Paul Pelletier
 The one living in England, as opposed to the American / Canadian ones

 

THE ROLLING STONES 1962-1995
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
TO THEIR CAREER IN RECORDINGS,
PERFORMANCES, FILMS & SOLO PURSUITS
by FELIX AEPPLI

     Whilst the long (but descriptive) title of the above book will be unfamiliar, the name of the author probably is not. He will be remembered for the 1985 American publication "HEART OF STONE", subtitled "THE DEFINITIVE ROLLING STONES DISCOGRAPHY, 1962-1983". Much has happened since that book's appearance: The Rolling Stones have continued to be the world's premier touring & recording band, and each member has pursued personal musical ambitions besides their role within the group. Deciding that the time was right for a new updated edition, Felix Aeppli approached Paul Pelletier with a view to publishing a completely updated work, adding not only the group's output since 1983 but also revising the earlier period from 1962 in the light of new facts and figures which have been unearthed by Felix and others. The result is the book re-titled as above, a truly formidable body of work which sets a new standard in the treatment of a Rock group, indeed any music act world-wide.

     "THE ULTIMATE GUIDE" achieves what it sets out to do: to chronicle the activities of The Rolling Stones in all aspects of their existence: as a live band performing internationally, as a recording band mainly in the studio but sometimes live, as performers on film and video, as individual personalities attracting much press & TV attention, and as solo performers. Carefully organised in various chapters, the book contains:

2840 Entries (794 in the Group catalogue, 1569 in the Solo section and the remaining 477 in the Bootleg section); 1832 musicians; 638 venues (where the Stones played 1629 live shows) listed in complete tour lists (but also arranged alphabetically under cities' names for easy reference); 146 recordings studios; 444 different TV shows, 93 movies, 82 promotional films or video clips plus 72 commercially released videos; 1402 songs listed in the solo section, released on 694 records (spread over 184 record labels); and last (but not least!) 524 songs recorded by The Rolling Stones as a group (varying from 1 to 115 versions), 312 of which were officially released on 429 records. The indexes alone will demand hours of perusal from any dedicated Rolling Stones aficionado - you will even find Lady Di amongst the names!

     Copies of "THE ROLLING STONES, 1962-1995: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE" are NOW available. Hard-back only in a large American letter page format (8½ x 11 inches, similar to A4) of 644 pages, it is printed on top quality art-paper which allows best reproduction of the 106 record label & sleeve reproductions; the first 1,000 or so copies also incorporate a ribbon-secured bookmark. The quality of the book is reflected in its weight of 2.5 Kg per book! The U.K. retail price was been set at £75 but usually sold at £65 direct from the publisher, which reflects both its quality as a production and the nature of its minutely researched content, also the fact that it is being issued as a limited edition of only 2,000 copies to satisfy a world-wide market - in fact, more than 1,000 copies were pre-sold before publication.

     For an authorative opinion of the book, read the complete review in the February 1997 edition of "Record Collector" - although not credited, the review was by editor Peter Doggett.

PAUL PELLETIER, March 1997

THE ROLLING STONES 1962-1995
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
TO THEIR CAREER IN RECORDINGS,
PERFORMANCES, FILMS & SOLO PURSUITS
by FELIX AEPPLI

VITAL STATISTICS OF THE BOOK

FORMAT: 8½ x 11 in. (approx. 21.6 cm wide x 27.9 cm height)

NUMBER OF PAGES: 644, printed on 120 gm Art-paper

BINDING: Hardback only

WEIGHT: 2.5 Kgs

U.K. RETAIL PRICE: £65 direct from publisher

CONTENTS: 2840 Entries (794 in the Group catalogue, 1569 in the Solo section and the remaining 477 in the Bootleg section) Including:
1832 musicians - 638 venues (where the Stones played 1629 live shows) listed in complete tour lists (but also arranged alphabetically under cities' names for easy reference) - 146 recordings studios - 444 different TV shows - 93 films - 82 promotional films/video clips + 72 commercially released videos - 1402 songs listed in the solo section, released on 694 records (spread over 184 record labels) - 524 songs recorded by The Rolling Stones as a group (varying from 1 to 115 versions), 312 of which were officially released on 429 records - 106 record label & cover illustrations