
Rolling Stones
Andrew Loog Oldham began working as a young publicist in London in the early 1960’s, just as the British music, fashion and social scene were starting to explode. He was first an assistant to designer Mary Quant and then helped to promote The Beatles for Brian Epstein. He was just 19 years old when he went to see a relatively unknown group called The Rolling Stones. Before long he was their manager, producer and is generally credited with creating their “bad boy” image.
He left the Stones in 1967 and continued his work in the music business with his label Immediate Records which had a stellar roster of artists including Small Faces and The Nice.
In recent years he has published several entertaining autobiographies and memoirs, the latest is called Rolling Stoned. Currently he can be heard daily as a disc jockey on Sirius/XM’s Underground Garage sharing his vast knowledge of the music he presents and offering insights and opinions that are wonderful to listen to.
I spoke with Andrew in October 2012 when he came to WFUV to promote “Charlie is My Darling” a cinema verite film that chronicles the Stones on tour in Ireland in 1965. Finally completed more than 45 years after its original filming we get to view the Stones backstage and on-stage with some amazing footage I had never seen before. As part of the informal backstage rehearsal scenes, Mick and Keith sing bits of assorted Beatles’ songs along with working on new songs they’ve recently written.
I had always wondered how and why the Stones had come to record and release Lennon and McCartney’s “I Wanna Be Your Man” as their second single. I asked Andrew about his reported chance meeting with John and Paul in London’s Leicester Square and he filled me in on the details
Celebrating 20 years at WFUV
I’ve been so fortunate to meet so many new artists and listeners over the past 20 years here at WFUV, and reconnect with so many more from my days working at WNEW-FM.
I recently shared some of my favorite conversations and performances from a wide variety of these performers, including Graham Nash, David Crosby, Ringo Starr, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Julian Lennon, Clarence Clemons, Richie Havens, Gary Clark Jr., Judy Collins, Crowded House, Indigo Girls, Ben Folds, Bill Wyman, Dion, Gregg Allman, Phoebe Snow, Robert Plant, The Lone Bellow, Roger Daltrey and Ronnie Spector. You can listen to the full broadcast below.
A big thank you to all the music fans who’ve been on this journey with me!