I grew up in Edinburgh Scotland in the early sixties as part of a Family of 9. My Mum and Dad were not rich we had a council house that was on two levels, of which I shared a bedroom with my two elder brothers, My two sisters shared a room. My two younger brothers shared a 3rd smaller room. Mum and Dad slept down stairs.

My introduction to The Rolling Stones was by my Brothers who would buy early Stones singles' EP's LP's and play them on their shared Dansette record player in a room where I was meant to be sleeping.
. They would also pin album sleeves on the bedroom walls, I was meant to be sleeping as any 7 year old should do, but I kept been wakened by this relentless Charlie Watts & Bill Wyman Rhythm Section and countless Rolling Stones riffs. Fast Forward to 1972 having had the Rolling Stones imprinted in my head. I Started to look for and buy music, having heard The Rolling Stones since I was 7 years old I entered Bruce's Record Shop in Edinburgh and bought Exile On Main Street. Since then I have never looked back - What is your Story?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-23 22:58 by Tonstone.

My intro to the Stones was actually the music video for "Anybody Seen My Baby". I was 15, and before that the Rolling Stones, to me, were just a band that made those songs that were on the 60's/70's stations that my parents would listen to. Never gave them much thought. But after seeing that video, I became curious. I bought Hot Rocks and Bridges to Babylon, and that was pretty much it for me. Unfortunately, my interest was piqued just a little too late to ask my parents to get me tickets for the 1997 Columbus show, so I had to wait until 1999 for my first show. The back catalog was endless, and kept unfolding for me. It took over 10 years, for me to actually feel like I'd covered all the material.

I know I came into the Stones later than many of you, but it's been a huge part of my life these last 20+ years.

My older cousin had this Mick Jagger Poster on his bedroom wall, that came with "The Rolling Stones - Decca 1970 Germany" LP and my comment was: "This guy looks like a monkey"....Later on when Goat´s Head Soup was released he played it on our record player and this time my comment was: "This guy (Mick) on the cover looks like a women"...., well, I only was a 10, 11 year old "village girl" still listening to "Schlager" Hit Parade (some odd popular music in Germany) and a little bit "behind the times"...

Some time later, the Hand of Fate was on me now, because somebody gave me some used singles, one of those was iorr...And from the first moment I listened to the b-side, I fell in love with Mick and "Through The Lonely Nights". Then I bought "It´s only Rock´n Roll", which was their latest album and my first ever Rock LP....And I always was aware that this was not only a teenage love thing that happens to girls at my age for a certain adolescence time period...

The following rest is my personal Rolling Stones history - and probably the best thing that happened to my life. The Love still continues!!!!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-24 02:17 by ThroughTheLonelyNights.

Nice idea for a thread!

I was born in 1970 and didn't get into the Stones or rock music in general until I was about 15. I started reading Rolling Stone and other rock oriented magazines and books around that time. I realized that I didn't know much about many of the artists they were consistently mentioning. Luckily, I had a library nearby that loaned albums on cassette. I was able to listen to a lot of Bob Dylan's discography from that library, and that first started getting me into classic rock music.

I owe a lot of my love for the Stones to the Columbia Record Club, which seemed to offer multiple CD's for ridiculously low prices. You like promised to buy four at regular prices and they gave a bonus of six or eight CD's for a penny. I built up a decent library, and it was a very good way to get me familiar with a lot of classic rock artists. The Stones were the ones I liked the best.

Little by little over the course of a few months, I ended up ordering all the Stones albums the record club had to offer. I remember many fun days getting one or two CD's in the mail after school and listening to them three or four times in a row while sitting and drawing. Dirty Work was the first actual new Rolling Stones album I ever bought, so that also will hold a nostalgic place in my heart, for better or for worse!

Steel Wheels was my first time seeing them live, and I remember it as a great show.

As a freshman at Colorado State University, after seeing the band play there on November 7, 1969.

TIOMS single;



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-26 07:20 by hopkins.

Brown Sugar did it for me. Once I heard that track I wanted to hear more. I was 22 then.

1982 at the age of 13, my godfather had two tix for the stones in Munich, Olympiastadion at 10th of June. He wanted to attend with his wife.
At that time I was a big big Beatles fan and didn't know anything about the Stones, didn't know any songs except Satisfaction. No internet, no informations then...

I wanted to see the "friends of the Beatles" - and started annoying him for weeks and weeks, until he gave up and took me with him. The weather was as fine as it can be, clear blue sky, no clouds, lots of sun, I remember thousands of colorful balloons, happy smiling masses of people and a great J. Geils Band. Peter Maffay took it down, but just for a short set, then he got booed off the stage

My godfather got me the black tee with the read tongue in front and the world map on the back.

I remember that the stage floor got painted before the Stones entered the stage. Found that really snobby then

Then the Stones started and they just BLEW me away. The first time I felt Keiths 5-string-riffs in the stomach - nothing comes close 'til today. From that day on my life never was like before. I wore the Stones tee until it fell apart. My mum had to wash it in the evening so I could wear it the next day without interruption.

37 years, 55 Stones gigs and many many Euros later, I'm really happy that they still carry on. Who could have counted on that? Why the bitter comments f.ex. on the "new album 2019?"-site? Fans from nearly all other big rock bands in the world would be happy, if only something like a new album would be discussed and the favourite band would be touring every year. Saw them last year in Stuttgart, they were on fire. Unbelievable. Another great evening!

The only pity was, that soon after 1982 World War III started and I had to wait until 1990 to see them live again. The record releases took more time from then on as ever before... So I had to learn, that the excitement of a new Stones record with brand-new songs is a very rare one. And I just was to see Bill live just one more time and only on 3 new records.

Never will forget the excitement, when "Undercover" was released. I had to go by train from the country to Munich, as there was the "WOM", a big record store in the centre of the city. No way to get the album in my hometown at the release day. I remember going early and waiting in front of the still closed shop to get in as one of the first. Wasn't alone there.

Was slightly disappointed of the new songs, missed a new "Brown" Sugar" or especially "Start Me Up". But it grew on me. Still don't like the thin guitar sound and the drum sounds that much.

So, that's my Stones story.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-24 10:38 by micawber.

Quote
micawber
1982 at the age of 13, my godfather had two tix for the stones in Munich, Olympiastadion at 10th of June. He wanted to attend with his wife.
At that time I was a big big Beatles fan and didn't know anything about the Stones, didn't know any songs except Satisfaction. No internet, no informations then...

I wanted to see the "friends of the Beatles" - and started annoying him for weeks and weeks, until he gave up and took me with him. The weather was as fine as it can be, clear blue sky, no clouds, lots of sun, I remember thousands of colorful balloons, happy smiling masses of people and a great J. Geils Band. Peter Maffay took it down, but just for a short set, then he got booed off the stage

My godfather got me the black tee with the read tongue in front and the world map on the back.

I remember that the stage floor got painted before the Stones entered the stage. Found that really snobby then

Then the Stones started and they just BLEW me away. The first time I felt Keiths 5-string-riffs in the stomach - nothing comes close 'til today. From that day on my life never was like before. I wore the Stones tee until it fell apart. My ma had to wash it in the evening so I could wear it the next day without interruption.

37 years, 55 Stones gigs and many many Euros later, I'm really happy that they still carry on. Who could have counted on that? Why the bitter comments f.ex. on the "new album 2019?"-site? Fans from nearly all other big rock bands in the world would be happy, if only something like a new album would be discussed and the favourite band would be touring every year. Saw them last year in Stuttgart, they were on fire. Unbelievable. Another great evening!

The only pity was, that soon after 1982 World War III started and I had to wait until 1990 to see them live again. The record releases took more time from then on as ever before... So I had to learn, that the excitement of a new Stones record with brand-new songs is a very rare one. And I just was to see Bill live just one more time and only on 3 new records.

Never will forget the excitement, when "Undercover" was released. I had to go by train from the country to Munich, as there was the "WOM", a big record store in the centre of the city. No way to get the album in my hometown at the release day. I remember going early and waiting in front of the still closed shop to get in as one of the first. Wasn't alone there.

Was slightly disappointed of the new songs, missed a new "Brown" Sugar" or especially "Start Me Up". But it grew on me. Still don't like the thin guitar sound and the drum sounds that much.

So, that's my Stones story.

Great story Micawber,also thanks to all who are posting this is turning out to be very warm thoughtful thread with sincere sentiment. Keep them coming !!

1965 when I heard SATISFACTION in my father's jukeBox.

My older brother had a few Stones albums, circa 1981, '82. At first I didnt like Tattoo You but repeated listens changed that altogether. Nowadays I almost regret that I came in that late, at what I consider the last time they were at the top of their game (after that they never quite managed to make records that good, I think, although I enjoy most of the later albums to various degrees).
In the summer of 1982 me and a friend shirked school and stealthily went to see the Stones at Feyenoord stadium, against the explicit will of our parents. We could hardly see the tiny figures moving on the stage in the distance and the sound was not that good either, but the experience -and that summer- is forever etched in my memory. It seemed that everybody liked the Stones at the time, their records were played in the streets and shopping malls, it really felt like they were the greatest band around alright.

It began in 1982 for me when i was 17, i went to the record section at Woolworths and bought the double album Rolled Gold.
By the time i finished playing the final side with Gimme Shelter and SFTD i was hooked, it was like i heard music , real music for the first time.
When i was very young i played my Dads old 45's and he had GOOMC , the B side was "The Singer Not the Song", he also had Satisfaction with the B side 'The Spider and the Fly' so i guess that wet my apatite at a very young age.

My story began in 1976, aged 9 in my hometown of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

My parents were then in their mid 30s and used to have people round for drinks a lot and my dad played all his records. He’d recently bought the Stones Compilation Rolled Gold but only ever used to play the same 4 songs - It’s all over now, The Last Time, Satisfaction and Cloud. I was already quite into the Beatles - their red and blue best of albums both being played to death. But I knew they’d split up and I felt a bit sad about that.

I knew the Stones were from the same era from the Rolled Gold sleeve notes. I asked my dad when the Stones split up and he said they’re still going. This increased my fascination with them. This was long pre internet and mass ownership of video players and at that time the Stones really didn’t get that much media exposure and were largely seen as hasbeens.

Fast forward to 1981 and out comes Start Me Up and some exposure on the Top of the Pops TV Show. I thought - wow, they’re nearly 40 and they’ve still got it. I moved South to Swindon later that year with family for economic reasons. Scotland took a pasting in the early 80s recession. My original Lanarkshire accent has barely budged an inch and I’m 52 next month

Some guys in my year at school saw them at Wembley in 1982 but I wasn’t yet going to gigs by then. At school, someone played Rolled Gold from start to finish over and over in art classes and I became familiar with their 60s singles. My interest in the band continued to increase, though with little to cheer about for most of the 80s apart from the Undercover single and of course WW3 between the Glimmers. The US Tour and Steel Wheels album gave me hope of a follow up U.K. tour and my interest shot up. The 25 x 5 documentary was shown in U.K. around Christmas 1989 and I gained a strong sense of the band’s history, problems with Brian etc. I started buying up all the old albums, mostly on vinyl. Finally, finally a U.K. tour was anounced and A friend scored sone tickets and I was going to see the band I loved at the ripe old age of 23 for probably the only time ( ).

After a false start ( the gig was postponed by 6 weeks due to Keith cutting his finger at Hampden), I finally got to see them from a decent spot on the floor with the Steel Wheels Stage. When they burst on to the stage with SMU I just lost it - Jumping about like a total looney and everything fell out my pockets. When they played the opening bars of Ruby Tuesday I let out a huge loud squawk of joy to the bemusement of those nearby. I was savouring every last second of the occasion, “knowing” it would be my only ever show and I felt both happy and sad at the end.

For the next 3 or 4 years, I slowly bought up their entire back catalogue on a mixture of formats, completing it around 1994 when the Voodoo Lounge Tour began. 2 more shows on that tour which I thought was a late late career bonus.

Then BtB followed just 2 years after VL ended. That’s mad I thought. Still, happy for it to be happening. I booked to see them at Wembley in August 1998 only for all U.K. shows to be cancelled due to tax issues, just before I left for the 1998 World Cup to follow Scotland. While in Paris I got a phone number for the Stones’ Stade de France show tickets and returned the next month for my 1st show abroad. This fortuitously kicked off a love of travelling abroad to see them, which has cost me a pound or 10,000 I saw them in Poland and the Netherlands the same Summer. I was now a pretty huge fan, though not quite at Bjornulf and some others’ levels!

I’ve now seen them 18 times in the U.K. and 19 times abroad, in 10 different countries and travel to the US to see 3 shows in June, which will take me to a lifetime total of 40.

Strangely I don’t listen to the band that much at home nowadays but still love the thrill of seeing them live - as long as they can perform to a decent standard, that will never go away. I don’t buy any of these endless compilations and in fact the only output I’ve bought since the 2012 revival has been Blue and Lonesome. I never buy merchandise either.

Looking forward to Boston and New York. Tickets to follow nearer the time



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-24 19:44 by grzegorz67.

Started for me when seated around a black and white console tv with the family when they made their initial appearance on The Ed Sullivan show in 1964. A month shy of turning six, I was the youngest, and my oldest brother (rip) was a huge influence on my early fandom.
He continually kept me in the loop so to speak as the years passed, excitedly showing me every new album and explaining the songs (even teaching me one or two on the piano) and album covers, going into great detail explaining the lyrics of nearly every song.
Tables turned a bit as we got older and I started going to the live shows and buying the albums in the seventies. While he always remained a fan, his enthusiasm waned a bit as time went on (much to my disappointment) although I am thankful we got to go to a few shows together as huge fans during the '81 tour.

This band has created not only great music but helped create great relationships and life long memories for most of us. For me, that journey continues as I can't wait for the next tour and making more.

Honestly can't pinpoint anything truly specific, but here goes nothing...
I do remember around '66 when I was three or four and my aunt babysitting my sis, bro, and I and singing Satisfaction to us. And I remember Get Off My Cloud from around the same period - sort of a cloudy memory but probably heard it on the radio in my moms car. And I clearly remember when my older brother bought Sticky Fingers when it was released. Basically, I heard the Stones all the time on the radio and via my brother's records...they were always there lurking in the background.

I suppose I'd have to say that buying Made in the Shade in '75 when I was 12 sealed the deal. At the time, I had a crappy cheap record player of my own in my bedroom (unlike my brothers state of the art stereo system), and played that album ALL the time - I actually still have it! Then when Some Girls came out when I was 15, my older bro and I had a full on listening party...case of beer, spliffs, etc....listened start to finish repeatedly that day/night until it was embedded, and the album soon became a big part of the soundtrack to the summer of '78. Fast forward to 1981 Tattoo You and the first time I was about to see the Stones. I truly became obsessed in the months leading up to those shows and learned more about the Stones within that short time frame than I had my entire life - buying a variety of books and all of their past catalogue that I didn't already have.

Born in '63, the Stones (and Beatles) have always been a part of my life, and looking forward to what the next chapter brings with the new tour, and maybe/hopefully some brand new music!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Quote
grzegorz67
My story began in 1976, aged 9 in my hometown of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

My parents were then in their mid 30s and used to have people round for drinks a lot and my dad played all his records. He’d recently bought the Stones Compilation Rolled Gold but only ever used to play the same 4 songs - It’s all over now, The Last Time, Satisfaction and Cloud. I was already quite into the Beatles - their red and blue best of albums both being played to death. But I knew they’d split up and I felt a bit sad about that.

I knew the Stones were from the same era from the Rolled Gold sleeve notes. I asked my dad when the Stones split up and he said they’re still going. This increased my fascination with them. This was long pre internet and mass ownership of video players and at that time the Stones really didn’t get that much media exposure and were largely seen as hasbeens.

Fast forward to 1981 and out comes Start Me Up and some exposure on the Top of the Pops TV Show. I thought - wow, they’re nearly 40 and they’ve still got it. I moved South to Swindon later that year with family for economic reasons. Scotland took a pasting in the early 80s recession. My original Lanarkshire accent has barely budged an inch and I’m 52 next month

Some guys in my year at school saw them at Wembley in 1982 but I wasn’t yet going to gigs by then. At school, someone played Rolled Gold from start to finish over and over in art classes and I became familiar with their 60s singles. My interest in the band continued to increase, though with little to cheer about for most of the 80s apart from the Undercover single and of course WW3 between the Glimmers. The US Tour and Steel Wheels album gave me hope of a follow up U.K. tour and my interest shot up. The 25 x 5 documentary was shown in U.K. around Christmas 1989 and I gained a strong sense of the band’s history, problems with Brian etc. I started buying up all the old albums, mostly on vinyl. Finally, finally a U.K. tour was anounced and A friend scored sone tickets and I was going to see the band I loved at the ripe old age of 23 for probably the only time ( ).

After a false start ( the gig was postponed by 6 weeks due to Keith cutting his finger at Hampden), I finally got to see them from a decent spot on the floor with the Steel Wheels Stage. When they burst on to the stage with SMU I just lost it - Jumping about like a total looney and everything fell out my pockets. When they played the opening bars of Ruby Tuesday I let out a huge loud squawk of joy to the bemusement of those nearby. I was savouring every last second of the occasion, “knowing” it would be my only ever show and I felt both happy and sad at the end.

For the next 3 or 4 years, I slowly bought up their entire back catalogue on a mixture of formats, completing it around 1994 when the Voodoo Lounge Tour began. 2 more shows on that tour which I thought was a late late career bonus.

Then BtB followed just 2 years after VL ended. That’s mad I thought. Still, happy for it to be happening. I booked to see them at Wembley in August 1998 only for all U.K. shows to be cancelled due to tax issues, just before I left for the 1998 World Cup to follow Scotland. While in Paris I got a phone number for the Stones’ Stade de France show tickets and returned the next month for my 1st show abroad. This fortuitously kicked off a love of travelling abroad to see them, which has cost me a pound or 10,000 I saw them in Poland and the Netherlands the same Summer. I was now a pretty huge fan, though not quite at Bjornulf and some others’ levels!

I’ve now seen them 18 times in the U.K. and 19 times abroad, in 10 different countries and travel to the US to see 3 shows in June, which will take me to a lifetime total of 40.

Strangely I don’t listen to the band that much at home nowadays but still love the thrill of seeing them live - as long as they can perform to a decent standard, that will never go away. I don’t buy any of these endless compilations and in fact the only output I’ve bought since the 2012 revival has been Blue and Lonesome. I never buy merchandise either.

Looking forward to Boston and New York. Tickets to follow nearer the time

Great memories Gregorz , being a fellow Scot right there with you.

In 1978 when Some Girls came out. The first time I heard Miss You changed my musical tastes. I never paid any attention to the Stones before that. Before that it was always 70% Beatles and 30% random songs on heard on the radio. After hearing Some Girls album I started listening to all things Stones. Hot Rocks was my second album. I got more into Blues and Rock and never cared much at all about listening to the Beatles again. They became boring to me basically overnight.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-03-24 21:46 by stanlove.

Quote
SomeGuy
My older brother had a few Stones albums, circa 1981, '82. At first I didnt like Tattoo You but repeated listens changed that altogether. Nowadays I almost regret that I came in that late, at what I consider the last time they were at the top of their game (after that they never quite managed to make records that good, I think, although I enjoy most of the later albums to various degrees).
In the summer of 1982 me and a friend shirked school and stealthily went to see the Stones at Feyenoord stadium, against the explicit will of our parents. We could hardly see the tiny figures moving on the stage in the distance and the sound was not that good either, but the experience -and that summer- is forever etched in my memory. It seemed that everybody liked the Stones at the time, their records were played in the streets and shopping malls, it really felt like they were the greatest band around alright.

.

You can never come in too late !! and they were the Greatest Band around and they still Ain't bad now.

It was the start of the New Zealand summer of 1984.

My best friend Malcolm owned a light blue Toyota Corolla Station wagon, and we would spend hours each days as 17 years old driving the streets of our small NZ town - Rotorua, listening to his cassette collection - lots of Genesis and some Phil Collins springs to mind, probably with some Van Halen thrown in too...

One particular sunny weekend day we were driving north up Fenton Street (the main street in Rotorua) and he flipped a cassette over to side 2...and on came BITCH!! That was the moment my life changed forever. I was hooked!!

At around the same time I bought She's the Boss on cassette and they were giving away copies of Undercover on Vinyl with it (Obviously not a big seller in NZ at that point) - and that was my first Stones record. Whenever my parents were out I would put it on, & turn it up to 10! Pretty Beat Up, Too Tough etc were just great tracks for a 17 year old boy...

I would then borrow the odd LP from the library and tape it, or pick up the odd 2nd hand LP and slowly over time I had a Beer crate full of records and before you know it...25 years later I have the madness which is my Voodoo Lounge....

Cheers
Richard - In Another Land

Quote
rcfoxy
It was the start of the New Zealand summer of 1984.

My best friend Malcolm owned a light blue Toyota Corolla Station wagon, and we would spend hours each days as 17 years old driving the streets of our small NZ town - Rotorua, listening to his cassette collection - lots of Genesis and some Phil Collins springs to mind, probably with some Van Halen thrown in too...

One particular sunny weekend day we were driving north up Fenton Street (the main street in Rotorua) and he flipped a cassette over to side 2...and on came BITCH!! That was the moment my life changed forever. I was hooked!!

At around the same time I bought She's the Boss on cassette and they were giving away copies of Undercover on Vinyl with it (Obviously not a big seller in NZ at that point) - and that was my first Stones record. Whenever my parents were out I would put it on, & turn it up to 10! Pretty Beat Up, Too Tough etc were just great tracks for a 17 year old boy...

I would then borrow the odd LP from the library and tape it, or pick up the odd 2nd hand LP and slowly over time I had a Beer crate full of records and before you know it...25 years later I have the madness which is my Voodoo Lounge....

loving the stories.

The place was an army camp called Cwrt-y-gollen near Crickhowell in Wales - Aug 1973 when I heard and recorded Angie on TOTP on my portable cassette recorder with the mic propped up in front of the TV speaker - 2 weeks later I heard GHS and esp Heartbreaker - that was it - Eddie done and dusted.

Quote
EddieByword
The place was an army camp called Cwrt-y-gollen near Crickhowell in Wales - Aug 1973 when I heard and recorded Angie on TOTP on my portable cassette recorder with the mic propped up in front of the TV speaker - 2 weeks later I heard GHS and esp Heartbreaker - that was it - Eddie done and dusted.

Superb Eddie. Heartbreaker is sublime .Can relate to that. From that Album Winter blew me away. Come up to Scotland sometime we need to share a beer and some tunes from my Attic.

Quote
Tonstone

Quote
grzegorz67
My story began in 1976, aged 9 in my hometown of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

My parents were then in their mid 30s and used to have people round for drinks a lot and my dad played all his records. He’d recently bought the Stones Compilation Rolled Gold but only ever used to play the same 4 songs - It’s all over now, The Last Time, Satisfaction and Cloud. I was already quite into the Beatles - their red and blue best of albums both being played to death. But I knew they’d split up and I felt a bit sad about that.

I knew the Stones were from the same era from the Rolled Gold sleeve notes. I asked my dad when the Stones split up and he said they’re still going. This increased my fascination with them. This was long pre internet and mass ownership of video players and at that time the Stones really didn’t get that much media exposure and were largely seen as hasbeens.

Fast forward to 1981 and out comes Start Me Up and some exposure on the Top of the Pops TV Show. I thought - wow, they’re nearly 40 and they’ve still got it. I moved South to Swindon later that year with family for economic reasons. Scotland took a pasting in the early 80s recession. My original Lanarkshire accent has barely budged an inch and I’m 52 next month

Some guys in my year at school saw them at Wembley in 1982 but I wasn’t yet going to gigs by then. At school, someone played Rolled Gold from start to finish over and over in art classes and I became familiar with their 60s singles. My interest in the band continued to increase, though with little to cheer about for most of the 80s apart from the Undercover single and of course WW3 between the Glimmers. The US Tour and Steel Wheels album gave me hope of a follow up U.K. tour and my interest shot up. The 25 x 5 documentary was shown in U.K. around Christmas 1989 and I gained a strong sense of the band’s history, problems with Brian etc. I started buying up all the old albums, mostly on vinyl. Finally, finally a U.K. tour was anounced and A friend scored sone tickets and I was going to see the band I loved at the ripe old age of 23 for probably the only time ( ).

After a false start ( the gig was postponed by 6 weeks due to Keith cutting his finger at Hampden), I finally got to see them from a decent spot on the floor with the Steel Wheels Stage. When they burst on to the stage with SMU I just lost it - Jumping about like a total looney and everything fell out my pockets. When they played the opening bars of Ruby Tuesday I let out a huge loud squawk of joy to the bemusement of those nearby. I was savouring every last second of the occasion, “knowing” it would be my only ever show and I felt both happy and sad at the end.

For the next 3 or 4 years, I slowly bought up their entire back catalogue on a mixture of formats, completing it around 1994 when the Voodoo Lounge Tour began. 2 more shows on that tour which I thought was a late late career bonus.

Then BtB followed just 2 years after VL ended. That’s mad I thought. Still, happy for it to be happening. I booked to see them at Wembley in August 1998 only for all U.K. shows to be cancelled due to tax issues, just before I left for the 1998 World Cup to follow Scotland. While in Paris I got a phone number for the Stones’ Stade de France show tickets and returned the next month for my 1st show abroad. This fortuitously kicked off a love of travelling abroad to see them, which has cost me a pound or 10,000 I saw them in Poland and the Netherlands the same Summer. I was now a pretty huge fan, though not quite at Bjornulf and some others’ levels!

I’ve now seen them 18 times in the U.K. and 19 times abroad, in 10 different countries and travel to the US to see 3 shows in June, which will take me to a lifetime total of 40.

Strangely I don’t listen to the band that much at home nowadays but still love the thrill of seeing them live - as long as they can perform to a decent standard, that will never go away. I don’t buy any of these endless compilations and in fact the only output I’ve bought since the 2012 revival has been Blue and Lonesome. I never buy merchandise either.

Looking forward to Boston and New York. Tickets to follow nearer the time

Great memories Gregorz , being a fellow Scot right there with you.

Nae bother Big Man! There are a good few Scots posting on here.

It’s a simple yet excellent thread title, Tonstone. Probably the majority of those who post on here are 2nd generation fans or later, people who’ve discovered them long after the big hits dried up and their principal activity touring with the odd album in between. In my own case my parents are the same age as the band, their respective birthdays sandwiched between Charlie’s and Mick’s.

What is very clear is that they are continually attracting new young fans all the time which is remarkable given their ages and lack of new material. A few weeks ago, I got an email from my 15yo nephew asking for some band photos and when they were next likely to tour the U.K. because one of his classmates was getting into them. Having done the whole tour minus 3 shows last year I happily obliged.

It is not rare to see family groups spanning 3 generations attending gigs. Even Mick recently said he was absolutely baffled by the continuing huge popularity of the band but he can’t be sorry .

I remember seeing the Emotional Rescue video on Solid Gold here in the U.S. when I was eleven years old. Loved the hook and went out to get it a couple of days later. I also picked up Hot Rocks at the same time. I thought Emotional Rescue was great (and still do!) but Hot Rocks totally blew me away! Started buying bootlegs from a guy in Harvard Square and haven't looked back. 500+ albums, 150+ singles, 300+ cds later and I'm still digging 'em!

I was really hoping the negotiations for a free concert on Boston City Hall Plaza before the 1981 tour would come together, but they fell through. Didn't get to see them until 1989. seen them 19 times now, with #20 coming up in June. The best show I have ever seen was the Roseland Ballroom show in 2002, right up front on Keith's side!

1964

It was summer of 1970 or 71. My friend Gale's older brother had 2 spare tickets to MSG for the Stones concert. Back then they did 2 shows a day, and it was for the evening show. I was 14 or 15, and I asked my dad if I could go see The Rolling Stones in the city (I lived in NJ) and he said no! SO being the brat that I was I said OK, see ya later, I'm going to Gale's house and I went to see the Stones anyway!

We got 2nd or 3rd row seats and very close to the stage. We were standing on the chairs the entire show dancing and screaming. SO it was MICK's birthday and they brought out a cake and MICK had a bottles of champagne, he shook it up and sprayed it into the crowd. Since we were right in front. my head and shirt got sprayed with MICK's champagne! That night I fell in love with the 2 MICK's! SO when I got home my father smelled the booze on me he was mad about me drinking, so I told him the truth and he was so relieved I wasn't drunk that he wasn't even mad that I went to the show! It was my first concert and I am still in love with the 2 MICK's!

Wow. Thinking about this makes me feel like I been around forever. My being taken by the Stones was in 1964. Time Is On My Side, Little Red Rooster and Heart of Stone were the bait. The Last Time is what really hooked me. Love this song and still think it is one of the hardest/toughest songs the Stones have ever done. Then, in 1965, Satisfaction committed me to the Stones, like it did for many folks.

Oct 18 1981, Candlestick Park

It was 1973, and I was Beatle-mad because my sister had left her Beatle LPs at home when she went to college--that and a regular listener to AM radio. My next-door neighbor was also Beatle-mad but was 16-18 months older than I was (a big deal in pre-teen years) and had bought Goat's Head Soup. He told me, "I think we should listen to these guys." Then I saw the clips on Don Kirchner's Rock Concert, and that was it. Repeat 1974: Bought IORR and saw the clips. Saw them at the LA Forum in 1975, age 12 (thanks Mom and Dad for letting me go. I saw Harrison the year before).

I grew up listening to Top 40 AM radio as a little kid in the '60s. I always preferred rock and soul songs that were not slow ballads, so "Satisfaction," "Jumping Jack Flash," "Honky Tonk Women," and "Brown Sugar" appealed to me. The first time I became aware of the Stones' image was a 1972 issue of "Life" magazine that had a picture of Mick in a jumpsuit. There was a photo of him using a child's water color set to apply as eyeshadow. They were also on "The Dick Cavett Show" the same year. I didn't buy any albums until a few years later, or see a concert until the Voodoo Lounge tour. It seemed too inconvenient and expensive to see the Stones, but it seemed like a good idea to see them before they got too old to tour (back in 1994).