Past Times Stone me

IT would have set you back a whopping 25p if you had forked out for a ticket to see the first performance of a new up-and-coming band called The Rolling Stones.

If you were a member of the Marquee London Jazz Centre then you were also entitled to a discount and could have picked up a ticket for a mere 20p or four shillings.

The group first took to the stage at the Oxford Street music venue in 1962 and 60 years later are still going strong with a legacy of hits that include Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Satisfaction, Sympathy For The Devil, Honky Tonk Woman, Paint It Black and Wild Horses.

Ian Stewart was part of the lineup for the first concert before later becoming the band’s road manager. Bill Wyman joined the group in December 1962 and Charlie Watts became the permanent drummer in 1963 with Ronnie Wood coming on board in 1975.

The Royal Mail is bringing out a special series of 12 stamps this month featuring images from some of the group’s most famous performances over the years and Sir Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards worked closely with them on the project. They are only the fourth music group to feature in a dedicated stamp issue following The Beatles in 2007, Pink Floyd in 2016 and Queen in 2020.

So how did the Stones start rolling?

MICK JAGGER

Mick, who turns 79 this year, ditched his studies at the London School Of Economics to join the Rolling Stones.

He met Keith Richards when he was four years old. They met again years later on the Dartford train line and realised they shared a passion for music. Mick’s career has also seen him appear in films like Ned Kelly and Freejack and he was knighted in 2003 for his services to music.

Sir Mick became a father again in 2016, at the age of 73, when his partner American ballet dancer Melanie Hamrick gave birth to their son Deveraux Octavian Basil. Now a grandfather, the performer has eight children in total from different relationships.

He once said: “When I first went to America, I met James Brown at the Apollo and he let me hang out with him and watch his shows. I copied all of his moves. I used to do his slide across the stage, when you move laterally from one side of the stage to the other, twisting your foot on one leg. I couldn’t do the splits, so I didn’t even bother.”

KEITH RICHARDS

Keith has been called one of the greatest guitarists of all time. His mother Doris sparked his love of jazz and encouraged him to sing with the choir at Westminster Abbey.

He attended primary school with Mick Jagger and they shared a flat in 1962 with fellow Rolling Stones band member Brian Jones.

Keith tasted film fame in the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies playing Captain Jack Sparrow’s pirate dad and Keith is said to own around 1,000 vintage guitars.

The 78-year-old once said: “Nobody starts off to play an instrument with the idea of making money. You learn the guitar because you have this burning desire.”

BILL WYMAN

Now 85, Bill once pointed out he “was listening to music long before rock ‘n’roll.”

The Londoner was born William George Perks and started taking piano lessons when he was 10 before switching to guitar. He auditioned for the Rolling Stones at a pub in Chelsea and played bass with the band until 1993 before going on to form Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. He has also brought out books like Stone Alone and Rolling With The Stones.

CHARLIE WATTS

Charles Robert Watts (pictured with his parents) grew up in Wembley, north London, and as a youngster listened to music from greats like Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.

He said it was the record Walking Shoes by saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and drummer Chico Hamilton that inspired him to want to become a drummer. As a teenager, he was invited to join Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated and met a young Mick Jagger, who occasionally sang with the band.

Charlie, who passed away last August at the age of 80, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 along with the rest of the Rolling Stones. Queen drummer Roger Taylor described him as “the immaculate beating heart of the Rolling Stones”.

RONNIE WOOD

Ronnie had already performed with the

Birds and Faces before he joined the Rolling Stones in 1975 on what was supposed to be a temporary basis following the departure of Mick Taylor.

He became a full-time member of the band the following year.

He said: “Mick says ‘Would you join the band? I say to him ‘Mick, you know I’d be there in a New York minute’”.

THE ROLLING STONES HAVE BEEN ROCKING THE WORLD FOR 60 YEARS, MARION McMULLEN LOOKS AT THE BIRTH OF A BAND

BRIAN JONES Born Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones in Cheltenham, Brian was the founding member of the group and came up with the band’s name when he was asked on the phone what they were called and saw a Muddy Waters album on the floor and spotted the track Rollin’ Stone Blues. He later battled alcohol and drugs problems and was dismissed from the group in 1969. Tragically he was found drowned in the swimming pool at his Sussex home a few months later. He was just 27.

Posing for a portrait circa 1962 – Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Brian Jones and Keith Richards. Below, some of the Royal Mail stamps