This past week marked the 60th anniversary of the Rolling Stones' first-ever gig which took place at the Marquee club in London. That makes me feel even more wrinkly than usual.
The line-up on July 12, 1962 included two unknown 18-year-olds, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In addition, there was the talented Brian Jones who had given the group their name from the old Muddy Waters song Rollin' Stone. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts were to join shortly after.
The Swinging Sixties had officially started in London, not that I did much swinging. Amazingly at the age of 78 Jagger and Richards are still at it, currently on a 14-event Stones tour along with Ronnie Wood. A fortnight ago 50,000 fans attended a concert in London's Hyde Park and they were not disappointed. In a review of their Anfield concert a few weeks earlier Guardian writer Dave Simpson observed: "Alongside [Jagger], fellow grinning septuagenarians Keith Richards (78) and Ron Wood (75) sway elegantly like ancient trees in a breeze ... with a swagger that suggests that time, however improbably, is still on their side."
