How the Rolling Stones Fan Club Published a Monthly Magazine in the 1960s

The first thing you need to know: the magazine wasn’t printed by the band’s management—it was put together by the fan club itself, run by a woman named Shirley Arnold, who was basically the Stones’ day-to-day secretary and fan club lifeline. Starting in 1964, “The Rolling Stones Monthly” came out every month for about three years, giving fans something that the official record companies weren’t offering: inside access.

Each issue was a typed-and-photocopied newsletter-style booklet, stapled together, with a black-and-white photo on the cover. Inside you’d find handwritten‑style messages from the band members, tour diaries, setlist hints, personal snapshots taken backstage, and even addresses of pen pals who wanted to swap Stones memorabilia. There were also Q&A sections where Shirley would answer fan mail directly (like “Does Mick smoke in bed?” or “Is Brian Jones really leaving?”). It was cheap, raw, and incredibly personal—the kind of fan club zine that disappeared once the band got too big and too corporate.