On This Day in 1964: The Rolling Stones Escaped an Angry Mob in Blackpool and Got Slapped With a 44-Year Ban

It was the ’60s, sex was repressed, tempers were high, and music acted as an outlet to release such things. That being so, charging the stage was common for big draws such as The Beatles, Elvis, and The Who. Add to that list, The Rolling Stones. On July 24, 1964, the Stones escaped the grasp of an angry mob at a show in Blackpool, England.

Playing at the Empress Ballroom, the Stones approached the show as any other: play a few songs, sign a few things, and get out and on to the next. Prior to the show the Stones, just two years into their tenured career, were racking up the accolades. They had just landed their first No. 1 U.K. hit with “It’s All Over Now” and completed their first American tour. Needless to say, the Stones had become the Stones we know today.

Doomed From The Start

The Stones entered the venue to an already volatile crowd and their presence did nothing but make matters worse. In a 2022 interview with Mojo, the Stones guitarist at the time, Peter Fielding, recalled the “crowd [being] aggressive from the start” and that folks were throwing “coins at the stage, until we had to cut things short.”

Once the concert began the brawl ensued. Keith Richards recalled that the audience “punched their way to the front, straight to the stage and started spitting at us,” per the Mojo interview. However, in Richards’ fashion he didn’t just take it, he fought right back allegedly kicking and punching out the chieftain instigator.

The Stones made it out, but their equipment, not so much. The grand piano, amps, guitars, and other equipment had all become the drunkenly enraged crowd’s therapeutic release for the evening. The Stones made it out scot-free—physically at least. Regarding their status in Blackpool, that’s a different story.

The Ban

In addition to a plethora of injuries and thousands of dollars worth of damage, the city of Blackpool slapped the Stones with a 44-year ban. The number 44 is arbitrary and the city did lift the ban once a sufficient amount of years passed. To this day, the Stones have never returned to Blackpool and seemingly never will.

Despite this event being considered foolish, violent, and heinous, it’s a great story that adds to the near-infinite list of stories that make The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones.