The Aspiring Rolling Stones Member Who Botched His Audition by Doing the One Thing Mick Jagger Wouldn’t Tolerate

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is one of the most iconic, flamboyant, and prolific in the biz, and he certainly didn’t get that way by allowing others to share his spotlight. As much as The Stones are defined by the incredible rock ‘n’ rollers providing the instrumental backing for Jagger’s struts, pouts, and hip thrusts, the band’s legacy is also inextricably linked to the way Jagger has commanded the stage since the 1960s. The singer is usually the de facto face of the band, after all, and The Stones always respected the space Jagger needed to be the face.

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But not everyone who wanted to be in the band was as aware—or respectful—of Jagger’s requirement to be the sole scenery chewer, so to speak. Back when The Rolling Stones were looking for a replacement for Mick Taylor, they auditioned and considered plenty of contemporary guitarists. Some weren’t interested in playing the blues. Others were “too pretty.” And some missed their chance at being in one of the biggest bands in history because they couldn’t help but break the one cardinal rule the rebellious band had: don’t upstage Mick.

This Aspiring Rolling Stones Member Failed To Follow This One Rule

After the reality that Mick Taylor would be leaving The Rolling Stones set in, all the existing members started putting together their dream lists for potential replacements. For guitarist Keith Richards, the man he thought best for the job was Steve Marriott, member of Small Faces and Humble Pie. Before Marriott’s audition in an Amsterdam hotel room, Richards even gifted the guitarist his silk scarf for good luck. Richards also took that time to remind Marriott of one cardinal rule: let Mick Jagger do the showboating. Easier said than done.

Marriott’s second wife, Pam, later recalled, “Steve told me, ‘I was good and stood at the back for a while, but then Keith would hit this lick, and I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut.’ Keith wanted him in, but there was no way that, once Steve opened his mouth, Mick would have him in the band. He knew Dteve would never stay in the background. They were the one band in the world that Steve would have loved to have been in. He just wanted to work with Keith.”

History would show that Ronnie Wood was the lucky guitarist who stepped in to replace Mick Taylor. But even before that happened, Richards had told Wood he wanted Marriott for the job. “But The Stones agreed that what they really needed was a lead and rhythm guitar player, and eventually settled on three names—Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and me,” Wood later said. Although The Stones were going to keep Wood’s position ambiguous to the public, they confirmed his permanent status as The Stones’ new rhythm player by mid-December 1975.

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