It’s one of the great debates of 20th-century rock music: The Beatles or the Rolling Stones? Despite one glaring difference pointed out by Keith Richards, both bands hailed from England and drew inspiration from blues music. And although history tends to pit them against one another, the British Invasion icons found they had more in common than not. On this day in 1963, a bunch of legendary musicians met for the first time.
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The Beatles and the Rolling Stones Collided on This Day 62 Years Ago
On April 23, 1963, The Fab Four were just one month removed from their debut album, Please Please Me. Their paths collided at the Crawdaddy Club, when The Beatles attended The Rolling Stones’ show at the Richmond, Surrey venue.
While The Stones were still widely unknown at the time, the boys from Liverpool had heard of them through word of mouth. They became instant fans after seeing them live, with lead guitarist George Harrison suggesting to Decca Records that they should sign the London rockers. And shortly after passing on The Beatles, Decca did just that. The Stones released the U.S. edition of their self-titled studio debut the next year.
OTD in 1963 The Beatles and The Rolling Stones met for the first time during a Stones performance at the Crawdaddy Club. The music venue in Richmond, Surrey, also saw performances by Led Zeppelin, Long John Baldry, Elton John and and Rod Stewart. #TBSIHT pic.twitter.com/9yojsgMsVn
— BestSongIHeardToday (@bestsongiheard) April 23, 2025
Lead vocalist Mick Jagger recalled the moment in 1988 when he inducted The Beatles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “We were playing a little club in Richmond and I saw right in front of me, there they were — THE FAB FOUR,” Jagger said. “The four-headed monster. They never went anywhere alone. And they had on the most beautiful long, black leather trench coats. I thought to myself, ‘If I have to learn to write songs to get one of those, I will.’”
A Friendly Rivalry (Sort Of)
At the height of both bands’ fame, The Rolling Stones were presented as the rebellious foil to The Beatles’ wholesome image (which John Lennon famously later shattered.) In reality, however, the Brits were much closer to friends than rivals.
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“There’s always been an open door between the Beatles and the Stones,” guitarist Keith Richards told Guitar Player in 2023. “We were the only ones that knew what it’s like to have that extreme kind of fame in the 1960s, so that created a bond.”
Featured image by Dave Benett/Getty Images
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