ALS signed “Brian,” penned in black ballpoint on both sides of a 5 x 5 section of a very rare handbill promoting the Rolling Stones’ Sunday residency at the Ken Colyer Jazz Club (Studio 51) in London in June 1963. The handwritten letter, which is addressed to Doreen Pettifer, the first secretary of the Rolling Stones Fan Club, reads: “Sorry, no photos of us – but I’m sending a few others for you to go on with plus a few other items which may be of interest to you.” Interestingly, Jones has crossed out the ‘Studio 51’ club name and address and replaced them with “Palladium” and “Argyll St. W.1.” Jones continues on the reverse: “With compliments, the Stones. All completed love. The things we do for you! (The things we’d like to do for you!!) Can I open an account at you bank?” In very good to fine condition, with paper loss to the bottom, a tape stain, and central horizontal fold. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks and the original hand-addressed mailing envelope, which was postmarked in Chelsea on June 25, 1963.
The consignor notes that the letter originates from the collection of Doreen Pettifer, the Surrey-based teenager who would go on to set up The Rolling Stones Fan Club and become the group’s first-ever fan club secretary after meeting them at the Wooden Bridge Jazz Club in Surrey, England on March 29, 1963. Pettifer was so impressed by the Stones's performance that she approached Mick Jagger and mentioned that she could put the group in touch with the disc jockey David Jacobs and get them an audition to be on television. Pettifer had previously been on the panel of Juke Box Jury and was still in contact with the presenter, Jacobs.
After returning home on the evening of March 29th she immediately typed her first letter to Jacobs to promote her discovery. In the coming months, Pettifer would selflessly write to almost every television station, radio station, and music-related magazine to let them know about The Rolling Stones; she even approached the BBC to try to get the group an audition. During this period she was constantly in direct contact with the members of the group keeping them informed about her promotional activities.
In early June 1963 Pettifer approached Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to request that she be allowed to set up the first official Rolling Stones Fan Club. Oldham passed the request on to Eric Easton who handled the Rolling Stones business matters. On June 14, 1963, Easton replied to Pettifer to give her the go-ahead to set up the fan club and offered her any help necessary to start the club. In July 1963 the first ever Rolling Stones fan club newsletter was mailed out. Wishing to remain anonymous, Pettifer adopted the pseudonym Diane Nelson in her position as fan club secretary.
Doreen Pettifer pioneered the Stones and their music throughout 1963 and 1964 and wrote an authorized and still unpublished manuscript documenting the genesis of the group. In the second half of the sixties, she became involved in fan club work for a host of groups including Eric Clapton and John Mayall’s Bluebreakers.
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