Tony Chapman

Who is Tony Chapman?

Anthony 'Tony' Chapman was a British drummer, especially active during the 1960s. He played with an early line-up of the Rolling Stones before they settled on their permanent band members. He appeared with the band in 1962, including a performance at Sidcup Art College, Bexley, which Keith Richards had attended, and was probably the drummer at the first official performance of the group, on 12 July 1962 at the Marquee Club in London.

Chapman was the person through whom Bill Wyman was enlisted to the Stones, having been in Wyman's band The Cliftons. It was Chapman who made enquiries about vacancies with the Stones and discovered they might be found at the Wetherby Arms on the King's Road, Chelsea. He and Wyman turned up for a run-through and although they had doubts about the blues style and did not like the name, agreed to join on a make-or-break basis. Another drummer, Steve Harris, also sat in for some sessions - Charlie Watts was still with Alexis Korner. After a short time Chapman felt he did not fit in with the way-out approach of the group and left to form a band called The Preachers. It was not long after Wyman joined the group that Watts took over the drums.