How a Massive Forgery Scandal Led to a Riot at a Rolling Stones Concert in Scotland

The Rolling Stones are no strangers to rowdy, raucous, and, in the case of the Altamont Free Concert in December 1969, deadly crowds. Indeed, rock ‘n’ roll and riots have seemingly gone hand in hand since the advent of the musical style that celebrates aggression, bravado, and ample drug and alcohol use. As decades-long players in the rock world, it’s no surprise that The Rolling Stones have seen the worst of the worst as far as riotous crowds go.

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And while the fatalities of the Altamont Free Concert make it one of the more notorious concert moments of The Stones’ career, it was hardly the only time a crowd got unruly at one of their shows. Five years before the tragedy at Altamont New Speedway, The Rolling Stones were facing a rambunctious, overheated, and overexcited crowd in Scotland.

How an Influx of Forged Tickets Led to a Rolling Stones Riot

Selling tickets to a show is primarily about generating revenue to pay for the event space and the performers’ time and resources. But from a safety perspective, ticket sales also help ensure a venue doesn’t exceed capacity. Only so many humans can cram into a ballroom before it becomes a major hazard, which is something the event organizers at Chantinghall Hotel in Hamilton, Scotland, were learning in real time as thousands of people started flooding into the concert space.

Much to the hotel’s dismay, a slew of forged tickets had circulated in the midsize town ahead of The Rolling Stones’ concert on May 18, 1964. This meant that more people had tickets than could comfortably and safely fit inside the venue. By the time the venue closed its doors to prevent anyone else from entering the ballroom, there was still a queue of around 1,000 people, some with very legitimate tickets, who were waiting to get in.

As one would expect, chaos ensued. People grew angry outside, fighting with the venue staff and each other. Inside, it wasn’t much better. The sheer size of the crowd turned the ballroom into a sauna, causing some to faint from heat exhaustion. When The Rolling Stones finally took the stage, the crowd surged toward the band, who performed behind metal mesh for their safety. The crowd was so loud, the band could hardly hear themselves over the roar.

Fortunately for Everyone Involved, Most of the Damage Was to Property

A crowd full of angry humans can get very dangerous very quickly. Sometimes, it can even turn fatal. Luckily for everyone who attended (or stood outside of) The Rolling Stones’ concert in Hamilton that fateful spring night, most of the damage that was left behind seemed to be isolated to property—unfortunate for Chantinghall Hotel, but fortunate in a human sense. According to one History Pin user, who claimed to be at the concert when they were only 16, some people may have suffered damage or theft to their personal belongings.

“At the end of the night, the cloakroom was so overwhelmed that they brought the coats through to the ballroom and dumped them on the floor,” they recalled. “So, it was a mad scramble to find our own coats. I went to another two big concerts in Glasgow over the next couple of years, but the one in Hamilton was a unique experience.”

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