If Mick had got an earlier train, the world may never have experienced The Rolling Stones. If Jimmy and Robert didn’t share a deep admiration for Robert Johnson Led Zeppelin may never have got off the ground. If Daryl and John hadn’t made it to the service elevator in time it could have got really messy.
The first step on the route to rock and roll stardom is for the key band members to meet, followed closely by the establishment of a close musical bond. Track down a drummer and you’ll soon be playing your first gig.
Here’s the origin story behind the first meetings of nine legendary rock bands and a quick early track to prove the early chemistry was real.
Nine of rock's most iconic first meetings
9. The Beatles
The most historic of all of rock’s first meetings took place in the genteel surroundings of a garden fete. The community event was held at St. Peter’s Church Garden Fete in Woolton, Liverpool on July 6, 1957. A 15-year-old Paul McCartney had gone to see John Lennon perform with his skiffle band The Quarrymen.
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The two met during a break between sets via an introduction from a mutual friend. Paul wasted no time impressing John by tuning a guitar and playing Eddie Cochran’s ‘Twenty Flight Rock’. A few months later and Paul was a member of The Quarrymen.
Early key track: 'Twist and Shout' (1963)
8. The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards went to the same primary school as young kids, but lost touch when Jagger’s family moved out of the area in 1951. The two famously re-connected a decade later during a chance meeting on Platform 2 of Dartford Railway Station on October 17, 1961.
Keith’s attention had been grabbed by the Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters albums that Mick was carrying under his arm. An enduring musical bond was formed by one of rock’s most crucial sliding door moments.
Early key track: 'The Last Time' (1965)
7. Hall and Oates
After 50 years together as recording partners, a legal dispute has driven an irreparable wedge between Daryl Hall and John Oates. The duo’s first meeting, though, was a memorable one. Both were performing at a show in Philadelphia, with separate acts, when a violent gang battle broke out.
To escape the knives, chains and reported gunshots, the pair both made a dash for the service elevator and exchanged a few words. They bumped into each other a few week later and got chatting about their 'brush with death.' A friendship was established and out of that came a musical partnership.
Early key track: 'She's Gone' (1973)
6. The Clash
Mick Jones and Paul Simonon were inspired to form a band after seeing The Sex Pistols, but were short of a lead singer. After seeing him perform live with his band The 101ers they were both impressed with Joe Strummer. Their first meeting (of sorts) occurred in the queue at the dole office.
Strummer spotted Jones and Simonon eyeballing him and interpreted the vibes as though they wanted to get into a scrap with him. A few months later the two of them finally plucked up the courage to float their idea.
Key early track: 'White Riot' (1977)
5. Led Zeppelin
When his band The Yardbirds dissolved around him, Jimmy Page resolved to put a new line up together. Terry Reid was Page’s first choice for a lead singer, the much-admired vocalist declined but was full of praise for a young frontman based in Birmingham.
When Page first saw Plant he was onstage performing for a band called Hobbstweedle at a teachers’ training college in Walsall in 1968. It was here that Page invited Plant to his riverside boathouse on the River Thames for what to all intents and purposes was an initial chemistry meeting.
The two of them were very different people, but quickly bonded over the albums Plant brought along on the trip. These included Joan Baez, Howlin’ Wolf, The Incredible String Band and, most importantly, Robert Johnson. The chemistry test was passed.
Early key track: 'Good Times Bad Times' (1969)
4. Aerosmith
Aerosmith lynchpins Steven Tyler and Joe Perry tell different versions of the story of their first meeting. What can be confirmed is that they first met in the New Hampshire resort town of Sunapee.
Tyler, who spent his summers visiting Sunapee, was already in an outfit called Chain Reaction, while Perry was playing in a local blues rock act called The Jam Band and flipping burgers in a bar called The Anchorage.
Perry claims he first encountered Tyler after having to clean his (and his band’s) mess after a food fight, whereas Tyler claims he loved the French fries so much he went into the kitchen to pay his compliments to the line cook.
Key early track: 'Same Old Song And Dance' (1974)
3. Buzzcocks
With a nod to early founder Howard Devoto, Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle were the Manchester pop-punks' two key members until Shelley’s death in 2018. Their meeting was a curious one, strangely initiated by The Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren.
A young Diggle had responded to a newspaper ad for a bass player and had arranged to meet outside Manchester’s Free Trade Hall - the night of the Pistol’s famous gig (June 4, 1976). He met McLaren outside the venue and he directed him towards Pete Shelley who was on the door taking the money for tickets, and also waiting on a bass player.
Thing is, the guy who Diggle arranged to meet didn’t turn up, and, weirdly, the bass player who was meant to meet Shelley was also a no-show. By a couple of twists of fate, Buzzcocks gained a new member and he’s still in the band to this day.
Early key track: 'Boredom' (1977)
2. Metallica
Metallica formed in 1981 when frontman James Hetfield answered an ad that had been placed in a Los Angeles newspaper by drummer Lars Ulrich. Despite some early reservations the two of them went on to be the core members of one of metal’s biggest bands.
Guitarist Kirk Hammett joined the band a few years later as Dave Mustaine’s replacement. He was invited to audition and got the gig. Thing is, Hammett had previously met and chatted to the Metallica pair backstage after a show a year before he joined the band.
Hetfield and Ulrich have absolutely no memory of the first meeting with their guitarist. First impressions are not always lasting impressions.
Early key track: 'Hit The Lights' (1982)
1. R.E.M.
Not surprisingly, record shops can often be the host location where nascent bands first explore possibilities. For instance, Iggy first met the Stooges when working at Discount Records in Ann Arbor. Similarly, Lenny Kaye initially connected with Patti Smith when she appeared in Greenwich Village’s Vintage Oldies.
The same is true of Peter Buck and Michael Stipe. Buck was working behind the counter at Wuxtry Records in Athens, Georgia, and was drawn to Stipe because of the 70s punk and post-punk records he was buying.
Early key track: 'Gardening At Night' (1982)
All photos Getty Images
Top image Robert Plant (left) and Jimmy Page performing with Led Zeppelin, at Earl's Court, London, May 1975
