Like what you see? Help keep it going! This ad-free site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh content coming your way every day. Thank you!

Today in Rolling Stones history: May 25

*Click for DAILY ROLLING STONES CHRONOLOGY 1962-present

For the Rolling Stones May 25 wasn’t just another date on the rock calendar—it became a recurring snapshot of chaos, reinvention, survival, and ridiculously loud guitars. From explosive performances to the emotional shadow left by Ian Stewart’s death, the band somehow kept turning turbulence into spectacle. Even decades later, massive shows in Toronto and London proved Mick Jagger and Keith Richards could still outlast trends, critics, and probably common sense itself. Add the lingering ghost of Altamont and the polished swagger of Love You Live, and May 25 starts looking less like a date and more like classic Stones mythology in motion.

May 25, 1964: Granada Theatre, East Ham, London, England (2 shows)

May 25, 1976: Earl’s Court, London, England
Honky Tonk Women/If You Can’t Rock Me-Get Off Of My Cloud/Hand Of Fate/Hey Negrita/Ain’t Too Proud To Beg/Fool To Cry/Hot Stuff/Star Star/You Gotta Move/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Band introduction/ Happy/Tumbling Dice/Nothing From Nothing/Outa Space/Midnight Rambler/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Brown Sugar/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man

May 25-June 20, 1977: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards record additional overdubs and complete the mixing sessions for Love You Live at Atlantic Studios, helping shape the final sound of the band’s 1977 live release.

May 25, 1986: In a BBC radio interview Keith Richards confirms that the Stones will not tour that year following the death of longtime pianist and road manager Ian Stewart. ‘Stu’, a key figure in the band’s history since its earliest days, passed away unexpectedly in December 1985, deeply affecting the group and leading them to put touring plans on hold: “It’s difficult to do anything at the moment, let alone tour“, Keith said. “I was talking to Charlie the other day and he’s still waiting for Stu to come bouncing through the door. It hasn’t sunk in all the way yet. We’re all so used to seeing him then not seeing him for a few months that it just feels like a gap right now. I guess we’ll have to get used to it eventually. For the band it was a big wallop and as I say, we’re still in semi-shock.”

May 25, 2005: The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office announced that it was officially closing the case surrounding the death of Meredith Hunter, the 18-year-old concertgoer fatally stabbed during the Altamont free concert headlined by the Stones in December 1969. After reopening the investigation and conducting a renewed two-year review, authorities dismissed the long-discussed theory that a second member of the Hells Angels had participated in the stabbing, concluding there was no evidence to support the claim. The decision brought a formal end to one of rock history’s most infamous and controversial incidents.

May 25, 2013: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Get Off Of My Cloud/You Got Me Rocking/Paint It Black/Gimme Shelter/Angie/Street Fighting Man/Emotional Rescue/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Doom And Gloom/One More Shot/Honky Tonk Woman/Band introduction/You Got The Silver/Happy/Midnight Rambler/Miss You/Start Me Up/Tumbling Dice/Brown Sugar/Sympathy For The Devil/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/ Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Satisfaction
*With special guests Carrie Underwood on It’s Only Rock’n Roll and the Cawthra Park Chamber Choir on You Can’t Always Get What You Want

May 25, 2018: London Stadium, London, England
Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Let’s Spend The Night Together/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Tumbling Dice/Just Your Fool/ Dead Flowers/Wild Horses/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Paint It Black/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/The Worst/Happy/Sympathy For The Devil/Miss You/Midnight Rambler/Start Me Up/Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/Satisfaction
*With special guest Florence Welch on Wild Horses

Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you! 

COPYRIGHT © ROLLING STONES DATA
ALL INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHT OF ROLLING STONES DATA. ALL CONTENT BY MARCELO SONAGLIONI.
ALL SETLISTS AND TICKET STUBS TAKEN FROM THE COMPLETE WORKS OF THE ROLLING STONES. 
WHEN USING INFORMATION FROM ROLLING STONES DATA (ONLINE OR PRINTED) PLEASE REFER TO ITS SOURCE DETAILING THE WEBSITE NAME. THANK YOU.