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Rolling Stones quotes: Mick Jagger quote on Jazz News publication, before the Stones’ first show at the Marquee club on July 12 1962
“I hope they don’t think we’re a rock ‘n’ roll outfit!”
Mick Jagger’s Early Doubts And the Birth of a Band
Before stepping onto the stage of the Marquee Club on July 12, 1962, Mick Jagger found himself navigating a strange mix of excitement, nerves, and mild identity confusion. The Rolling Stones were still a rough, evolving idea rather than a fully shaped force, and Jagger—far from the swaggering figure he would eventually become—felt genuinely uncertain about how audiences would perceive them. In an interview with Jazz News, he famously quipped, “I hope they don’t think we’re a rock ’n’ roll outfit!” The line, half-joking and half-concerned, captured the odd position the band occupied at the time: too bluesy for pop crowds, too raw for jazz purists, and too unknown to fit neatly anywhere. On that summer night, the Stones were simply hoping to avoid being boxed into a category they weren’t ready to claim, still finding their footing on London’s club circuit.
Finding Their Sound
That reluctance wasn’t a rejection of rock ’n’ roll at all—it was a reflection of the Stones’ fierce devotion to American blues. In their earliest rehearsals, Jagger, Richards, and Brian Jones focused almost obsessively on material from Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf, and Chuck Berry. Their setlists were built from songs they worshipped, borrowing the structure, tone, and attitude of the Chicago and Delta sounds that had captivated them as teenagers. What Jagger feared was being dismissed as just another trendy beat group chasing pop success. The band wanted credibility long before they wanted fame.
By the time they spoke with Jazz News, their musical mission was clear but their public image was not. They weren’t tailoring themselves for the charts—if anything, they were trying to avoid them. Jagger’s comment revealed a self-awareness that is often overlooked: he knew that the Stones could easily be lumped in with countless other groups appearing in Soho basements and small venues across London. What he didn’t yet know was how quickly they would outgrow those cramped rooms.
The Energy of the Marquee
When the curtain finally rose at the Marquee, any lingering uncertainty dissolved into adrenaline. The audience responded not with skepticism but with curiosity and enthusiasm. The band’s rawness—something Jagger worried might work against them—turned out to be one of their strongest assets. They were rougher than their contemporaries, louder, hungrier, and unfiltered. That night planted the seed for everything that followed.
Jagger’s offhand remark, preserved in the pages of Jazz News, now reads like an amusing prelude to a revolution. The young singer who hoped no one would label them a “rock ’n’ roll outfit” would soon help create one of the most influential rock identities in history.
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