We all know our favorite rock icons by the carefully crafted images they put on once they became famous. But what about the pre-fame years of our favorite rock stars? What were they like? Are there any potentially embarrassing video clips out there of their pre-fame days? Fortunately, there are! Let’s look at just a few pre-fame video clips of some of the biggest rock stars of all time.
Videos by American Songwriter
1. Mick Jagger
Before he was wiggling around on stage as part of one of the biggest rock bands of all time, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger made his television debut in 1959… and it’s quite shocking, to say the least.
The Stones frontman, who is best known for his flamboyant style, can be seen as a fairly normal-looking young 15-year-old in a TV demonstration of some then-new climbing shoes on the program Seeing Sport. The host was Jagger’s father, Joe Jagger.
2. Prince
Out of all the video clips of pre-fame rock stars on this list, this one is pretty cute. And it almost slipped through the cracks, never to be seen by the public. Back in 2022, a Minneapolis news station was conducting some research into a teacher’s strike from way back in 1970. Completely by accident, old video footage of an 11-year-old Prince was discovered in the archives.
“I think they should get a better education too cause, um, and I think they should get some more money cause they work, they be working extra hours for us and all that stuff,” Prince says, quite adorably, in the unearthed clip.
3. David Bowie
Way back in 1964, a teenage David Bowie was featured on an episode of BBC Tonight. Only 17 years old at the time, Bowie made it to the program over something pretty unexpected.
At the time, Bowie had founded “The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-haired Men”, which was created to end the “persecution” of men with long hair. If it all seems like a big joke, it kind of was. His hair looked great, though.
4. Jimi Hendrix
This clip on our list of video footage of pre-fame rock stars finds the incomparable Jimi Hendrix at about 13 years old. As a young artist, Hendrix worked as a guitarist for Little Richard and The Isley Brothers. The latter group performed live on Night Train back in 1965, and a very young Hendrix can be seen with his guitar in the background, swaying along as he played.
Photo via YouTube
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