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May 1 has a strange habit of showing up in Rolling Stones history like it owns the place. Across different decades, it turns into everything from backstage reshuffles and surprise announcements to chaotic live reveals and emotional personal moments. Instead of a quiet date on the calendar, it reads more like a highlight reel of how rock history actually gets made: messy, loud, and slightly unpredictable. This chronology pulls together those snapshots into one evolving story, showing how the band’s path was shaped as much by timing as by attitude, luck, and a refusal to ever do things normal way.
May 1, 1963: Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, England. After the show they meet up with Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton, who soon request that Ian Stewart step down from the official line-up of the band. The group agrees to the arrangement, reshaping the early official lineup of the Rolling Stones. However ‘Stu’ didn’t disappear from the picture—he remained closely involved, continuing on as their road manager and staying an essential part of the touring operation behind the scenes till his death on December 12 1985.
May 1, 1964: Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, England In early 1964 the Stones launched their first tour as headliners, marking a major step up in their rapidly rising career. Throughout the year they played relentlessly, often taking on grueling schedules that sometimes required them to perform twice in a single day. By the time they hit the Imperial Ballroom for the first time on May 1, 1964 the band had a milestone to celebrate: their first UK Top 10 hit, a driving cover of Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away, which helped cement their early momentum.
May 1, 1966: NME Pollwinners Concert, Empire Pool, Wembley, England It’s their third appearance there, and the lineup is stacked: they share the bill with The Who, The Yardbirds, and several other acts of the era. Notably, it also becomes their final shared billing with The Beatles, marking the end of a brief but symbolic overlap between two defining forces of the British Invasion scene. The Last Time/Play With Fire/Satisfaction/The band gets an award for the Satisfaction single
May 1, 1971: Release of John Baldry‘s LP It Ain’t Easy, with Ronnie as guest on four tracks: 1. Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King Of Rock’n Roll/ 2. It Ain’t Easy/ 3. Morning, Morning/ 4. I’m Ready
Long John Baldry (1941–2005) was an English-Canadian blues singer and key figure in the 1960s British blues-rock movement. Famous for his towering 6’7″ frame and rich voice, he guided artists like Elton John and Rod Stewart, topped UK charts with Let the Heartaches Begin in 1967, and later pursued voice acting in Canada.
May 1, 1975: After their originally announced press conference at the 5th Avenue didn’t take place, the Stones, including new band member Ron Wood, announce their 1975 Tour of the Americas performing Brown Sugar on a moving flatbed truck on 5th Avenue, New York City.
May 1, 1976: The Stones shoot promotional film clips for their new songs Hot Stuff, Fool to Cry, Hey Negrita and Crazy Mama (all from the Black and Blue album) at the Ostseehalle, Kiel, West Germany.
May 1, 1981: Release of Bill Wyman’s single Tenderness / Noche de Amor. Side A (taken from the Green Icemovie soundtrack) is credited to Maria Muldaur, who’s on lead vocals.
May 1, 1981: Release of Inoue Takayuki & The Breakfast Band’s LP It’s Never Too Late, with Mick Taylor on guitar on four tracks: 1. Walking With Mick/ 2. Give Me Some Lovin’/ 3. Yorkshire Pudding/ 4. Ascot Park
Inoue Takayuki & The Breakfast Band was a collaborative project eventually led by Japanese guitarist, composer, and arranger Inoue Takayuki (1941–2018). The group combined Inoue’s rock-influenced style with a refined, studio-polished sound, drawing on the talents of notable session musicians such as Kuma Harada on bass, Richard Bailey on drums, and keyboardist James Lascelles.
May 1, 1986: Shooting of the One Hit (to the Body) promo video at Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, England Directed by Russell Mulcahy, the video unfolds in a stark warehouse setting where inner tension is turned into physical performance. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards exchange staged, playful blows as the action cuts to archival boxing footage, heightening the intensity. The symbolism comes through clearly: a band locked in struggle, enduring impact after impact, yet still standing and pushing forward together.
May 1, 2007: Keith Richards attends the funeral of his mother Doris Dupree Richards at the Chichester Crematorium, in Chichester, England, marking a deeply personal moment for him. The service was also attended by Ronnie Wood, who was there to pay his respects and support Richards during the emotional occasion. She was later remembered as the woman who gave her son his very first guitar, a small gesture that ended up shaping his musical path.
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