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April 22 in Rolling Stones history shows how chaos, style, business, and star power often collided around the band. From a hairdressers’ jab at their wild 1964 image to explosive benefit shows in Canada, these dates capture the group’s unpredictable rise. Legal victories in 1980 proved the Stones were as sharp offstage as on it, while later sessions with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dave Stewart, and Daryl Hall revealed their endless creative reach. Whether causing headlines, packing venues, or entering new collaborations, the Rolling Stones kept redefining rock culture in ways few bands ever managed.
April 21, 1964: The President of The National Federation Of Hairdressers offered a free haircut to the next No.1 group in the UK pop charts. He said the Stones “are the worst, one of them looks as if he’s got a feather duster on his head.”
April 21, 1979: Civic Auditorium, Oshawa, Canada (2 shows) On this night the Stones followed The New Barbarians, both performing two benefit concerts for the blind as part of fulfilling Keith Richards’ Toronto sentence from the previous year. The charity shows drew major attention, with comedian John Belushi introducing the band onstage and adding to the event’s excitement. It also marked a historic milestone, as it was the last time the Rolling Stones ever played two concerts on the same day. Setlist: Prodigal Son/Let It Rock/Respectable/Star Star/Beast Of Burden/Just My Imagination/When The Whip Comes Down/Shattered/Miss You/Jumping Jack Flash Read more
April 22, 1980: The Rolling Stones won their non-resident tax case against the Inland Revenue, securing an important legal and financial victory. The ruling was a major boost for the band, whose tax affairs had drawn intense attention during that era.
April 21, 1982: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble fly to New York City for a one-off gig at the Danceteria nightclub to play for the Rolling Stones. Both Mick and Ronnie attend. “Mick Jagger had seen the tape and been impressed, and Chesley Millikin said, ‘You’ve really got to see these guys live,’” Double’s Trouble’s drummer Chris Layton said. “The next thing we knew, we were playing a private party for the Stones in New York. It was a gas.” Guests included Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Johnny Winter and Andy Warhol. A post-show photo of a sweaty Stevie Ray Vaughan smoking a cigarette on a couch next to an elated-looking Jagger made it into Rolling Stone magazine’s Random Notes section, and rumors swirled that the band would be signed to the Stones’ label, but that never materialized.
April 22, 1986: In New York City, Mick Jagger collaborates with Dave Stewart and Daryl Hall to record the songRuthless People, which was featured as the title track for the 1986 comedy film of the same name.
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