The Rolling Stones' First Manager — and the Other Band He Helped Launch

Before Andrew Loog Oldham took over and turned them into a pop phenomenon, the Rolling Stones were being guided by a Swiss-Italian filmmaker and club owner named Giorgio Gomelsky. Gomelsky ran the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, where the Stones played regularly in 1963, and he essentially acted as their first manager, booking gigs and handling early logistics. He also produced their first demo sessions, including the one that got them signed to Decca.

Gomelsky’s biggest claim to fame beyond the Stones is that he also managed the Yardbirds at the very start of their career. He produced their early records and helped them build the blues-rock reputation that would later launch Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. So within a few years, Gomelsky had his hands on two of the most influential bands of the British blues boom — the Stones and the Yardbirds — before both moved on to bigger names and brighter lights.