The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were one of the greatest rock’n’roll bands of the 20th Century. Initially a blues covers band who gradually integrated themselves into the so-called ‘British Invasion’ (of the American charts), the Stones developed into the only group capable of rivalling the Beatles in the late 60s. By comparison to the Stones, the Beatles were seen as a clean cut pop group who avoided dealing with the sexual revolution and were more easily appreciated by parents. The Stones were more rebellious, singing about sex and drugs, with Jagger becoming the archetypal flamboyant frontman. Their ‘bad boys of rock’ image attracted controversy from conservative commentators and idol worship from teenagers. In the 70s, a succession of huge-selling albums and stadium tours consolidated the Stones position as the biggest rock band in the world, a position they arguably still hold today: their A Bigger Bang tour from 2005-07 was the highest-earning tour of all time, grossing over $550 million from nearly five million tickets sold.

Several Stones albums are acclaimed as being among the greatest ever released. The similarly named Rolling Stone magazine has always been supportive of the Stones’ music and helped to spread the word. Although they have released more than 20 studio albums and 9 live albums, Aftermath (1966) is often considered their first essential release. Four more must-haves are: Beggar’s Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971) and Exile on Main St (1972). The Stones have also enjoyed 32 Top 10 hits in the UK and US. Among their most famous songs are: “(I can’t get no) Satisfaction”, “Paint It, Black”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Street Fightin’ Man”, “Sympathy for the Devil”, “Gimme Shelter” and “Brown Sugar”.

The Rolling Stones were formed in London in 1962 by multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, who was soon joined by singer Mick Jagger, lead guitarist Keith Richards, pianist Ian Stewart, drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman. Jagger and Richards were briefly jailed for drug misuse in 1967, before the usually traditional Times newspaper published a famous editorial criticising the sentences, which were quashed on appeal. In 1969, Mick Taylor replaced founding member Jones, who agreed to leave the group due to problems with drugs. Jones was found dead in his swimming pool a few weeks later. Just two days after Jones’ death, the Stones performed in front of 250,000 people at Hyde Park.

In the mid-70s, Taylor was replaced on guitar by Ron Wood, before Richards was arrested in Canada on heroin charges. He received a suspended sentence. As the decade drew to a close, the Stones were often derided by punk-influenced critics as ‘rock dinosaurs’, but their appeal remained to the millions of fans who bought every album and ticket for their massive tours. The Stones kept a lower profile in the mid-80s due to internal disputes and the death of Ian Stewart, and for a short while Jagger and Richards pursued solo careers. They returned together in 1989 and have continued to perform in front of massive crowds and release big-selling albums ever since. All in all, the Stones have sold over 200 million albums and spent 1749 weeks in the US album charts – that’s over 33 years - and if they still can’t get no satisfaction from that, they’ll never be happy.