A rare acetate from the Rolling Stones' first recording session, 1962

a double-sided Emidisc 45 with handwritten details, three tracks entitled `Soon Forgotten', `Close Together' and `You Can't Judge A Book', together with a cassette recording, a copy of an article from `Record Collector', 1988, and copies of two letters (5)

This recording was made on 27th October 1962, shortly after the Beatles' first single release for EMI, the Stones having got together earlier that year. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones formed the core of the band, using various other musicians as and when available. Tony Chapman was the drummer on this recording, with Ian Stewart on piano and Dick Taylor on bass. It was cut at Curly Clayton's studio, near Arsenal football ground, with Clayton acting as engineer for the session.

In `Stone Alone', Penguin Books, 1991, Bill Wyman states, `The spartan studio facilities provided just one microphone in the middle of a small room; they had to balance the sound by moving the instruments around. Mick asked for the piano to be `turned up'', but it could not be moved; it was nailed to the wall, and Stu's playing could hardly be heard'. The acetate was sent to Neville Skrimshire at EMI but was rejected, as it was by Decca, who commented on the unpromising singer!

However, it is understandable that, without foresight of the impending `beat boom', executives might have had difficulty in seeing the bluesy sound of the Stones as a commercial proposition. This acetate is historically important, showing as it does the band in an embryonic state prior to the addition of Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman to the line-up. It was originally sold at Phillips, London, 6th April 1988.