Crawdaddy Club

When that closed in early 1963 he needed a new venue and, since he knew the landlord of the Station Hotel in suburban Richmond, he took over the back room, which had been little used since its jazz sessions had petered out.

Although the Stones had played their first gig the previous summer, Bill Wyman did not become a member until 7 December 1962, and Charlie Watts joined in January 1963,[3] so the Crawdaddy saw the first public performance with them in the band.

This first gig was not a commercial success; Gomelsky had to plead with customers of the main hotel to attend, offering two entries for the price of one ticket.

[4] Audiences overflowed onto the street, and the Crawdaddy was forced to move up the road to a larger venue, the Richmond Athletic Ground.

[5] When the Stones became too big for small local clubs and went on tour, their residency at the Crawdaddy was taken over by another leading R&B group from nearby Kingston upon Thames, The Yardbirds, featuring Eric Clapton.