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August 2, 1964: ‘3rd Pop Festival’, Longleat House, Warminster, England
From the BBC Wiltshire site: As a result, Sunday 2nd August 1964 saw the band appear in front of a 16,000 strong crowd of fans on the steps of Longleat House near Warminster, for the stately home’s ‘3rd Pop Festival’. The admission fee was 2/6d.
There was such a violent clamour for the band at the show that over 200 female fans were treated for minor injuries. A policeman is reported to have said: “We could easily have some dead on our hands if things go on as they are.” But luckily things didn’t escalate that far.
The band were paid £1000 to appear and were supported by Danny Clarke and The Jaguars, and Tony Rivers and The Castaways.
On his website, Tony Rivers remembers: “This was probably the first major outdoor gig in the 60’s,” he wrote. “This was the first time anyone had seen crowds like this before, or at least, we certainly hadn’t!
“I can’t say I thought much of The Stones’ performance, it seemed very sloppy, their timing was all over the place. “I didn’t find them at all friendly in the shared dressing room, in fact I think they thought they were a bit too important to talk to the likes of us!”
Certainly, after this gig, the band were truly catapulted to superstardom and never performed in the county again. But for Wiltshire, 1964 will always be the year of The Stones.
