Did YOU see the Stones at McIlroy’s?

In those days they were relatively smartly dressed, in a scruffy sort of way; there may even have been a loosened tie or two among their number. But the hair – and this will shock you – curled rebelliously over their collars, prompting that Brilliantine body of upstanding though clearly rattled gentlemen, the National Federation of Hairdressers to scoff: “One of them even looks as if he’s got a feather duster on his head.”

It is half-a-century since The Rolling Stones, those hideous tearaways, played Swindon; not once, not twice but on three occasions all within the space of six months and all at the same venue, McIlroys Ballroom, the dancehall located within the town’s most prominent (though now sadly deceased) retail establishment.

Avid Stones fan Richard Houghton, from Preston, is keen to hear from anyone who attended any of the shows for the crucial purpose of recording their recollections for a book he is writing.

There must be hundreds out there – including some one-time “feral, body-snatching girls,” as Keith Richard once put it – who saw the Stones in Swindon and who would now be aged roughly between 65 and 75.

Says Richard: “There are loads of books and articles on the Stones but very little has been written about their earliest fans. Many – like the Stones themselves – must have some great stories to tell.

“The country was going through a huge period of change after the post war austerity years and the Stones and their fans were part of that change.

“I’m really interested to hear from anyone who went to any of these concerts – who they went with, what they remember of the shows – and if they have any photos of themselves or souvenirs from the gigs stored away somewhere.”

Richard, who has been working on the project since August, goes on: “I’ve already had over 300 people from around the UK contact me. It would be great to get some recollections from those Swindon shows.”

Having begun at the pubs and clubs of London and its suburbs in 1962, the Stones ventured forth over the next couple of years, performing more than 300 shows including their hat-trick at Mac’s, as it was commonly referred to. Two months before their first Swindon gig on Thursday, November 21, 1963 – that’s right, the night before Kennedy’s assassination – the Rolling Stones recorded a little known Chuck Berry song, Come On.

Within a few weeks the track – in which Berry’s original line of “some stupid jerk” was rather quaintly and unrebelliously replaced with “some stupid guy” to ensure airplay – wormed its way into the UK charts at 21.

Desperately foraging for a second 45, Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham fortuitously bumped into John Lennon and Paul McCartney as they emerged from a cab in the Charing Cross Road. “We need a hit,” he moaned over a subsequent pint. “Have one of ours,” responded the Scousers. I Wanna Be Your Man was released exactly three weeks before the Swindon show and eventually reached Number 12 – thus ensuring, you would have thought, a packed Mac’s.

According to Richard only around 200 hardy Swindon beat fans “reportedly” made the gig, which included a support set from Frankie Roy and the Soundcasters. A BBC nostalgia website, however, reckons the 2,000 capacity joint was rammed as well as rocking.

On hand to report the proceedings, the Adver was especially taken with the dandy from Cheltenham, saying of Brian Jones: “His command of the style is authoritative, and he managed to achieve a mellow, amplified sound where most West Country ‘rock’ groups only muster a harsh twang."

Less than two months later the Stones – now rated Sixth Best British Vocal Group by NME readers – were back in town on the cusp of a growing notoriety, their “unwashed” appearance by then well under the skin of a befuddled Establishment.

Their Thursday night show on January 17, 1964, prompted short-lived local publication The Swindon Echo to enthuse: “Great night – Rolling Stones send fans wild.”

The queues outside Mac’s crawled way down Regent Street and the arrival of the band in a “lipstick-scrawled” van saw them mobbed by a horde of rampaging Swindon teenies.

Admission was seven shillings and sixpence (about 40p) and the band was supported by local group The Hummelflugs (are you still alive boys?). A satisfied ballroom manager Mr T McCann was quoted: “A capacity crowd, with several hundred turned away. Easily the best night since we began our Thursday club last autumn.”

In between this and the final Swindon show on Thursday, April 9, 1964 – when the hysteria was upped a notch or two – the Stones recorded Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away in the rumble tumble jungle style of Bo Diddley, which clocked in at Number Three.

Richard says: “No complete record of exactly which songs they played at these gigs exists unless your readers can help.”

However, it would almost certainly have featured blues/r’n’b/rock’n’roll standards such as Walking The Dog, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Around and Around and You Better Move On as well as “the hits” Not Fade Away and I Wanna Be Your Man.”

A Stones fan since 15, he continues: “I am not old enough to remember them from the 60s but I do recall Mick Jagger strutting to Brown Sugar on Top of the Pops in 1971 wearing a baseball cap.”

Urging those who saw the Stones in Swindon to come forward, he adds: “It would be great to capture this slice of pop history while people are still around to tell the tale.”

So – to borrow the title of their first 45 – Come On; if you were there, let’s hear your recollections before, unlike the seemingly evergreen Stones, they fade away.

l Richard can be contacted directly at richardmhoughton@gmail.com or by letter at 32 Manor Avenue, Preston, PR2 8DN. If you wish to share your memories of The Stones in Swindon with the Adver then you can email us at leightonbarry@ymail.com. We will happily pass this on to Richard.

• TAX exile Charlie Watts returned to Britain, returned to Swindon and returned to his roots with a couple of gigs here during the late Seventies.

  Chilled out Charlie appeared with some seasoned jazz, r‘n’b and boogie woogie veterans at the Arts Centre in 1977 and 1978.

  On both occasions the drummer played alongside the late Ian ‘Stu’ Stewart, the Stones long-time session-man and spiritual leader. Sometimes this accomplished conglomerate of like-minded musos appeared under the guise of Rocket 88. But during the second Swindon show in January ’78 they called themselves Bob Hall’s Swindon Skiffle Group – a nod to their outstanding pianist’s hometown.

  The gig began with a new song Swindon Swing, written by trumpet player Colin Smith which later made it onto a Rocket 88 album. I know all this because I sent a review to the NME – “Watts not over-taxed in Swindon,” went the headline. They later coughed up 25 quid... not to be scoffed at then (or even now in these harsh climes.) As the applause faded Charlie hopped into a Heathrow-bound cab to resume his French exile.

• RONNIE Wood. Are you joking? You mean THE Ronnie Wood. “That’s him,” grinned the Wiltshire Police media operative. A routine call to the constabulary’s press office suddenly woke me up. The guitarist had come a cropper on the M4 near Swindon in 1990 and was lucky, it transpired, to be alive. Woody’s BMW had broken down and, concerned that oncoming traffic was too close to his stranded vehicle crammed with family members, he ventured into the carriageway furiously waving arms. Two broken legs later after being clattered by a car, Wood was calling the shots at Princess Margaret Hospital demanding Guinness and insisting on being tended by only the best looking nurses. It’s the sort of thing you can only hope to get away with if you happen to play for The Rolling Stones.