1964, and there's an up-and-coming band rocking the Town Hall...

FOR those of us of the Bay's 1960s generation fortunate enough to bag a ticket for the visit of The Rolling Stones to Torquay Town Hall the concert was unforgettable, writes Keith Perry.

Even though the band was still emerging as a force on the British music scene and at the time had just one album under their belts, they were already being hailed as a talent capable of matching The Beatles as a world music force.

They had recorded The Rolling Stones for Decca earlier in the year and the concert — a rare all-seater event — featured songs from it.

The Jagger-Richards songwriting partnership was in its infancy and the songs were mainly covers — Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away, Chuck Berry's Carol, Rufus Thomas's Walking the Dog and the album opener Route 66.

But each was performed in a way that was unique to The Stones.

Arriving on the back of their first, and not wildly successful, US tour, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts took the stage to a thunderous reception and were quickly rocking the rafters.

Whereas The Beatles concert at the Princess Theatre — the only other Bay music event on a par with this one — was largely drowned out by the screams of hysterical fans, The Stones' volume level was such that they had no problems in that department.

Anything we or the Town Hall had witnessed before — I think a Screaming Lord Sutch concert was one of my few experiences there — was tame by comparison.

This was a raw, high energy, high octane mix of rock and rhythm and blues from a band destined to fulfil the prophecies of greatness.

Jagger, who had already developed his trademark all-action stage presence, gave it 110 per cent and Richards, cigarette glued to his lips, was as laid back as he is today.

We left the Town Hall after the 90-minute set with our ears ringing, knowing we had been there at the dawn of a golden era for British music.

But none of us, on that hot August night in 1964, could have dreamt that 45 years down the road we would reach our own 60s with the Stones still rocking the world's largest and most famous venues.

This was The Rolling Stones' only visit to Torquay although they did return to Devon during the same era to play the ABC Exeter when they were supported by Steampacket, a blues 'supergroup' that featured Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger.