Let’s Spend the Night Together…
Well I’m suitably excited that the greatest Rock and Roll band in the world are finally coming back to Coventry after a 47-year spell.
The Rolling Stones will take the stage at The Ricoh on June 2. They are one of the acts that I have always wanted to see play the Ricoh (others include Bob Dylan, Metallica and The Who).
Tickets went on sale today, and I guess have well sold out as you read this (just hope I got one). So to celebrate this amazing news, here is a round-up of Coventry and Warwickshire Rolling Stones trivia.
The Stones played two shows at the Nuneaton Co-op Ballroom on November 15, 1963.
In his book Stone Alone, Bill Wyman tells of the earlier performance for juniors. It was full of six to ten year olds, who were not interested in R & B and proceeded to throw their afternoon tea (cream cakes) at the Stones! Sticky Fingers or what!
Next night, they played The Matrix in Coventry. They also played two shows at Rugby’s Granada Theatre on February 11, 1964 & March 13, 1965.
They played Coventry Theatre on January 19, 1964 (two shows), and in the same year April 17 at The Locarno, May 24 and The Coventry Theatre (two shows).
Finally, they played at the venue on March 6, 1971 (two shows). The first concert has being heavily bootlegged and includes Jumping Jack Flash, Midnight Rambler and Brown Sugar. They were supported by the wonderful Groundhogs.
Eleven Schoolboys at a Woodlands Comprehensive School were suspended by their headmaster Mr Donald Thompson in March 1964 for imitating The Rolling Stones’ hairstyles. He called the style long and scruffy, he told them they could return if they cut their hair like the Beatles!
The Brian Jones Fan Club is based in Rugby. Former Swell Maps man Nikki Sudden had his mate, former Stone Mick Taylor, record some guitar overdubs for him at Woodbine Street Studios produced by John Rivers in Leamington on August 16, 2002, if you’re interested the songs were ‘House Of Cards’ and ‘Kitchen Blues’.
Mick Jagger recorded the promo video for his solo single ‘Sweet Thing’ at the Royal Pump Rooms Leamington on December 10 and 11, 1992.
MTV attended and interviewed Jagger, producer Julian Temple and saxophonist supreme Courtney Pine for a XPO feature of the single that aired on January 16, 1993.
Another Stones/Warwickshire connection was of course The Mighty Avengers whose recording manager was Andrew Loog Oldham, who was The Stones’ manager. Author Charles Bukowski, once wrote a novel entitled Jaggernaut based on Michael Philip J. It was published by Beat Scene Press Coventry.
In 2007 on August 26, Coventry Trio The Enemy supported Mick and London’s O2 Arena.
Shkayla
Joe O’Donnell and his band Shkayla will be playing their captivating brand of Celtic rock fusion at The Arches on St Patricks Day Saturday, March 17.
Joe recently made an exciting appearance at the superb Herbert based exhibition ‘Irish Heart, Coventry Home’, with a cut-down version of his band.
Even the cut-down version was mesmerising (and so were the brilliant young Irish dancers from the Danny Docherty School of Irish Dancing).
