“It was the year of the Beatles it was the year of the Stones, a year after JFK.” – Paul Simon: The Late Great Johnny Ace
In dance halls, workplaces and schools all over the world in 1964, there was just one question being asked by young people: are you a Beatles fan or a Rolling Stones fan?
But was The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones a “real” rivalry? Did the two groups really dislike each other? Or was this rivalry just a ruse, one thought up by the group members themselves, to garner as much publicity as possible?
The Beatles had been around for a couple of years; the Stones had not long started out on their musical adventure – an adventure that continues to this day, more than 50 years on.
It was actually the same year as JFK was assassinated, 1963, that the Stones had their first hit – and it was with a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
The Stones had released just one song before I Wanna Be Your Man – a cover version of the Chuck Berry song Come On.
Their live act consisted exclusively of rhythm-and-blues cover versions. They were in need of an original.
A chance meeting between the then Stones’ manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, and Lennon and McCartney resulted in the two Beatles meeting up with the Stones and offering them a song that they had just written.
A month later, in November 1963, I Wanna Be Your Man was recorded and went to No 12 in the British hit parade.
The Beatles did release the same song a month later, but not as a single. It was a track on their album With The Beatles.
Seventeen years later, Lennon revealed that the song “was a throwaway. The only two versions of the song were Ringo and The Rolling Stones. That shows how much importance we put on it: we weren’t going to give them anything great, right?” It put the Stones well and truly on the road to fame and fortune, regardless.
Watching Lennon and McCartney work as songwriters made a big impression on the young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who decided that the only way forward was to write their own music. And the pair have written hundreds of songs that will live on forever.
The Beatles and the Stones were, to be honest, never really great rivals.
The Beatles were the nice, pretty boys. The majority of their songs, particularly in the early days, were love songs. They wore nice clothes, made little jokes when interviewed. Even your parents liked them.
The Rolling Stones? Long, scraggy hair, dirty looking, ugly and rock ’n’ roll. Your parents hated them.
The two bands actually became quite close friends and great admirers of each others’ music. To such an extent that, in 1967, the Stones released a song called We Love You – it reached No 8 in the British charts – written by Jagger and Richards. And the two singers on backing vocals? Lennon and McCartney.
But it appeared that both bands liked to keep their rivalry story in the public eye.
During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, Lennon described the Stones as “a lot of hype” and argued that everything that The Beatles did, the Stones imitated. McCartney revealed that Jagger used to call The Beatles “the four-headed monsters”.
It was a rivalry that kept the media happy –and both bands were happy enough to carry it on and garner as much publicity as possible.
The Rolling Stones’ lead guitarist, Brian Jones, died in July 1969, the year that The Beatles effectively broke up.
Enter Mick Taylor, formerly of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. At the time of Jones’s death, the Stones had already agreed to play a concert at London’s Hyde Park. It was three days after his death and 250,000 fans crowded into the park to watch doves released as a tribute to Jones – and to see Taylor play live with the Stones for the first time.
The band had found a guitarist that many Stones fans believed to be one of the best in the world. His musicianship was second to none, and even Jagger admitted that when it was just him and Taylor playing and singing “we just played together” noting his “smooth lyrical touch”.
But at the end of 1974, Taylor quit the band, stating that he had “just had enough”.
Ronnie Wood had already played with the Stones on and off leading up to Taylor’s departure, so it came as no real shock that he would eventually take over from him.
I first met Wood in Ireland in 1998. He was in the VIP bar at Goffs in County Kildare, watching one of his best friends, the snooker player Jimmy White, play in the Irish Masters. It was here that he showed me his caring side – a side a million miles away from the wild rock ’n’ roll demeanour that he’s associated with.
He told of how one evening White turned up at his home in Wimbledon, London. White was suffering physically and mentally and Wood recognised that his good friend needed help. White stayed at Wood’s house until the Rolling Stone had helped him to overcome his problems and return to his own home.
Wood is such a big fan of snooker that when he split from his wife Jo, he demanded that she not auction off his beloved snooker table. Indeed such is his – and the rest of the band’s – love for the game that while other superstars ask for their dressing room to be filled with flowers or pot plants or all sorts of drink and food, the Stones want a snooker table to while away the time with a frame or two before going on stage.
Whether or not there will be one fitted in their dressing room at the du Arena tonight remains to be seen – but the promoters should, nevertheless, be prepared.
Evenings during that Irish tournament in 1998 were spent in the hotel being used by players, officials and friends. Guitars were played and songs were sung – yes, even Beatles songs. It was a fun time.
Last year’s Rolling Stones tour was thought by many to be their last. Shows in the US and the UK, including the Glastonbury Festival, were hailed by some as brilliant, proving that the Stones are still the greatest rock ’n’ roll band of all time. To others, it showed that the old rockers really have left their best days long behind them.
Fans in the UAE will be able to make up their own minds tonight with the first show of the Rolling Stones’s 2014 On Fire tour. From Yas Island, they travel on to Japan for three shows, China for one, half a dozen in Australia and one in New Zealand.
Taylor, who made guest appearances in some of the UK shows last year, will be joining his old mates on stage in Abu Dhabi.
Whatever your views on The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones, there’s one indisputable fact – the Stones have kept rolling a lot longer than The Beatles.
Fifty years on from the year after JFK, prepare to be rocked by The Rolling Stones in Abu Dhabi.
cwhebell@thenational.ae
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Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
by David Gilmour
Allen Lane
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
