Ian Stewart (musician)
| Ian Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ian Andrew Robert Stewart |
| Born |
18 July 1938 Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 12 December 1985 (aged 47) London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, tour manager |
| Instruments | Piano, organ, keyboards |
| Years active | 1962–1985 |
| Associated acts | The Rolling Stones, Rocket 88, Led Zeppelin |
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart (18 July 1938 – 12 December 1985) was a Scottish keyboardist and co-founder of The Rolling Stones. He was removed from the line-up in May 1963 at the request of manager Andrew Loog Oldham who felt he didn't fit the band's image. He remained as road manager and pianist and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the rest of the band in 1989.
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was born at Kirklatch Farm, Pittenweem, East Neuk, Fife, Scotland, and raised in Sutton, Surrey, Stewart (often called Stu) started playing piano when he was six. He took up the banjo and played with amateur groups on both instruments. Stewart, who loved rhythm & blues, boogie-woogie, blues and big-band jazz, was first to respond to Brian Jones's advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group.Mick Jagger and Keith Richards joined in June, and the group, with Dick Taylor on bass and Mick Avory on drums, played their first gig under the name the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee Club on 12 July 1962. Richards described meeting Stewart thus: "He used to play boogie-woogie piano in jazz clubs, apart from his regular job. He blew my head off too, when he started to play. I never heard a white piano player play like that before." By December 1962 and January 1963, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts had joined, replacing a series of bassists and drummers.
Stewart had a job at Imperial Chemical Industries. None of the other band members had a telephone; Stewart said, "[My] desk at ICI was the headquarters of the Stones organisation. My number was advertised in Jazz News and I handled the Stones' bookings at work." He also bought a van to transport the group and their equipment to their gigs.
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