The night The Rolling Stones offered me a job
11:26am Monday 14th January 2008
Warrington's first big DJ, the Longford Lover, speaks to reporter Nicola Davies about his memories of when the Rolling Stones came to town.
IN 1937 the Longford Lover came from heaven' said the long-haired Lothario, whose real name is Chris Culleton of Dale Lane in Appleton.
During his 70 years, the former DJ, who gave himself the name Longford Lover' because of his reputation with the ladies, has rubbed shoulders with rock icons, smoked Mick Jagger's cigarettes and kissed Tina Turner on the lips.
Sitting in his lounge, the former band and Carlton Club manager, said: "You could barely hear the Stones playing for the screams.
"It was 45 years ago when they came to the Parr Hall (November 25, 1963). I was compèring at the time.
"It was jam-packed. In those days there was no strict control over how many people got in and there was no alcohol either - you could get soup or soft drinks.
"On the night of the show I was in charge of the dressing room and the stage and the Stones got mobbed as they were coming off.
"They couldn't get to the dressing room so I got John Dooley, who was 6ft 7ins, to stand by the dressing room door and I grabbed them one by one by their hair and pushed them into the room as girls were trying to pull their clothes off.
"During the show I had nipped into the dressing room and saw two girls going through their stuff.
"Mick Jagger had left his cigs and cigarette lighter and one of the girls had them, so I took them off her and pushed them in my pocket for safekeeping.
"After the show there was so much pandemonium I forgot about it so I ended up smoking the cigs and giving the lighter to a friend!"
Chris recalled that the rock stars were very polite, drug and drink free and nothing was too much trouble for them.
He added: "That night I was wearing a nice suit and a bright waistcoat an old woman had made for me and Brian Jones was in love with this waistcoat and wanted to buy it but I wouldn't sell it. "Then they offered me a job as their PR person but at the time I was courting a girl and I didn't fancy leaving her to go to London.
"That's one of my regrets. All of my regrets are through women," he laughed.