Re: Stones in Sheffield 1963
Date: October 26, 2010 23:16
-22 March 1964 - Ryde Castle - Isle of Wight
Rolling Stones in Ryde -
The rock'n'roll event of 1964 was the visit of the Rolling Stones who played two sold out shows in March at the Ryde Pavilion. The event is recalled with affection by musicians, bouncers and fans, some who managed to squeeze themselves into the Rolling Stone's rooms at the Ryde Castle. "We knew beforehand that the Rolling Stones would be staying at the Castle, about a week before the gig the hotel manager had hung up signs everywhere on the Saturday night or before the Saturday night, before we played, advertising the fact that the Rolling Stones would be staying at his hotel.
Our drummer Pete Channing thought he ought to draw Mick Jagger's attention to this. So he showed the signs to Mick Jagger after the concert and they were checking into the hotel and there was quite a row between him and the hotel manager, particularly the hotel manager's wife. I remember Jagger calling her a 'bloody little hit', because by this time there were girls swarming around the hotel and in fact Keith Richard had already found two in his room before he went in it." - Gary Cowtan, Shamrock's vocalist "My Auntie lives in Kingston. I used to go and see the Rolling Stones at Eel Pie Island when I was twelve. I was always a rebel, but for a cause. When they came to Ryde we met up in the afternoon and drove around in a maroon Ford Cortina they brought over with them." - Suzanne Spurrier, dancer and singer "I had a punishment hanging over my head of not being able to go. I had misbehaved. Fortunately, the day before my parents thought I had suffered enough and relented. I queued up from 5.30am in the morning on the day, there were three of us there. By ten the queue had swelled to several hundred people, politely standing in line. I got what I considered to be the best seat in the house, the middle seat in the front row. Complete elation. I was only twelve but I was really up for it. I stared at Jagger and Richard. Was this really happening?" - Dave Wells "Twelve bouncers were employed for this and we were all instructed to stand at the front. A Stones roadie told us that if anybody left their seat we were to rush towards them and tell them to sit down.In the first performance one person moved and then they all did. We were nearly crushed, and the show stopped after a few songs. As a result the second performance did not run its full course. Mick Jagger played up to the crowd, but the sound was so brilliant and exciting for an Isle of Wight audience who had been alienated up to that time. The Stones made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. They stayed at the Ryde Castle. Brian Jones climbed the ivy growing on the wall outside." - Frank Orchard, bouncer at the Rolling Stones gig "The gig was run by a Ryde schoolteacher. The Stones were downstairs and came up while we played. They were a bit worried about the audience reaction. The success of our band was responsible for the audience reaction but they were better because they were the Rolling Stones. Certain members of our band didn't perform in the first show, their knees were knocking too much. I went home and got a bottle of vodka. I remember a Beatle's number which we had to play loud. It had a rimshot on the drums which stopped and Charlie Watts smiled as my drumstick went flying past Crann." - Ken Young, Cherokees drummer "It was the first time I had seen a 50 watt amp. I played with a 20 watt amp at the time and Brian used a Vox AC30." - Crann Davies, Cherokees bassist "We got them over to the Castle afterwards in our white van, which was covered in lipstick. It was backed up to the Pavilion, and they were smuggled in. We were drinking with them until quite late." - Dave Eaglen, Shamrocks guitarist "My friend Tessa and I were in the fifth year at Sandown Grammar School. We had tickets for the second show. In between shows there were loads of people out the front of the hotel. Our plan was to sneak into the hotel. We went in the side entrance, that long covered bit to the right of the front. We went up a staircase, it was strange, hotel bedrooms weren't locked in those days. We asumed that they would stay at the front of the hotel. We just tried a door, nobody was there. We looked around and opened a drawer and in it was a photo of a man and a boy, Bill Wyman and his son. We waited in the bedroom. When he cam in he didn?t say anything, he wasn't annoyed. 'Could we meet you after the show to get your autographs?' we asked. 'If you sit at the front I'll give you the nod before we finish,' he said. I seem to remember we sat on just ordinary chairs, they weren't numbered tickets. We managed to get down at the front. The show was brilliant. Just before the last number he gave us the nod. We went back to the room again and they came over shortly afterwards. We went into another room, all the others were three. They were all friendly and chatty except for Charlie Watts who was quiet. They gave us their autographs in pencil. We were talking, and Brian Jones, who was my favourite, said 'Come and have a look at the crowds'. We went into a big bedroom that overlooked the front. As I recall, he had his arm around me. I was in seventh heaven. I was a little bit worried, but fascinated. It wasn't a problem, we didn't feel threatened. I was only sixteen, and flet I was getting a little bit out of my depth. At that point, their manager came in and said 'Come on, you're going out'. We went off in our nylon macs. It gave us a conversation piece for the next few weeks. -
Jackie Ridgway
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-10-26 23:16 by straycat58.