One October day in 1961, two aspiring rock stars – one carrying a guitar and another carrying some records – met on a platform at Dartford Railway Station. A year later, the two teenagers formed what would become one of the world’s biggest ever bands.
Now, Rolling Stones icons Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been immortalised in the form of bronze statues in their hometown of Dartford, Kent.
The statues are titled ‘The Glimmer Twins’ after the pseudonym adopted by the two musicians under which they produced Stones albums in the mid-70s. They show Jagger strutting with his famous gurn (microphone, obvs, in hand) while Richards stands behind, eyes focused on his ‘Micawber’ Telecaster guitar.
Commissioned by Dartford borough council, the statues were created by artist Amy Goodman – who is also known for her artwork depicting Florence Nightingale and a Gurkha memorial, both of which are in Aldershot, Hampshire. She said that her aim with ‘The Glimmer Twins’ was to capture the energy and chemistry between the Jagger and Richards as they were in the 1980s.
Jeremy Kite, the leader of Dartford borough council, said: ‘In terms of culture and music, you do not get much more influential than the Rolling Stones. Their music has changed the face of popular music and these lads from Dartford are now two of the most recognisable and loved people in the world.’
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