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Fact #188528

When:

Short story:

Rock arrives on the British festival scene, when The Rolling Stones play at the 3rd National Jazz Festival, Athletic Grounds, Richmond, UK, Europe. Also on the bill are Acker Bilk's Paramount Jazz band, Terry Lightfoot's Jazzmen, The Freddy Randall Band, The Blue Note Jazz band, Cyril Davies' All Stars, Long John Baldry and The Velvettes.

Full article:

Harold Pendleton: (Marquee Club owner) The National Jazz Festival had been inspired by The Newport Jazz Festival in America. We even had permission to use the same logo and lettering, but we saw it as a garden party for the jazz artists who had played at The Marquee Club through the year - sort of a day out in the country as a reward.

The Stones got to play on the Third Festival entirely by accident. They had a weekend residency at the Richmond Athletic Association Clubhouse but we needed the whole of the grounds for the Jazz Festival. I was friendly with their manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, so I agreed to pay them the thirty quid fee they'd lose, and said I'd let them play one set in the Clubhouse as a favour.

Terry Lightfoot (jazz band leader): My band was second on the bill that day, after Acker Bilk. The Stones were right at the bottom. They really were an indication that the dominance of trad jazz was about to come to an end. We were flabbergasted to see a band turn up with all that equipment, because jazz bands, of course, never used a PA.

Harold Pendleton: When we opened the gates, literally hundreds of squealing little girls, Stones fans, ran in. They crammed the Clubhouse and, even before the Stones started to play, the windows began to bulge. It was frightening. I moved them into the large marquee, where they eventually played to a crowd of 1,500, to storming waves of enthusiasm. I thought they were very good, if not up to the standard of the black American R'n'B stars I'd already seen in Chicago.

Terry Lightfoot: The rock bands were also beginning to push the jazz bands off the college circuit, so there was a lot of interest in seeing The Stones that day, but we were pleasantly surprised because they were so clearly rooted in the blues tradition and that set them apart from the general run of pop bands of the day.

Ronnie Wood: The tent was rocking. I was the last one out. I watched them pack up their gear and I saw Jagger kissing this bird, and I fell over this great big tent peg and smashed my leg.

Harold Pendleton: The Stones were an absolute sensation, but it was entirely unplanned. The following year I added a Friday night to the festival, made it an R'n'B night, they charged £1000 and had their name in lights. The Jazz Festival was turned upside down by this, which stunned everyone. From then on it was called the Jazz And Blues Festival.
(Source : not known)