Historic 10-inch acetate from the Rolling Stones’ first ever professional recording session at IBC Studios (International Broadcasting Company) in London, England, on March 11, 1963—one of only two surviving copies known to exist. Both sides of the disc feature red-and-white Universal Programmes Corporation labels with typed notations, “Rolling Stones, 33 ⅓ LP,” with one side featuring three tracks, ‘Bright Lights, Big City,’ ‘I Wanna Be Loved,’ and ‘Honey Whats Wrong,’ and the other side containing two tracks, ‘Diddley Daddy’ and ‘Road Runner.’ The side with three tracks is marked in grease pencil, “1-3,” and the disc features an extra drive hole, which is hidden beneath the label. Includes its original mocked-up cover sleeve with front cover imagery of standing boulders and upper text, which reads, “rhythm and blues with the rolling stones”; this mocked-up cover is significant in itself, as it is identical in the phrasing and lettering of the promotional materials the band were using at the Red Lion Pub in Sutton in late 1962, early 1963. The blank back cover is annotated in ink with a few names and phone numbers. In very good to fine condition, with light dampstaining to the label and sleeve, and a ding to the edge. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and a detailed letter of authenticity from renowned acetate specialist, Mark Erbach.
The line-up for the recording consisted of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and Ian Stewart, the latter’s relationship with producer and engineer Glyn Johns ultimately leading to this three-hour recording session. Stewart, who happened to be Johns’ flatmate, suggested that he hire his band—The Rolling Stones—to play a ‘Rhythm & Blues Night’ every Friday at the Red Lion Pub in Surrey. With Johns’ help, the Red Lion engagement commenced in November 1962.
Although Johns made a record or two in the early 1960s, his ambition was more focused on producing and recording at his workplace, IBC Studios in London. After a couple of months of the Red Lion gigs, Johns offered the Stones his studio expertise for this session at IBC. This was the start of a long-standing association with the band, however, it was not exactly a smooth take-off. At the beginning of May 1963, Johns chanced to run into the band outside IBC. Unbeknownst to him, the Stones had just bought back the original tape from the session on the advice of new managers, Easton and Oldham. The recording was played to Dick Rowe at Decca on May 6, 1963, and the group were subsequently signed to the label. A historically significant artifact tied to the genesis of the world’s greatest rock and roll band. Of the two original surviving examples of this historic recording, this is the better-conditioned recording.
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