<P> Keith Richards and Mick Jagger became childhood friends and classmates in 1950 in Dartford, Kent, before the Jagger family moved to Wilmington, five miles (8.05 km) away, in 1954 . In the mid-1950s, Jagger formed a garage band with his friend Dick Taylor; the group mainly played material by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley . Jagger met Richards again in 1960 on platform two of Dartford railway station, and the Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records that Jagger was carrying revealed a common interest . A musical partnership began shortly afterwards . Richards joined Jagger and Taylor at frequent meetings at Jagger's house . The meetings switched to Taylor's house in late 1961, where the three were joined by Alan Etherington and Bob Beckwith; the quintet called themselves the Blues Boys . </P> <P> In March 1962, the Blue Boys read about the Ealing Jazz Club in Jazz News newspaper, which mentioned Alexis Korner's rhythm and blues band, Blues Incorporated . The group sent a tape of their best recordings to Korner, who was favourably impressed . On 7 April, Korner visited Ealing Jazz Club, where they met the members of Blues Incorporated, who included the slide guitarist Brian Jones, the keyboardist Ian Stewart and the drummer Charlie Watts . After a meeting with Korner, Jagger and Richards started jamming with the group . </P> <P> Jones, no longer in a band, advertised for bandmates in Jazz Weekly, while Stewart found them a practice space; together they decided to start a band playing Chicago blues . Soon after, Jagger, Taylor and Richards left Blues Incorporated to join Jones and Stewart . At the first rehearsal were also the guitarist Geoff Bradford and the vocalist Brian Knight, both of whom decided not to join the band, citing objections to playing the Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs preferred by Jagger and Richards . In June 1962 the line - up of Jagger, Richards, Jones, Stewart and Taylor was completed with the addition of the drummer Tony Chapman . According to Richards, Jones named the band during a phone call to Jazz News . When asked by a journalist for the band's name, Jones saw a Muddy Waters LP lying on the floor; one of the tracks was "Rollin' Stone". </P> <P> Jones, Jagger, Richards, Stewart and Taylor played a gig billed as "the Rollin' Stones" on 12 July 1962, at the Marquee Club in London . Shortly afterwards the band went on their first tour of the UK, which they called a "training ground" tour, because it was a new experience for all of them . Their material included the Chicago blues as well as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs . At that time, the line - up included neither bassist Bill Wyman, who joined in December 1962, nor drummer Charlie Watts, who joined in January 1963, thus completing the band's original rhythm section . By 1963 they were finding their musical stride as well as popularity, and in 1964 two unscientific opinion polls rated them as Britain's most popular group, even outranking the Beatles . The name of the band was changed shortly after their first gig to "The Rolling Stones". The group's then acting manager Giorgio Gomelsky secured a Sunday afternoon residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond in February 1963, which, Gomelsky claimed, triggered an "international renaissance for the blues". </P>

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