The Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger and Keith Richard were schoolfriends who developed a mutual love of R&B and blues and adopted it to express their rebelliousness. The result? One of the greatest bands ever. Encouraged by UK bluesman Alexis Korner, the Rolling Stones built a following at the Crawdaddy, Richmond, settling into a line-up of Jagger, Richard, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Flamboyant manager Andrew Oldham signed them to Decca Records, marketing their controversial bad boy image, while Jagger/Richard established an explosive songwriting partnership. With hits like The Last Time, Little Red Rooster and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, they were rivalled only by The Beatles and survived lurid publicity and the mysterious 1969 death of ex-member Brian Jones. His replacement Mick Taylor quit in 1974 and Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood took over, while Bill Wyman left in 1992. The hits dried up but fans still flocked to their spectacular stage shows and the Stones legend lives on.