The Rolling Stones in London: A Walking Guide
From a squalid Chelsea flat to a free concert for half a million — the London addresses behind the Stones, and how to walk them.
- Most stops are public streets or building exteriors — free to see and photograph.
- The story spreads from the West End out to Chelsea, Richmond and Barnes, so it's best done as a few short trips rather than one walk.
- Some sites have changed completely — the original Marquee is gone and Olympic is now a cinema — while Edith Grove and Hyde Park are much as they were.
- This is the band's origin story: blues records in a cold flat, a Richmond pub residency, and a debut album cut in a tiny Denmark Street studio.
- A free app can play the right track at each spot as you arrive.
The Rolling Stones were a London band before they were anything else — formed, dressed and rehearsed in a city they spent the early 1960s conquering pub by pub. Their rise is unusually traceable: you can stand outside the flat where they learned the blues, the pub where they were discovered, and the studio where they made their first record, all still findable on a map today.
This guide runs roughly in order of their story, from the first gigs and the Chelsea flat through the studios where the records were made, ending in Hyde Park. Real addresses throughout, with honest notes on what survives and what's long gone.
Where it started
The Stones came together in clubs and one freezing flat, mostly within a year or two, before the rest of the world caught on.
▶ Come On — The Rolling Stones
The Marquee Club, 165 Oxford Street
On 12 July 1962 a new band billed as "The Rollin' Stones" played their first-ever gig at the Marquee, then at 165 Oxford Street. The original venue is long gone — the Marquee later moved to Wardour Street and elsewhere — but this stretch of Oxford Street is where it all began, a blues covers band with no records to their name. A busy public street, free to walk. Address: 165 Oxford Street, W1D 2JD.
▶ Little Red Rooster — The Rolling Stones
102 Edith Grove, Chelsea
In 1962–63 Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones shared a famously squalid flat here, surviving on little and studying blues and R&B records obsessively. That cold, cluttered room is where the band's sound was really born — long before the hits. It's a private home now; admire it from the pavement and spare a thought for the neighbours. Address: 102 Edith Grove, SW10 0LB.
▶ I Wanna Be Your Man — The Rolling Stones
The Crawdaddy Club, Station Hotel, Richmond
The Stones' Sunday residency at the Crawdaddy, held in a room at the Station Hotel in Richmond through 1963, is where they built a devoted local following — and where a young Andrew Loog Oldham saw them, signed them and became their manager. The original hotel building still stands by the station. Address: 1 Kew Road, Richmond, TW9 2NQ.
▶ Not Fade Away — The Rolling Stones
Eel Pie Island, Twickenham
A short way upriver, the hotel on Eel Pie Island was one of London's wildest R&B clubs in the early 1960s, and the Stones were among the bands who cut their teeth on its tiny stage. The hotel burned down in 1971, but the island and its footbridge remain — a strange, quiet relic of a very loud scene. Address: Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, TW1 3DY.
Where the records were made
Two studios, a few miles apart, span the band's leap from blues hopefuls to the biggest group in the world.
▶ Tell Me — The Rolling Stones
Regent Sound, 4 Denmark Street
On London's "Tin Pan Alley," the Stones recorded much of their 1964 debut album at Regent Sound, a small, famously basic studio at number 4. The room was tiny and the sound rough, which suited a band still steeped in raw blues. The street is free to walk and packed with music history. Address: 4 Denmark Street, WC2H 8LP.
▶ Jumpin' Jack Flash — The Rolling Stones
Olympic Studios, Barnes
By the late 1960s the Stones had moved out to Olympic in Barnes, where they cut a run of classics — "Jumpin' Jack Flash" among them — and much of Beggars Banquet. The building is now a beautiful art-house cinema and café, so you can buy a ticket and sit where some of the greatest rock records ever made were recorded. Address: 117 Church Road, Barnes, SW13 9HL.
Hyde Park, 1969
One last stop, and the most poignant — the day the Stones played to a sea of people and said goodbye to a founder.
▶ Honky Tonk Women — The Rolling Stones
Hyde Park
On 5 July 1969 the Stones played a vast free concert in Hyde Park in front of a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands. It came just two days after the death of founder member Brian Jones, and Mick Jagger opened by reading from Shelley's elegy "Adonais" and releasing thousands of butterflies in his memory. It was also the first major show for new guitarist Mick Taylor. Free, open park. Address: Hyde Park, W2 2UH.
Is it worth doing?
Yes, especially if you like an origin story. The honest caveats: this one is spread out — Richmond and Barnes are a fair way from the centre — and some of the key sites have vanished or changed beyond recognition, so manage expectations at the Marquee and Eel Pie in particular. But Edith Grove is genuinely moving to stand outside, Olympic is a lovely place to actually go in, and Hyde Park needs no introduction. Pick the stops that fit your day rather than trying to chain them all together.
How Sonic City fits in
The tricky part of a self-guided Stones walk is the timing — knowing when you've reached the right doorway, and having the right song ready when you do. That's the gap Sonic City fills. It's a free app that uses your phone's GPS to play the track tied to each landmark the moment you arrive, so "Little Red Rooster" starts as you reach Edith Grove and "Honky Tonk Women" plays as you walk into Hyde Park. No reading a map and a track list at the same time.
A few honest limits: it's London only for now, iPhone only, and it plays through Apple Music today (Spotify is coming soon). It's free, there are no accounts to create, and it doesn't collect your data. If you'd rather just use this guide and your own playlist, that works too — everything here is free to visit either way.
Sonic City plays London's music history as you walk past it — free, on your iPhone.
Get Sonic City — freeFrequently asked questions
Where did the Rolling Stones play their first gig?
At the Marquee Club, then at 165 Oxford Street, on 12 July 1962 — billed as "The Rollin' Stones". The original Oxford Street venue is gone, but the spot is part of any Stones walk through central London.
Can you visit the Rolling Stones' Edith Grove flat?
You can see 102 Edith Grove in Chelsea from the street. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones shared the famously squalid flat in 1962–63, immersing themselves in blues records. It is a private home, so view it from the pavement.
What was the Crawdaddy Club?
A rhythm and blues club that ran at the Station Hotel in Richmond, where the Rolling Stones held a residency in 1963 that built their early following. It was there that Andrew Loog Oldham saw them and became their manager.
Where was the Rolling Stones' free Hyde Park concert?
In Hyde Park, on 5 July 1969, in front of a huge crowd. It came two days after the death of founder Brian Jones, and Mick Jagger read from a Shelley poem and released butterflies in his memory. It was also Mick Taylor's first major show with the band.