The El Mocambo has undergone a major renovation over the past few years, but the second-floor stage now occupies the same space it did in 1977. (The El Mo recordings of Little Red Rooster, Crackin’ Up, Mannish Boy and Around and Around previously appeared on the Stones’ double album Love You Live.) Roman was one of the panelists who appeared earlier this month at the El Mocambo for an event promoting the release of Live at the El Mocambo, a 23-track album of material culled from their two surprise shows of 45 years ago. Instead, the winners unexpectedly got to see April Wine opening for the Stones. The station ran a contest that promised tickets for an April Wine concert. In 1977, Roman was the program director of Toronto’s CHUM-FM, at that time the country’s pre-eminent album-rock station. “The perception was that Toronto was no longer a sleepy backwater, it was now a destination on the world touring map.” “If the Stones were finding something useful about Toronto, by god that says something,” said Duff Roman, who helped organize the concerts. But when the world found out the jet-setting Jagger was now getting his kicks in Toronto, the game changed. Our domestic recording business was still finding its legs. In the 1970s, the international music hubs were in London, New York and Los Angeles. Beyond the momentary tabloid-fed excitement of the Stones’ visit, however, there were superb long-term implications for Toronto and the Canadian music industry. This was a heavyweight band in a 300-capacity room playing not only its current repertoire but old R&B chestnuts such as Route 66. On its own, the event is historic, particularly for Stones fans. And while Margaret Trudeau was on the band’s guest list, her husband, the prime minister, was not her plus-one. Stones guitarist Keith Richards and his exotic model girlfriend Anita Pallenberg had been busted for drugs. The shows were sneaky and secret – the room was booked for April Wine, who were a great rock ‘n’ roll band but not the World’s Greatest. On March 4 and 5, 1977, the Rolling Stones played Toronto’s tight, grungy El Mocambo club. Singer Mick Jagger had it wrong, though – It was never only rock and roll. On the just-released album Live at the El Mocambo, the Rolling Stones convincingly roar through a setlist that includes It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (but I Like It). The original concert poster from the 1977 Rolling Stones shows at Toronto's El Mocambo.
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