Gus Coral Vintage Stones’ Photos Exhibition
This Summer, get ready for the holy grail of rock archaeology, as “Nylon Pie” presents “Rolling Stones Unseen ’63”. This seismic cultural event will showcase over 100 rarely seen photographs shot by maverick lens-man Gus Coral in 1963.
Having laid dormant for nearly six decades, these rarely seen images expose the primal DNA of what would become the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band. Before they became the indestructible force of nature we know today, the Stones were five hungry young Brits obsessed with American blues, prowling London’s smoke-filled jazz clubs.
Formed in 1962 when childhood friends Mick Jagger and Keith Richards reconnected with blues aficionado Brian Jones, the Stones embodied the dangerous antithesis to The Beatles’ polished appeal. While Liverpool’s fab four wore matching suits, these London rebels donned unwashed jeans and unkempt hair, emanating a sexuality so threatening that parents across Britain locked up their daughters.
The autumn of ’63 captured in Coral’s lens represents the explosive moment when the fuse was lit. Fresh from residencies at London’s Crawdaddy Club where they’d built a rabid following, the Stones were embarking on their first UK tour alongside American idols The Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley – the very architects of the sound they were reinventing. It was here, with Richards perfecting his guitar swagger, Jagger developing his provocative strut, and Jones still firmly at the helm as the band’s founder and visionary, that rock’s most enduring dynasty was forged.
Coral’s photographs freeze this volcanic creative moment: Jones leaning into his slide guitar with the focused intensity that made him the band’s early spiritual leader; Jagger, not yet the strutting peacock but already commanding attention with feral intensity; Richards developing the laconic cool that would define him; Wyman’s stoic presence anchoring the chaos; and Watts, the reluctant rock star, bringing jazz-honed precision to the blues explosion.
“These images capture the precise moment when five street urchins from the London suburbs transformed into rock gods,” says Ben Gamble of Nylon Pie. “Before ‘Satisfaction,’ before the drugs busts, before the stadiums, this is ground zero of the Rolling Stones mythology.”
“They capture The Rolling Stones in a way the world had never witnessed, raw, ambitious, and on the cusp of greatness in 1963. I’m thrilled to finally share them with the world”. Says Gus Coral, the photographer behind these incredible pictures.
The venue has created Stones-inspired cocktails: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (a whiskey cocktail with an appropriate kick), “Satisfaction Sour” (gin with the perfect bitter edge), and “Brown Sugar” (a dangerously smooth rum concoction).
Dockside Vaults, St. Katharine Docks from June 6th to September 10th, 2025.
Tickets start at £15* (including a drink!).
Booking and full details: www.rollingstonesunseen.com/tickets
