from www.wegottickets.com/event/. Tickets to see The Stones at the Hare and Hounds are priced from £6.60 at www. skiddle.com.