During their show in Liverpool last night (June 9), The Rolling Stones paid tribute to The Beatles by covering their 1963 hit ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’.
- READ MORE: The Rolling Stones live in Madrid: Celebrating six decades at the top for rock’n’roll royalty
Originally penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the Stones were actually the first to release a version of the song. They put it out as a single – their second – on November 1, 1963, exactly three weeks before The Beatles’ own recording appeared on their second UK album, ‘With The Beatles’. Yesterday’s performance marked the first time the Stones had played ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ since 2012.
Before launching into the song, singer Mick Jagger told the crowd that the Stones had initially planned to cover ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry And The Pacemakers – which is played before every Liverpool soccer match at Anfield Stadium, where the show took place – but “decided instead to do a cover song written by other local lads”.
Take a look at the performance below:
The Rolling Stones are currently underway with their ‘SIXTY’ tour of Europe and the UK, which continues next Monday (June 13) in Amsterdam. As its name suggests, the run comes in celebration of the Stones’ six-decade tenure, having officially formed in June of 1962 (they’d perform their first show as The Rolling Stones a month later). At the first show, they delivered the first-ever live performance of their 1966 single ‘Out Of Time’.
On all dates of the tour thus far, the Stones have opened their set with a video tribute to drummer Charlie Watts, who died last December at the age of 80. Filling his spot on the tour is session drummer Steve Jordan, who the band confirmed in March would record parts for their upcoming 24th album.
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In a five star review of the ‘SIXTY’ stop in Madrid, NME’s Thomas Smith said the show was “undoubtedly a special one”, and opined that “at the rate and intensity they’re going at, there’s little stopping [the Stones] from making a crack at their own Platinum Jubilee in the years to come”.
Meanwhile, the Stones have several releases lined up to celebrate their 60th anniversary, including their ‘Live At The El Mocambo’ album and a box set of all their single releases from 1963-1966. The BBC will also air a four-part docuseries, My Life As A Rolling Stone, throughout the British summer. Each one-hour episode will dedicated to the band’s four members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts.