I recently came across these incredible stats from StubHub about The Rolling Stones, and it got me thinking back to a balmy, English summer night in 2007 when I was lucky enough to see them headline The Isle of Wight Festival.
I didn’t know it at the time but when Amy Winehouse joined them on stage for ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg’ it would be one of the last times she would truly grace an English stage. Later that summer, she canceled an appearance at the Oxegen Festival and the tragic, downward spiral had begun.
“The Rolling Stones have sold roughly 30.6 million tickets throughout their career. If we were to bring all these fans into one venue, it would be equivalent to performing a concert for the entire population of Venezuela (30,620,000 inhabitants).” (StubHub)
Winehouse aside, the abiding memory that night was The Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger in particular. I remember heading back to my tent in a state of cider-fuelled euphoria, wondering just how good The Rolling Stones would have been at their peak. They were frightening impressive, and their love of music was relentless.
This September, The Peter Pan of rock and his gang of semi-pickled accomplices head to Europe for The Stones No Filter tour, which culminates in Paris on October 22nd. If you’ve never seen The Stones, we recommend you find a way to be there.
How it all began for The Rolling Stones
In June 1963, The Rolling Stones released their debut single ‘Come On’ a cover of the Chuck Berry song. (At that time their repertoire consisted exclusively of R&B covers).
A few months later, the first breakthrough occurred when they cracked the top 20, reaching number 12 with ‘I Wanna Be Your Man.’ The track was written by Lennon & McCartney after a meeting at London’s De Lane Lea Studio.
1963 is also forever remembered for the assignation of JFK on November 22nd, and the start of ‘Beatle Mania’. (Following the release of “I Want To Hold Your Hand /I Saw Her Standing There and “Meet The Beatles.) In 1963 the average house price was £2,950 and a new Ford Cortina would have set you back £591. A lot has happened since then…
The history of music timeline since 1963
1965: The Who: ‘My Generation.’
1965: The Rolling Stones’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ is released.
1966: The Beach Boys release Pet Sounds.
1967: The Velvet Underground and Nico LP is released.
1969: Jimi Hendrix Plays ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ at the Woodstock Festival.
1969: The Stooges’ first album is released.
1970: Black Sabbath release their first album.
1971: Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On?
1972: David Bowie creates Ziggy Stardust.
1973: Gram Parsons dies at the Joshua Tree Inn.
1974: Kraftwerk release ‘Autobahn.’
1975: Bob Marley & the Wailers: ‘No Woman, No Cry’ released.
1975: Patti Smith: Horses.
1977: ‘God Save the Queen’ goes to ‘Number One.’
1978: Brian Eno releases Ambient 1: Music for Airports.
1980: John Lennon is assassinated.
1981: ‘Ghost Town’ goes to Number One.
1981: Grandmaster Flash’s ‘Adventures on the Wheels of Steel’ is released.
1982: Michael Jackson: Thriller released.
1983: The Smiths: ‘This Charming Man.’
1983: New Order release ‘Blue Monday.’
1984: Ronald Reagan co-opts Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA.’
1985: Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ is released.
1985: Live Aid.
1987: Prince’s ‘Sign ‘O’ the Times.’
1988: Madchester and the second summer of love.
1992: Nirvana: ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.
1995: Blur v Oasis fight for No. 1
1995: The Spice Girls meet Simon Fuller.
2000: The birth of Napster & Limewire.
2001: George Bush declares Eminem ‘The biggest threat to American youth since Polio’ Two years later, and a poll of American parents finds 53% agree ‘America’s youth find more truth in Eminem than George Bush’.
2003: Apple launches iTunes.
2007: Record Store Day is founded.
2008: Spotify launches.
2009: Michael Jackson dies.
2011: Amy Winehouse dies and joins the 27 club.
2012: Justin Bieber wins three Grammys.
2014: Taylor Swift removes her music from Spotify, U2 force their album on the world via an ill-judged iTunes partnership.
2015: Digital music revenues overtake physical sales for the first time.
2016: David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, Leonard Cohen all die.
2017: The Rolling Stones hit Europe for the No Filter Tour.
The average UK house price hits £234,000 with the average London flat price reaching £508,195 (Right Move)
Listen to The Rolling Stones on Spotify
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Words: Mark Knight
Photo by TERRY O’NEILL/REX USA (90797a)
ROLLING STONES / VARIOUS
