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Today in Rolling Stones history: January 22

*Click for DAILY ROLLING STONES CHRONOLOGY 1962-present

January 22 has always been a day of firsts, clashes, and creative sparks for the Rolling Stones. From their explosive Australian debut in 1965—trashing dressing rooms, dodging teenage rowers, and shocking parents—to their television breakthrough on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1967, the band consistently defied expectations. On this date, Mick channeled American soul with Bobby Bland in 1972, the Stones hunted for a new guitarist in Rotterdam in 1975, and Keith dug deep into his solo work alongside Tom Waits in 1988. Each moment captures the restless energy, risk-taking, and unfiltered charisma that define the Stones’ legacy.

January 22, 1963: Ealing Jazz Club, London, England

January 22, 1964: Granada Theatre, Shrewsbury, England (2 shows)

January 22, 1965: Manufacturer’s Auditorium, Agricultural Hall, Sydney, Australia (2 shows; first Stones concerts in Australia ever)
The Stones’ 1965 Far East Tour was their first concert tour of Australasia. The tour was part of a package tour with Roy Orbison, The Newbeats, and Ray Columbus & the Invaders. They played 16 concerts in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne before flying to New Zealand for 10 shows. They came back to Australia to continue the tour with a further seven concerts in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “In the first months of 1965 the Rolling Stones’ appeal to parents, hardly a great success to date, fell to its lowest point yet. The headlines kept coming, and they tended to be on the dark side. While touring Australiasia in the new year, the band managed to display a sort of greatest-hits collection of bad behaviour, which included fighting with photographers, trashing successive dressing rooms, dropping whiskey glasses from their hotel balcony in to the car park five floors below and, in Brian Jones’ case, smuggling in girls hidden inside the room-service trolley.” “A blatantly wild bunch’ who ought to be banned. They’re shockers. Ugly looks, ugly speech, ugly manners”, the paper noted.

January 22, 1965: Also, while in Sydney, Brian, Keith and Andrew Oldham get involved in a boating scuffle with some local young men. Keith also confined himself to sparring with a couple of teenage male fans who chased and rammed him when, in an improbable alignment, he put out one afternoon in to a seemingly quiet Sydney bay in a rowing boat stocked with a picnic hamper and a supply of books.

January 22, 1967: The Stones make their debut on the iconic TV show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, instantly capturing the audience’s attention with their raw energy. Later, they spark controversy by breaking with tradition, refusing to join the customary roundabout at the end of the show, signaling early on that the band would never be one to follow the rules.

January 22, 1972: Mick joins legendary soul singer Bobby Bland onstage at an unnamed club in Watts, Los Angeles, blending rock and soul in an electrifying, spontaneous performance that thrills the small but packed crowd, showcasing his admiration for American R&B and his willingness to step outside the Stones’ usual stage.

January 22, 1973: Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, HI, USA (2 shows)

January 22-February 9, 1975: The Stones, joined by keyboardist Billy Preston, begin auditioning guitarists to fill the void left by Mick Taylor while resuming recording sessions for the Black and Blue album in Rotterdam, Holland, using their legendary Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The search, famously dubbed “The Great Guitarist Hunt,” draws a slew of talented players, including Jeff Beck, Robert A. Johnson, Rory Gallagher, Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, and, ultimately, Ronnie Wood, whose chemistry with the band would soon make him the perfect fit. The sessions become a mix of experimentation, musical camaraderie, and friendly competition, as the Stones explore different styles and approaches to shape the album’s sound.

January 22, 1988: Keith resumes mixing sessions for his Talk Is Cheap album in New York, bringing his signature intensity and meticulous attention to detail to the process. The legendary Tom Waits stops by, adding an air of camaraderie and creative exchange to the studio, as the two seasoned artists share ideas and soak in the energy of the city that never sleeps.

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