Adapted from my FB page.

May 1976 was an absolute dream if you lived in London and loved rock music.
Within one month I got to see four of the greatest acts ever, David Bowie, Patti Smith, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

The Stones had announced six shows at Earl's Court and as you can imagine, tickets sold out in a few hours.

The gigs would give us a chance to see new boy Ronnie Wood, following the departure of Mick Taylor, and find out if they were still the greatest live band in the world and able to compete with the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Who.
The just released Black And Blue album had been given a luke warm response by critics and the previous one, It’s Only Rock’n’Roll only fared marginally better – both in critical reaction and in terms of record sales.

Tickets were like gold dust and although I only managed to get them for two shows, nothing was going to stop me seeing as many as possible.
Back in those days you could still use cunning and subterfuge to get into gigs – there was none of the highbrow security that we have today – and that’s exactly what I did.

The opening night was on Friday May 21 and for that my friend Chris managed to get me a spare. It wasn’t a great seat – on the side in an upper section – but it gave me an insatiable taste to see them up close in the arena.
For the May 22 I had a ticket and it was also on the side but in a lower section so a slightly better view.

The third night I missed as Jeff Beck was playing a secret show at The Roundhouse, as an unnamed support to Alvin Lee of all people. And on the Monday there was a break.

So there were three gigs left and I didn’t have tickets for any of them but here’s where the story revs up. I still went up to Earl’s Court each late afternoon to try and get lucky.

As chance would have it, two girls I’d met at a Who show in Paris were now working for a security firm called Sturico who were working the shows.
And amazingly, they were in charge of roping in volunteers each night who would then don a Sturico t-shirt and marshall the fans to their seats and in return would be allowed to stay and view the show while working as seat ushers.
So, on the Tuesday night I got in as security and managed to hold a position half way down in the arena. Things were getting better.

The next night I brought along my camera, did exactly the same thing but as soon as the lights went down I stealthily jumped over a few rows of seats, took off my security t-shirt and began to take photos.

The last night, and my fifth of the six gigs, was the best by far. That morning I’d had to undergo serious dental drilling to have two caps fitted and after leaving the surgery I took a bus down to Earls Court to meet my mate, Chris.
They had to pump me up with so much novocaine that by the time I got to Earls Court I felt as if I’d been out on the tiles with Keith. The right side of my mouth felt at least three feet outside my head.

I spotted the Sturico girls but they couldn’t get both of us in. Instead, they opened a side door for us and advised us to go to the top of the building and lie low until the doors officially opened at 7pm. And as chance would have it, we actually heard the band rehearsing but feared moving from the rafters lest we were caught.

At about 7.15pm we carefully made our way down the stairs and mingled with the crowd, looking out for suitable entry points. We decided to wait until just before showtime and enjoyed a few beers.

I’d taken my trusty jumble sale Agfa camera with me and then recognised another security guard who’d got in with me earlier in the week. We nodded and he turned a blind eye as Chris and I slipped into the crowd and headed for the front AA section of the arena.

That night as soon as the lights went out the crowd got up and rushed the stage. The seats were now irrelevant and we were able to squeeze into the second row and watch the entire show from there. It was absolutely out of this world being able to see the band from mere feet away and I managed to reel off two rolls of film with the pictures coming out pretty good, for an amateur snapper.

So now about the gig itself. Any doubts that the Stones could still cut it were quickly dismissed as the lights went down and Keith started repeating the famous intro to Honky Tonk Women.

We still couldn’t see the band as they were behind a lotus like stage structure whose petals then opened up to reveal Mick hanging from the top of one of the leaves as it slowly lowered to reveal the band.

It was a sensational start featuring one of their best loved songs and the place went nuts. After that the band had the crowd in their hands and the even the new material off Black And Blue went down a storm.

During the third song, Hand Of Fate, something remarkable happened and no one believes me until I show the photo. It’s one of my all-time favourite Stones songs and I brazenly got up to try and get a snap of Mick as he approached the front of the stage.

By this point I’d managed to wriggle to the very front, stage centre, and unbelievably, Mick saw me as the petal he was on was descending. He gave me a cheeky smile, clapped and carried on without missing a beat.
That gave me the confidence to shoot some more pix, including a hilarious dance routine with keyboard player Billy Preston.

All the new material off Black And Blue was dispensed of by the seventh song and from then on it was hit after hit as the band played stunning versions of You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Happy, Tumbling Dice, Midnight Rambler, Jumping Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man and that night, an encore of Sympathy For The Devil – a song they didn’t play every night.

Ronnie Wood passed his UK debut shows with flying colours, undoubtedly the ultimate visual foil for Keith with their guitar playing seamlessly weaving together.

In retrospect the shows are now seen as the last played in the UK with that old 70s swagger and they remain among the very best of the 47 I’ve seen the Stones play. Photo copyright Mike Baess

Incredible. Mick Jagger's smile is a personal and genuine one -- a 1-1 human connection. What an experience, memory and old-school real film photograph.

Great story! Reminds me of how in the 80s a friend of mine sneaked me into some shows (Floyd, Zappa, among others) pretending I was part of the stage crew ...

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Silver Dagger
The third night I missed as Jeff Beck was playing a secret show at The Roundhouse, as an unnamed support to Alvin Lee of all people.

Ten Years After were huge in the mid-70s so Alvin Lee sure was a hot act to see in 1976. Therefore, not surprising to me that he was the headliner and Jeff Beck was only the support act. Not a bad pairing anyway. Thinking of my peers and me round that time, the folks who liked TYA and the folks who like JB were pretty much the same people. (Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer live, which must have been recorded round that time, also was a very popular album.)

BTW, the Jeff Beck/Alvin Lee show at the Roundhouse happened exactly 50 years ago today!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-05-23 19:11 by doitywoik.

Fantastic post Silver Dagger, and that is one immortal photo.
The Earls Court set on the new B&B is awesome.

Great story, cool photo - cheers Mike. Now if you could tell us about that 'Oo gig, though...

Absolute legend. Am honoured to have gotten COVID from you!

Love it! Keep 'em coming, Mike

Thanks for sharing! I love reading personal Stones-related testimonies. It must have been a diffrent time being able to move around the venue like that without some sort of 'all access pass.' I do have Nobby Clark's photo book from Earls Court, really like the photos in that one. Have you taken pics at other gigs as well in the 70s? If the quality ain't that bad, you can consider releasing a book combining pictures and memories.

Great story!

Mathijs

Mike. Great account and pic. What I remember most is how bad the sound was. There seemed to be a major echo going on from where I was seated - I think Charlie (?) confirmed that in an interview. The soundboard recording sounds fine. I was so disappointed by my first Stones gig that I bought tickets for Knebworth, which was a whole different story.

Amazing read Silver Dagger! What an adventure.

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johnnythunders
Mike. Great account and pic. What I remember most is how bad the sound was. There seemed to be a major echo going on from where I was seated - I think Charlie (?) confirmed that in an interview. The soundboard recording sounds fine. I was so disappointed by my first Stones gig that I bought tickets for Knebworth, which was a whole different story.

Interview with Keith from Melody Maker, January 1979:

MM: "The last time you played in England you got criticised because of the bad sound."
KR: "Well, when we were playing at Earl's Court it wasn't until the last night they realised that the balcony there was solid steel, behind the plaster, and that's where the weird echo was coming from. I helps a band like Pink Floyd, when you want a very spacey sound, but for a band like us that uses a lot of middle and bottom - forget it, there's no way you can get the sound across. It just sounds like an endless feedback. But I know we were playing good at Earl's Court, and I'm the first to say when we're playing bad, I'll tell ya. I have the tapes from Earl's Court and those shows were some of the best on the tour."

Thanks for clarifying, The Worst

Thanks for clarifying, The Worst

Great story SD - I was there too, just for the first night about 2/3 of the way back on the floor. I remember having to send off a postal order for three tickets - £12 with a self addressed envelope.

I got back two for Friday and one for Tuesday. I came up from Swansea with my sister on Friday and my brother-in-law went on the Tuesday.
I remember staying at my sister's mother-in-law's in Sutton and dreaming the whole thing again, (or so it seemed)......
The only downer was having to leave half way through Sympathy to get the tube to Victoria for the last train to Sutton.

Your's sounds like my mate Don from Ireland. He hung around Earl's court all week and actually got in all six nights.

The Who was a day to remember too. I was 16 and used to sell programs for Swansea football club which meant I had a pass and could get in matches for nothing.

On Who day (12th June), being ticketless, just chancing it, I flashed my Swans pass on the turnstile, the guy said ok and just being really cheeky, I said "and my mates" (five more).................he said ok.....

When the Who came back to the new Swans stadium in 2007, Roger Daltrey remembered '76 and (because the old stadium was next to the prison) tongue in cheek, begrudingly, remembered that the prisoners had had a free show.

Then the clowns on the Centre court at the Wimbledon tennis final - "Stones for Knebworth" and.......

As you say, the bands and the legendary summer heat of '76 - a year to remember.

The Sex Pistols also played Swansea's Dirty Dora's that year too - I missed that though...



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2026-05-26 13:51 by EddieByword.

Great story.
I was also at the last concert at Earls Court, didn’t realise there was sound issues, but as stated it was sorted out for the last night.

Knebworth I would say is my 2nd favourite with only Birmingham odeon in 73 beating it, but that’s mainly due to being my first stones concert and seeing Mick Taylor playing.

I was at one of the Earls Court shows, my friends and I managed to get about six tickets for different nights and we divvied them up between us. All I remember now is the energy of the crowd, having a wonderful time, and my friend bellowing @#$%& when he arrived home the next night. Happy Daze!

[Sorry--what he was bellowing was Starf*cker.]

Some great photos here:

[www.msn.com]

I too was at one of the Earls' Court shows - half a century ago.

We were at the Wednesday 26th May show and were in Block 84, Seats G19 and G20.

The seats were about as high up near the roof as you could possibly get - from memory there were no more than 2 or 3 rows behind us. It was as well that we'd taken my binoculars with!!

But being so high up and so near the back wall, it meant that we were sitting very close to the solid walls from which the infamous echo was being bounced. Because we were so close, we did not at any point notice any echo.

A splendid time was had by all.

It was also my first trip back to that part of London. If you came out of Earls' Court and walked along the road for about 600m (thanks Google) Warwick Road turns into Finborough Road - and that's where I lived until about 1959.

Go another 600m, and one road East, and you're in Edith Grove.. 'nuff said.

Captain Corella

This is something that makes IORR such a great place to visit. Thank you, Mike. And yeah, keep 'em coming!

- Doxa

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CaptainCorella
I too was at one of the Earls' Court shows - half a century ago.

The seats were about as high up near the roof as you could possibly get - from memory there were no more than 2 or 3 rows behind us. It was as well that we'd taken my binoculars with!!

But being so high up and so near the back wall, it meant that we were sitting very close to the solid walls from which the infamous echo was being bounced. Because we were so close, we did not at any point notice any echo.

With a few friends, I was at the Saturday night Bob Dylan show at Earl's court, June 1978. We were also 'upstairs', right at the back, in the centre, opposite the stage with the back wall immediately behind us - as you say, the sound was fine....

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CaptainCorella
I too was at one of the Earls' Court shows - half a century ago.

We were at the Wednesday 26th May show and were in Block 84, Seats G19 and G20.

The seats were about as high up near the roof as you could possibly get - from memory there were no more than 2 or 3 rows behind us. It was as well that we'd taken my binoculars with!!

But being so high up and so near the back wall, it meant that we were sitting very close to the solid walls from which the infamous echo was being bounced. Because we were so close, we did not at any point notice any echo.

A splendid time was had by all.

It was also my first trip back to that part of London. If you came out of Earls' Court and walked along the road for about 600m (thanks Google) Warwick Road turns into Finborough Road - and that's where I lived until about 1959.

Go another 600m, and one road East, and you're in Edith Grove.. 'nuff said.

I meant to include stuff about the agonies of ticket buying in the 1970's.

Young people these days think that times are hard when they have to queue online for an hour or so, and put up with the Captialistic phenomenon of so called Dynamic Pricing etc etc.

Try this for agony... In the 70's the shows get announced and to get a ticket you have to write (remember that anyone?) an application and send if off in an envelope (remember those?) with a stamp on it - often including a return envelope - and also (in the UK) include a Postal Order for the tickets you hope to buy.

The snag there is that you could only get those at Post Offices - so that's an extra layer of stress - and you have to (in effect) pre-pay for the tickets, even if you fail to get one. (But you did get the Postal Order back). You post the letter. And wait. And then you wait. And after that you wait.

Usually a couple of months. And then your self addressed envelope arrives back home.... and you open it hoping there are tickets inside.

That whole nonsense took months - not the few hours that youngsters whinge about these days.

(Slightly seriously.... I started to think about the organisation, and the scale of it, behind the handling of tens of thousands of tickets back at some promoter's office/barn/warehouse. How the <expletive> did they do that?!)

Captain Corella

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johnnythunders
Mike. Great account and pic. What I remember most is how bad the sound was. There seemed to be a major echo going on from where I was seated - I think Charlie (?) confirmed that in an interview. The soundboard recording sounds fine. I was so disappointed by my first Stones gig that I bought tickets for Knebworth, which was a whole different story.

I agree but on the last 2 nights I got to hear the sound at the front, coming off their own amps and it made a hell of a difference - as you can hear on the official release that came with the Black And Blue box set.

Great story. Have you posted the pictures you took??