This is where the infamous Crawdaddy club was home to the Stones. 1 Kew Road, Richmond, London, the building is still there. A piece of Rock history.
The Crawdaddy Club, which started towards the end of 1962, was the idea of Giorgio Gomelsky, filmmaker and blues enthusiast. His first resident group was the Dave Hunt R & B Band, which briefly featured Ray Davies who later formed The Kinks. In February 1963, the Rolling Stones played their first gig at the Crawdaddy Club, at the Station Hotel Richmond for a fee of £1 each, plus a share of the door.
The Crawdaddy Club used to be here as part of the Station
Hotel, and was the London equivalent of Liverpool's Cavern Club.
The Rolling Stones were the house band at the Crawdaddy, and the Beatles first heard them play here in 1963. The Yardbirds were regulars too.
The Station Hotel is now called Edwards and is directly opposite Richmond Station.
By April 1963, the Stones had two gigs a week at the Crawdaddy and a weekly slot on Eel Pie Island. During this time, they achieved their first chart hit, Come On.
After the Stones departed on tour, another leading R & B group from Kingston, the Yardbirds, took over the Crawdaddy residency from 1963-66, and various line ups included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
The Crawdaddy club welcomed many of America's finest Blues musicians and helped kick start British rock. read more