¼-inch tape · 7½ ips · Dartford to Barnes

The Rolling Stones

The band in suits and sunglasses coming down the steps of a BEA plane — The Rolling Stones at Schiphol, 8 August 1964. Hugo van Gelderen (Anefo) · CC0

Mick Jagger in 1965, close up, hair over his forehead — Mick Jagger, 1965. V. K. Hietanen · Public domain

Keith Richards in 1965, smiling, in a dark jacket and tie — Keith Richards, 1965. Olavi Kaskisuo / Lehtikuva · Public domain

Take 1: Platform 2, 17 October 1961. Dartford station, platform 2.

A platform in Kent, a damp basement in Ealing, a back room in Richmond, a cinema in Barnes, a cinder-block studio in Alabama. Flick the stone and go and stand where they stood.

Seven stops · 1961–1967

Keep it rolling.

The band they formed the next year with Brian Jones took its name from a Muddy Waters song. Hold the button to wind up, let go to flick the stone. It rolls, slows and stops where it stops. Leave it sitting and see what it gathers.

The stone is at Dartford station, platform 2.

Two trains at the platforms of Dartford station under a footbridge — Dartford station platforms, May 2024. Peter Whatley · CC BY-SA 2.0

17 October 1961 · Station Approach, Dartford, Kent

Dartford station, platform 2

Two old school friends meet on a Dartford platform, one carrying Chess records, one a guitar.

Jagger was going to the London School of Economics with a pile of blues records; Richards was going to Sidcup Art College with his Hofner Cutaway guitar.

The records were Chuck Berry’s Rockin’ at the Hops and The Best of Muddy Waters, ordered from Chess Records in Chicago because they could not be bought in England.

A working station: the plaque is on platform 2. Trains from London Bridge, Charing Cross and Victoria take about half an hour.

Sources

The Ealing Club · 42A The Broadway · 7 April 1962

The Moist Hoist.

A blue plaque for the Ealing Club on a wall — The Ealing Club plaque, 2023. Spudgun67 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Run a finger over the wet glass, or wipe a stripe.

It was so damp that condensation dripped on the players and their gear. Musicians called it the Moist Hoist.

The club was a basement at 42A The Broadway, opposite Ealing Broadway station. Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated began a weekly rhythm and blues night here on 17 March 1962.

On 7 April 1962 Jagger and Richards came down and met Brian Jones, Ian Stewart and Charlie Watts, then Blues Incorporated’s drummer.

It later became a casino, then a nightclub, The Red Room. A blue plaque went up in 2012.

Now a nightclub. The blue plaque is outside, opposite Ealing Broadway station.

Sources

Marquee · Oxford Street · Thursday 12 July 1962

The Rollin’ Stones

Mick Jagger vocals
Keith Richards guitar
Elmo Lewis guitar
Dick Taylor bass
Ian Stewart piano
Mick Avory drums

The bill as advertised.

Oxford Street with shopfronts and a white van — Oxford Street, 2023. Radosław Botev · CC BY 3.0 PL

On 12 July 1962 the band played their first gig, at the Marquee on Oxford Street, billed as the Rollin’ Stones.

They stood in for Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, whose Thursday night clashed with a BBC Jazz Club broadcast. On stage: Jagger, Richards, Brian Jones (as Elmo Lewis), Dick Taylor on bass and Ian Stewart on piano. The drummer in the advance notice, Mick Avory, did not play. Charlie Watts was six months away.

The club opened on 19 April 1958 in the basement of the Academy Cinema at 165 Oxford Street, and moved to 90 Wardour Street in March 1964.

The club is long gone; this stretch of Oxford Street is shops. Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road are the nearest Tube stations.

Sources

Crawdaddy Club · Station Hotel · Sunday

British Rhythm &

Night

with The Rolling Stones

Richmond · 24 February 1963

Rhythm and Bules.

Gomelsky’s first poster spelt blues as “Bules”. Pick two letters to swap them.

Three people came on the first night.

On 24 February 1963 the band began a Sunday residency at Giorgio Gomelsky’s Crawdaddy Club, in the back room of the Station Hotel.

Three people came on the first night. Within a month the room was heaving. The plaque records that the Beatles first met the Stones here, on 14 April 1963.

When the brewery objected to the press reports of the nights, the club moved to the Richmond Athletic Association ground. The building is the rear extension of the old Station Hotel.

The plaque is on the building, a short walk from Richmond station.

Sources

A low painted building with One Kew Road on its front — The old Station Hotel extension, Kew Road, 2014. Le Deluge · CC BY-SA 3.0

Kew Road, Richmond

The Crawdaddy Club, Station Hotel

A narrow shopfront with Regent Sounds Studio over the window — Regent Sounds, Denmark Street, 2020. Michael Lazarev · CC BY-SA 4.0

January 1964 · Denmark Street

Regent Sounds, Denmark Street

In January 1964 the band recorded their debut album at Regent Sound. The guitar shop reopened in late September 2025, with the studio being restored behind it.

A guitar shop again, on Denmark Street by Tottenham Court Road station.

Sources

A Chelsea street of brick terraces and trees, yellow box junction in front — Edith Grove, Chelsea, 2010: the street, not the flat. Robin Sones · CC BY-SA 2.0

Chelsea · 1962

Edith Grove, Chelsea

Soon after the band formed in 1962, Jagger, Richards, Jones and their friend James Phelge shared a flat on Edith Grove. It was where they began writing their own songs.

A 2016 exhibition rebuilt the flat from the band’s memories, down to the empty beer bottles and the sink full of pans.

A private home: not open to visitors and not on the map.

Sources

West Wittering · Chichester · 1967

Sentenced. Then appealed.

A village lane and green in West Wittering under a blue sky — West Wittering village, 2007. Redlands is a private house: the village, not the house. Bob Parkes · CC BY-SA 2.0

On 12 February 1967 police raided Redlands, Keith Richards’ home in West Wittering.

Jagger, Richards and the art dealer Robert Fraser were charged. The trial was held at Chichester in late June. A private home: not open to visitors and not on the map.

Chichester Midsummer Quarter Sessions · Q/W1343

Mick JaggerThree months

Keith RichardsTwelve months

Two sentences. Take them to appeal.

Jagger was sentenced to three months and Richards to twelve; Robert Fraser got six. On appeal in late July 1967 Jagger’s sentence became a conditional discharge, and Richards’ conviction was overturned.

Sources

The band on a bare stage, guitars up, drum kit behind — The Rolling Stones on stage in The Hague, April 1967. Ben Merk (Anefo) · CC0

Chichester

West Sussex Record Office

The Record Office holds the papers of the 1967 Chichester Midsummer Quarter Sessions, reference Q/W1343.

A public archive in Chichester. To see the 1967 court papers, contact the Record Office in advance.

Sources

Hyde Park · Saturday 5 July 1969

Let them go.

The Serpentine lake in Hyde Park under a cloudy sky — The Serpentine, Hyde Park, 2023. Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Hold the button.

Brian Jones, blond fringe, looking straight at the camera in black and white — Brian Jones in Finland, June 1965. Olavi Kaskisuo / Lehtikuva · Public domain

Brian Jones had died two days earlier. The show became a tribute: Jagger read from Shelley’s Adonais.

Richards remembered sackfuls of white butterflies being set free. On 5 July 1969 the band played a free concert here to a crowd estimated at 500,000.

It was Mick Taylor’s first show with the band, about a month after he joined.

A Royal Park, free and open daily from early morning. Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner and Lancaster Gate are on its edges.

Sources

The band on a dark stage, Mick Jagger with both arms raised — Back in Hyde Park, 6 July 2013. Andrea Sartorati · CC BY 2.0

3614 Jackson Highway · Sheffield, Alabama · December 1969

A London band. Three days in Alabama.

A small concrete-block studio building with its address painted on the front — The studio front, 2022. A1bi · CC BY-SA 4.0

In December 1969 the Stones spent three days here in a break from touring and cut You Gotta Move, Brown Sugar and Wild Horses.

Three boxes on the console. Open them.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section set up the studio in Sheffield in 1969. The session is in the Maysles brothers’ film Gimme Shelter.

The Muscle Shoals Music Foundation bought the building in 2013 and restored it for visitors. It is run as a non-profit; tours, merchandise and sessions pay for its upkeep.

Guided tours of about 45 minutes, on the half hour from 10.30am to 3.30pm. Adults $25.

Sources

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio tour

Sheffield, Alabama · About 45 minutes · on the half hour, 10.30am–3.30pm · adults $25, seniors $22.50, children $12, under-5s free

A guided tour of the rooms where the Stones cut Brown Sugar and Wild Horses in December 1969. Groups of 20 or more get a lower rate if they book two weeks ahead.

Book a tour

GunRunner Boutique Hotel

Florence, Alabama

Ten suites in downtown Florence, Alabama, each named for the music, art and history of the Shoals, Muscle Shoals Sound among them. Seven have their own balcony. The studio recommends it to visitors.

Check suites

Stock cars lined up on an oval track under floodlights, with a small crowd in the stand — The Altamont track as a raceway, 2007. Gateman1997 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The same month · Altamont Speedway, California · 6 December 1969

On 6 December 1969 the band ended their American tour with a free concert at Altamont Speedway. During their set, 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was stabbed and killed near the stage by a Hells Angel, who was later acquitted on grounds of self-defence. Three other people died in accidents that day.

Not a place to visit: this page names it and leaves it off the map.

Sources

Villefranche-sur-Mer · Summer 1971

Down in the cellar.

Villa Nellcôte, Richards’ 16-room Belle Époque mansion in Villefranche-sur-Mer, was the main place Exile on Main St. was made, in the summer of 1971.

TruckCellar

The truck is in the drive. Run the cable down.

Richards rented the villa; the band had left Britain over tax. They worked in the basement, using a mobile recording truck. The album was finished in Los Angeles in early 1972.

A private villa: not open to visitors and not on the map. The harbour and old town of Villefranche are public.

Sources

Boats in the harbour at Villefranche-sur-Mer with hills behind — The harbour at Villefranche-sur-Mer, 2014. Juancolomina · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Villefranche-sur-Mer tours

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Live marketplace results for walks and boat trips around Villefranche harbour. Nellcôte itself is private.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

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Bronze statues of Mick Jagger singing and Keith Richards playing guitar — The Glimmer Twins, Dartford, 2025. Doyle of London · CC BY-SA 4.0

Home in bronze

09.08.2023

Amy Goodman’s bronzes, The Glimmer Twins, show Jagger and Richards mid performance.

They were unveiled at One Bell Corner on 9 August 2023. Bellway London paid £130,000 for them as part of a planning agreement. Dartford Borough Council commissioned them. Both men were born and raised in Dartford and went to Wentworth Primary School.

In the town centre, free and open at all hours; a ten-minute walk from the station.

Sources

Visit

Where it is now

10 places you can visit. Edith Grove, Redlands and Nellcôte are private homes, and Altamont is remembered for a death there: all four are named and left off the map.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working station: the plaque is on platform 2. Trains from London Bridge, Charing Cross and Victoria take about half an hour.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. In the town centre, free and open at all hours; a ten-minute walk from the station.

Dartford station platforms, May 2024. Peter Whatley · CC BY-SA 2.0
Station Approach, Dartford, Kent
Dartford station, platform 2
On 17 October 1961 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met properly on platform 2 at Dartford.
A working station: the plaque is on platform 2. Trains from London Bridge, Charing Cross and Victoria take about half an hour.
Sources
The Glimmer Twins, One Bell Corner, Dartford, April 2025. Doyle of London · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lowfield Street, Dartford town centre
The Glimmer Twins, One Bell Corner
Amy Goodman’s bronzes, The Glimmer Twins, show Jagger and Richards mid performance.
In the town centre, free and open at all hours; a ten-minute walk from the station.
Sources

Stay

Sleep near the studio.

A ten-suite hotel in Florence, Alabama, a short drive from Jackson Highway.

GunRunner Boutique Hotel

Florence, Alabama

Ten suites in downtown Florence, Alabama, each named for the music, art and history of the Shoals, Muscle Shoals Sound among them. Seven have their own balcony. The studio recommends it to visitors.

Check suites

Go there

Stand in the rooms.

The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio tour, and marketplace tours in London and Villefranche.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio tour

Sheffield, Alabama · About 45 minutes · on the half hour, 10.30am–3.30pm · adults $25, seniors $22.50, children $12, under-5s free

A guided tour of the rooms where the Stones cut Brown Sugar and Wild Horses in December 1969. Groups of 20 or more get a lower rate if they book two weeks ahead.

Book a tour

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Rolling Stones and rock tours in London

London

Live marketplace results for London rock-music walking tours, from Denmark Street to Soho. Check each itinerary for the Stones stops.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

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Villefranche-sur-Mer tours

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Live marketplace results for walks and boat trips around Villefranche harbour. Nellcôte itself is private.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

No dates yet.

There are no official tour or exhibition dates to list.

No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.

Take it home

A book, four records and four original posters.

Richards’ own book, four LPs tied to these places, and original concert and tour posters from our store.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

An original 1969 concert poster by David Byrd, 14 × 21.5 in, mint.

In stock

View poster

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Rolling Stones European Tour (1970)

An original 1970 tour poster by John Pasche, 25 × 38 in, mint.

In stock

View poster

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (1971)

An original 1971 poster, 23 × 33 in, mint.

In stock framed

View poster

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Rolling Stones American Tour (1972)

An original 1972 tour poster by John Pasche, 25 × 38 in, near mint.

In stock

View poster

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The sources

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

Search all places and Moments Current state Sort

14 of 14 places · 14 of 14 Moments

Dartford station, platform 2
Station Approach, Dartford, Kent
- Platform 2
  Two old school friends meet on a Dartford platform, one carrying Chess records, one a guitar.
The Glimmer Twins, One Bell Corner
Lowfield Street, Dartford town centre
- Home in bronze
  The Glimmer Twins are unveiled in Dartford.
The Ealing Club
42A The Broadway, Ealing W5
- The Moist Hoist
  Jagger and Richards go down to the Ealing Club and meet Brian Jones.
The Marquee, 165 Oxford Street
Oxford Street, London W1
- The Rollin’ Stones
  Their first gig, standing in at the Marquee on Oxford Street.
Edith Grove, Chelsea
World’s End, Chelsea
- The flat
  Four young men share a flat in Chelsea and start writing songs.
The Crawdaddy Club, Station Hotel
Kew Road and Parkshot, Richmond TW9
- Sunday nights
  A Sunday residency begins in the back room of the Station Hotel.
Regent Sounds, Denmark Street
4 Denmark Street, London WC2
- The first LP
  The debut album is recorded on Denmark Street.
Olympic Studios, Barnes
117–123 Church Road, Barnes SW13
- Barnes
  Work starts on Between the Buttons at Olympic.
Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London W2
- Butterflies
  A free concert two days after Brian Jones’ death, and Mick Taylor’s first.
West Sussex Record Office
3 Orchard Street, Chichester
- Chichester
  Jagger and Richards are tried and sentenced, then freed on appeal.
Redlands, West Wittering
West Wittering, West Sussex
- Redlands
  Police raid Richards’ house in West Wittering.
Villa Nellcôte, Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer, Côte d’Azur
- The cellar
  Exile on Main St. is made in a basement on the Riviera.
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
3614 Jackson Highway, Sheffield, Alabama
- Three days in Alabama
  Brown Sugar, Wild Horses and You Gotta Move are cut in Sheffield.
Altamont Speedway
Northern California
- Altamont
  The tour ends at Altamont, where Meredith Hunter is killed.

The Rolling Stones

Keep it rolling.

Dartford station, platform 2

The Moist Hoist.

Rhythm and Bules.

The Crawdaddy Club, Station Hotel

Regent Sounds, Denmark Street

Edith Grove, Chelsea

Sentenced. Then appealed.

West Sussex Record Office

Let them go.

A London band. Three days in Alabama.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio tour

GunRunner Boutique Hotel

Down in the cellar.

Villefranche-sur-Mer tours

Visit

Where it is now

Dartford station, platform 2

The Glimmer Twins, One Bell Corner

GunRunner Boutique Hotel

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio tour

Rolling Stones and rock tours in London

Villefranche-sur-Mer tours

Life

The Rolling Stones

Let It Bleed

Sticky Fingers

Exile on Main St.

Rolling Stones in Concert (1969)

Rolling Stones European Tour (1970)

Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (1971)

Rolling Stones American Tour (1972)

The sources

Dartford station, platform 2

Platform 2

The Glimmer Twins, One Bell Corner

Home in bronze

The Ealing Club

The Moist Hoist

The Marquee, 165 Oxford Street

The Rollin’ Stones

Edith Grove, Chelsea

The flat

The Crawdaddy Club, Station Hotel

Sunday nights

Regent Sounds, Denmark Street

The first LP

Olympic Studios, Barnes

Barnes

Hyde Park

Butterflies

West Sussex Record Office

Chichester

Redlands, West Wittering

Redlands

Villa Nellcôte, Villefranche-sur-Mer

The cellar

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

Three days in Alabama

Altamont Speedway

Altamont