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The Rolling Stones in the press: “Twitch On TV Did It!”
The Rolling Stones first burst into prominence as the long-haired London group with a twitch that was a kind of dance, who appeared on “Thank Your Lucky Stars” recently.
From there, the number they did, Chuck Berry’s Come On, progressed steadily and this week entered the NME Chart.
Says Mick Jagger, lead vocal and harmonica with the Stones: “The twitch business really comes from the regular club session we do at Richmond, near London. It gets so crowded that all fans can do is stand and twitch. They can’t dance because there isn’t room.”
“We picked it up from there!”
The Rolling Stones are rhythm-and-blues fanatics, which explains their choice of a Chuck Berry number as debut disc number.
“We recorded it in May this year and played the tapes to some people at Decca,” says Mick. “It took us three nights to do rush release the disc in June.”
“We were quite quiet until we did an appearance on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’. Then the disc started to take off.”
“We believe that there is a lot of room for the rhythm-and-blues sound broadly patterned on the type of music put down by Chuck Berry.”
The Rolling Stones (even the name comes from the records by Negro famed artist, Muddy Waters) were formed eleven months ago to deputise for a group at London’s Marquee Club. The net result was a regular weekly spot at the Craw Daddy club in Richmond.
When the Rolling Stones started out, fifty people came. Within two months the figure had increased to over 400 fans.
Lead singer Mick Jagger is 19, born in Dartford, Kent, and went to the London School of Economics. “But I don’t have much idea about economics myself because I like money and spend it like water — mainly on clothes, Chinese food, and Bo Diddley records!” (chuckle).
Other group members are: Brian Jones who supports Mick on the vocals and plays all instruments. Ex-coal miner from Cheltenham. Also 21-year-old Keith Richard, lead guitarist. Ex-college student. Lives in West London. Plays blues guitar, harmonica.
Bass is covered by Bill Wyman, 25, ex-air force assistant and ex-bass player with several groups. He is an ex-biker, works in a laboratory technician job. Lives in South London.
Drummer is Charlie Watts, 21, ex-art school, and east of London. Former commercial artist and jazz devotee.
The Rolling Stones, who still appear regularly at the Craw Daddy, have now been signed to appear in a package tour of Britain in the autumn with the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley.
Their disc, Come On, has spent six weeks in the chart and has spent three weeks in the top 50.
Decca released Come On because it was thought that Beat Instrumental represented the best sounds of the moment. Recently, several of the Rolling Stones were present at a session by Bo Diddley — just before he left England.
The group have a strong British following. “We go in for the blues-type thing,” says Mick. “The group is more R and B than R and R. We also have an ambition to appear in the next Beatles film.”
Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones continue their British success story and join the Everly Brothers tour of Britain this autumn.
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Stones Data on Substack
