On Saturday, May 14, Universal Music Canada, The El Mocambo and MusicCounts are commemorating the release of The Rolling Stones’ legendary 1977 recordings that were captured live at the El Mocambo by inviting fans back to where the secret shows took place 45 years ago!
The Rolling Stones Revisited - Live at The El Mocambo will celebrate the legendary Canadian moment in the 60-year history of The Rolling Stones when, under the guise of The Cockroaches, the Stones returned to the club incarnation of their early years and produced two nights of exhilarating music. Now for the first time, these live recordings of the group's two famous secret concerts at the 300-capacity Toronto club in March of 1977 are making their first official appearance. The 23 tracks, newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain, will be released on Friday May, 13 via Universal Music.
On Saturday, May 14, the doors of The El Mocambo will open at 1:30 PM and attendees will be admitted on a first come, first served basis with each guest receiving a replica backstage pass and 11x17 poster from the original concert. From 2 - 5 PM, guests will be treated to an expert Rolling Stones panel of special guests, the premiere of the brand-new album Live at The El Mocambo, a Rolling Stones exhibit, and a silent auction of Rolling Stones box sets and collectables with all proceeds going to MusiCounts. For those unable to attend in person, The Rolling Stones Revisited - Live at The El Mocambo will be livestreamed, and will also be available to watch on demand following the event.
Hosted by radio personality Jeff Woods, the Rolling Stones expert panel will feature the following special guests:
- Duff Roman – Former Program Director of CHUM FM, Duff Roman was instrumental in pulling off the pair of secret Rolling Stones shows at the El Mocambo back in 1977.
- Rob Bowman – Rob Bowman is a GRAMMY-winning musicologist who managed to get into one of the shows without a pass. Bowman also had possession of many of the much sought-after tracks that are being released for the first time on the new album Live at the El Mocambo.
- David Marskell – David Marskell is the CEO TheMuseum in Kitchener-Waterloo which recently hosted The Rolling Stones Unzipped Exhibit. Back in 1977 David was one of the fans who lined up for the Elmo shows but did not get in!
- David Bluestein – Former booker for the El Mocambo during the era of the Rolling Stones secret shows, David Bluestein was present for both concerts and has many great stories to tell about the historic nights.
- Michael Wekerle – Michael Wekerle is the owner of the current El Mocambo. An avid Rolling Stones fan, he has spent years collecting Rolling Stones memorabilia and has many stories to share.
The Rolling Stones have released two previously unheard recordings from a legendary event in the band's incredible 60-year history. “Tumbling Dice” and “Hot Stuff,” recorded at the Stones’ famous secret concerts at the 300-capacity Toronto club El Mocambo in March 1977, are out now.
Listen to the tracks here, and watch “Tumbling Dice” and “Hot Stuff” visualizers below.
The two tracks are set to feature on the upcoming Live At The El Mocambo album, which is being released in full for the first time on Friday, May 13.
The album will be available on double CD, 4 LP black vinyl, 4 LP neon vinyl and digitally. It features the Stones' full set from the March 5 show, plus three bonus tracks from the March 4 gig, newly mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Only four of the performances found their way onto the Love You Live album that followed in September 1977, which was dominated by tracks captured on the band's 1975 and '76 tours, with the full set having never been heard before.
As the Stones took to the stage of the “El Mo,” a fixture of the Toronto music scene since the 1940s, punk and disco were both rearing into full view, supposedly ready to see off a band who had already been at the top of their game for 15 years. Over two nights, in an intimate space in one of their favourite cities, they were about to make that prognosis look foolish indeed.
The gigs became reality after the El Mocambo was identified as the potential home for a secret booking. A radio contest was organized in which the prize was tickets to see Canadian rock heroes April Wine, supported by an unknown band called the Cockroaches. Guess who they turned out to be...
On the nights, naturally, April Wine were themselves the opening act, and so it was that the Stones rolled back the years to the exhilarating club incarnation of their early years. Against all the odds, the band produced two nights of exhilarating music that they still talk about in Toronto, and in Rolling Stones legend, to this day.
It was a setlist for all seasons, from Muddy Waters' “Mannish Boy“ and Bo Diddley's “Crackin' Up“ to staples such as “Let's Spend The Night Together“ and “Tumbling Dice,“ and back to the blues with Big Maceo's “Worried Life Blues“ and Willie Dixon's “Little Red Rooster.“ There was the live debut of “Worried About You,“ not heard in studio form until 1981's Tattoo You, and more highlights from “Honky Tonk Women“ to “Hot Stuff.“ Forty-five years on, this is a trip back to the intensity of the Crawdaddy Club in the Stones' earliest days, as revisited by the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world.
Live At The El Mocambo is available for pre-order now.
El Mocambo 1977 CD tracklisting:
Disc 1:
"Honky Tonk Woman"
"All Down The Line"
"Hand Of Fate"
"Route 66"
"Fool To Cry"
"Crazy Mama"
"Mannish Boy"
"Crackin’ Up"
"Dance Little Sister"
"Around And Around"
"Tumbling Dice"
Disc 2:
"Hot Stuff"
"Star Star"
"Let’s Spend The Night Together"
"Worried Life Blues"
"Little Red Rooster"
"It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)"
"Rip This Joint"
"Brown Sugar"
"Jumpin’ Jack Flash"
"Melody"
"Luxury"
"Worried About You"
"Tumbling Dice":
"Hot Stuff:
"Rip This Joint":
"It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)":
Trailer:
