A common space for harmonic peacemakers

Happy Birthday 50 Years Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones played their first gig 50 years ago. Here's some historic images from The Mirror archive

Sir Mick Jagger declared he "remembered everything" as he flicked through half a century of photos of the band this week from The Mirror's archives.

Now, we have released a huge hardback of pictures by our snappers since that first show at London’s Marquee Club on July 12, 1962.

Jagger's twinkling eyes took in every detail – the clothes, haircuts, girls and how Bill Wyman “always had a fag on”.

Mick, now 68, revealed no one felt this 'pop music lark' would last five years, let alone 50.

It’s only rock’n’roll but it’s still going strong and he gets plenty of satisfaction from thumbing through his favourite snaps...

With fans in Manchester, 1966 I REMEMBER being in Manchester with these autograph girls, all holding their pens. We used to stay in The Midland, the railway hotel, so I guess it's outside there. Would have been set up by the Mirror's snapper, this. I've cut my hair quite short. Look at Brian's nice velvet jacket. Is that moustache working for Charlie? I don't really think so but it was very fashionable at the time this picture was taken.

Winging it at the Super Bowl, Detroit, 2006 A VERY hard gig, a very short window. They had to build the stage and we went on wagons pulled by hand. We did it live, which is crazy. You've got three numbers and it may or may not work. It's really hairy and it's definitely not for the faint-hearted. I don't think I'm giving away secrets when I say most people have a pre-recorded track. U2 had a track and Bono sang live over it. That Madonna one was really tricky, a little bit too complicated. She almost tripped up at one point. It was all very tense. Bruce Springsteen played it live - I don't think Bruce does backing tracks. I don't think anyone else has and I don't blame them. This is not a put-down. If I'd known how hard it would be, I'd have done it to a backing track.

Toasting release from jail, 1967 ME and Keith in the pub, doing a Mirror photo call after we got out of jail [Jagger for possession of amphetamine, Richards for letting cannabis be smoked on his property]. I got three months so was expecting to serve about two with good conduct but they put me in solitary 'cos they didn't want me involved with anyone else. It was horrible, really Victorian. It was cold with a concrete floor. There was a loo but it was primitive. They let me out after five days but I never asked Keith what his cell was like.

Beggar's banquet..and pie throwing, 1968 THIS was in a funny hotel in Kensington where they used to do medieval lunches for foreigners. Decca Records had been so horrible to us, so ghastly - not paying us, just awful. So we got them to pay for this promotional bash and intended to just do them over, basically. The idea was that we had these pies sent in at the end and we'd throw them at the record executives and the head of Decca, a ghastly fellow. My ally was Lord Harlech, who owned Harlech TV. He was a guest sitting with us. So we had this banquet - a Beggar's Banquet, get it? - and threw the pies at them and left. It made a great picture.

Newcastle City Hall, 1965 THERE she is! She's just jumped on stage! They used to run on at every gig - no security, maybe one bloke. They'd probably have a bet with each other - "I'm going to kiss Brian!" - and they'd run on. The security guy would go absolutely bananas and then all the guys would try and get on. There's me at the back going, "hey, wait a minute!" It happened every night. By around 1969, things started getting a bit more organised.

First photo shoot, Chelsea, 1963 THIS was the first photo session we did, when I was 19. We had a flat in World's End and wandered around the bad end of Chelsea, as it was known then, not far from where I live now. In fact, this picture was taken near the Cheyne Walk Brasserie, where I sometimes go for lunch. It was at low tide, so we're down on the river and the road's up above. I only had that one jacket - corduroy. I can still remember buying it!

Escaping the carousel, London Palladium, 1967 HERE'S me in my green velvet jacket made by Michael Rainey after Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Look at my rings! There were only two or three TV channels then and everyone used to watch this variety show. We were trying to plug Ruby Tuesday and all the cast had to go on this carousel at the end and wave, and it looked naff. So, wanting to be cool, we did a runner. Sir Bruce Forsyth hosted it at one stage and they had a version of Beat the Clock at the end, which was a US quiz show. It was like having 15 minutes of Mastermind at the end. There'd always be a honeymoon couple on and Bruce would say: "Come back next week," and they'd say: "We can't 'cos we'll be on our honeymoon." He'd josh them about it -

On TV's Juke Box Jury, 1964 CHARLIE always hated things like this - though look at him here, looks like he's having a big laugh! We're all smoking. Bill always had a fag on. So what we had to do here was they gave us these great big clubs and asked if we could hold them up. We didn't get it, bit slow, why clubs? Oh, I see - the Stone Age! And we're the Rolling Stones! It was just awful. It was absurd the things people asked us to do. So we had a big argument and refused to hold their clubs up. God knows what records they played or what we said. I'm sure they've erased all these shows now.

Live on a lorry, New York, 1975 THIS was a stunt to promote our North American tour but we weren't in the right part of Fifth Avenue. When we asked permission to do it, we just thought we'd be up in the 50s streets - you know, where all the shops are - but it turned out we were downtown and there was nobody there apart from journalists. There we were, playing Brown Sugar on a flatbed truck.

Keith after house fire, 1973 I DON'T remember much about this fire as I wasn't even there. I have very little to say about Keith sitting in a pushchair! He's having a fag, he's got no clothes on... it looks like a junkyard. Why would you invite someone to take a picture like this? Oh, it's his house, isn't it? Redlands, after the fire? It's one of those. He quite regularly had fires, did Keith.

See more classic Rolling Stones pictures : 50 years of the Rolling Stones in 50 fascinating photographs

The Rolling Stones 50: Win a signed copy of the official book celeb...

If you want to buy a copy of The Rolling Stones: 50 at a special offer price of £25 (RRP £29.95) then simply call the Mirror bookshop on: 0871 803 6772

Happy Birthday !

0 members like this