Rolling Stones 1972 Tour - Book - by Richard Houghton

1970's Bands/Artists

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All Down The Line : A People's History of the Rolling Stones 1972 North American Tour

Rolling Stones 1972 Tour - Book - by Richard Houghton

(2022)

An iconic tour that 50 years ago saw the Rolling Stones rock North America from coast to coast is celebrated in a new book.

All Down The Line tells the story of the Stones' 1972 North American tour in the words of over 300 fans.

Compiled by British music writer Richard Houghton, the book captures the 51 date tour performed by the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band through previously unpublished eyewitness accounts. The tour started in Vancouver, Canada and took in shows in 22 states across the US, culminating in four shows in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Gaining notoriety for backstage high jinx that were captured on celluloid in a film the Stones ultimately decided could never be shown publicly, the tour set new box office records and created a template that touring rock bands have followed ever since.

Houghton said, 'I was a 12-year-old schoolboy growing up in England when this tour took place, so researching this book and talking to some of the thousands of fans who witnessed it has been like stepping into a time machine that has taken me back to 1972.'

The book includes previously unpublished photos of the Stones, led by singer Mick Jagger and featuring the line up that included guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts, bass player Bill Wyman and guitarist Mick Taylor. The band were promoting their newly released double album, Exile on Main St., which at the time was given a lukewarm critical reception but has since been hailed as perhaps their best.

Houghton said, 'The Stones played a number of shows in smaller venues and also visited cities that weren't on the established touring circuit, such as Akron, Ohio and Knoxville, Tennessee. For many rock fans in America, the Stones tour in 1972 was the event of the summer, and it's been fascinating to catch up with people who were mostly teenagers then and who are in their late sixties now, and hear their memories from 50 years ago. Back then, the US still had the draft, the Vietnam War was still going on and civil rights issues was seeing riots in many larger cities. The Rolling Stones were playing their first concerts on US soil since Altamont, when a fan was fatally stabbed to death by Hell's Angels who were working as security for the Stones, and which event marked the end of the hippie idealism of the 1960s for many.'

Houghton, a lifelong Rolling Stones fan, is the author of more than 20 music books. His 2021 publication, Cream - A People's History, was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Best Historical Research in Recorded Rock and Soul Music by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

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