Why were The Rolling Stones banned from Blackpool for almost half a century?
Poster boys of post-war rock rebellion, The Rolling Stones have always been afforded something of an infamous reputation on English shores. From their initial formation in 1962, their long hair, pouting lips, and infallible attitude put The Stones at odds with the conservative attitudes held dear by English society at the time. In a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, trouble seemed to seek the band out, as was the case with an infamous concert riot back in 1964.
Hot off the heels of some of their earliest hits, including their first-ever number-one ‘It’s All Over Now’, the blues rock rebels were due to visit the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool on a swelteringly hot summer’s day. Seaside resorts became regular theatres for teenage conflict back in the 1960s, with Brighton hosting running battles between mods and rockers throughout the summer of 1964, and seaside resorts don’t come much more legendary than Blackpool.
As the grandiose Victorian-era ballroom gradually filled with tetchy teenagers coming in from the heat of the summer’s evening, keen to witness The Rolling Stones’ rebellious nature in the flesh, tensions began to rise. Local band The Executives were booked to open for The Stones, but the audience was only interested in seeing the main attraction, making performing the supporting slot a difficult task.
Shedding a light on the violent atmosphere present at the Ballroom that night, Executives guitarist Peter Fielding Mojo, “The crowd was aggressive from the start. We had got through most of one set, but they began chanting ‘We want The Stones’ and threw coins at the stage, until we had to cut things short.”
After the support group were bullied off-stage, The Rolling Stones were forced to take to the stage, answering the demands of the riotous crowd. Seemingly, the band’s infectious blues rock sound seemed to be the spark that the audience needed to turn from rowdy into a full-blown teenage mob. “They punched their way to the front, straight to the stage and started spitting at us,” Keith Richards later remembered.
From there, the details of the show start to get a little hazy. However, the popular history of the gig suggests Richards and Jones were spat at by the crowd for unknown reasons, prompting Richards to kick an audience member in the face in retaliation. Inevitably, that only inflamed the crowd further, and the mob ended up storming the stage, destroying chandeliers, throwing bottles, and tearing the venue’s seats up.
The set was abandoned mere minutes after The Rolling Stones took to the stage, and the local police force managed to quell some of the violence only 12 minutes into the scheduled performance. Although, as the supporting act stated, the crowd were already brooding with anger and energy before The Stones took to stage, the Blackpool concert riot seemed to cement the dangerous potential of the band in the eyes of authority figures at the time.
As a result of the show and the damage caused to Blackpool’s most historic venue, Mick Jagger and the gang were banned from performing in Blackpool by the local council and police force. Even as the group transformed from youthful rock rebels into the world-famous rockstars they quickly became, the Blackpool band remained in effect.
In fact, it was only in 2008 that council leader Peter Callow lifted the restrictions, sharing, “The ban has been officially lifted and I would love to see them play again at Blackpool. If they forgive us, we will forgive them.” Needless to say, The Rolling Stones have yet to return to the seaside town.
