The Rolling Stones, Springhill School and sunbathing: Memories of June days in Aberdeen in archive photos

Press and Journal

2 days ago

When looking back at June memories in Aberdeen over the decades, it doesn't get much better than The Rolling Stones playing The Capitol in 1965.
The Aberdeen concert came at the height of the Stones' notoriety when their 'bad boy' reputations melted the hearts of girls – and enraged polite society – everywhere.
It was a welcome return to Aberdeen for The Rolling Stones who'd played to a frenetic audience at The Capitol in 1964.
The Rolling Stones had a relentless year-long tour schedule in 1965 barely taking a day off for 11 months, performing at least 223 times.
They even managed to fit in a court summons for 'insulting behaviour' at a London service station, after which Glasgow's Stipendiary Magistrate James Langmuir branded the band 'complete morons who wear their hair down to their shoulders and wear filthy clothes'.
But such pearl-clutching from the authorities only fueled the band's popularity among teenagers, and buoyed a very demanding tour.
The band kicked off 1965 with two shows in Belfast on January 6, before taking in Australia, Scandinavia, America, Europe and the length of Britain before finishing up in Los Angeles on December 5.
Luckily for fans in the north, The Rolling Stones managed to squeeze two Aberdeen gigs in one night into their packed programme.
On June 17, the Stones arrived at The Capitol with a bang, quite literally, when their Austin Princess car collided with another on Justice Mill Lane.
But the band bared noticed as they raced out to the safety of a cordon while police held back screaming fans.
The Taylor family, who were occupants of the other car, weren't even there to see the Stones, they were visiting friends.
To make matters worse, their teenage son Charles claimed to be a Beatles fan.
Inside, the Rolling Stones had little time for preparation and were practically bundled onto stage to face their fans.
Girl leapt onto seats and 'wept, waved, sobbed and raced down the aisles' where they struggled with police and ushers.
More than a dozen police officers mounted guard at the stage approaches, deflecting several attempts by frenzied girls desperate to touch their idols during hits like 'The Last Time'.
The Press and Journal reported how 'the steady half-hour scream ripped through the entire Stones show making everything unintelligible except the throbbing boom of the bass'.
P&J reporter Julie Davidson said the band seemed unperturbed by the experience, and only Mick Jagger seemed to 'echo the frenzy of the audience'.
She added: 'His long graceful body twitches, his rubber legs scissor in that odd, fluid erotic little dance, he wields the mike like a sword, nurses it like a baby and the audience throw themselves into fresh hysteria.'
'It's all a little unreal, like a surrealist impression of hell.'
Julie was even lucky enough to interview the boys backstage during the interval, where Brian Jones waved a cheerful hello, and Keith Richards stood up to greet her.
Brian said they didn't mind the screaming because fans in England didn't shriek any more, while Mick Jagger waxed lyrical about a fry-up they had in Laurencekirk on the way up the road.