THE STONES 1965 - 1968
For the Stones in 1964/65, see this page. The first views we have of the Stones onstage in 1965 come from the Australian tour in January:
These photos were probably taken on 22nd January at Sydney (Getty Images no. 72591259 and 3203057). Companion pictures on Getty Images are simply captioned "Australian Tour", or dated, wrongly, "1st Jan". In the picture on the right, Bill's AC80/100 rig clearly visible on the left-hand side of the stage.
At the Academy of Music, New York, 1 May 1965, we have a rear view of a spare amp:
Left and right, views of the AC80/100 Bill is using, driving two Foundation bass cabs. The amp, perhaps still thin-edged, is certainly different from the ones he used in 1964. Below, the layout of the back panel - compare with those on this page . Photographs by Michael Ochs (Getty images 73999865 and 73999863).
Ten days later, in company with the Beatles, the Stones were on stage at Wembley for the NME Pollwinner's Concert on 11th April. Bill has an old? thin-edged brown-fronted AC80/100 (see this page), Brian and Keith have black-faced Fender Showmans.
To the left of Brian in the photo above, Bill's amp with a BASS logo. To his right, someone else's thin-edged brown fronted AC80/100, and to the right of that, a Fender Showman.
For the German tour in the summer of 1965, Bill evidently had a new AC100 with speaker output sockets either side of the serial number plate, an arrangement that recalls an amp he had in 1964. Insofar as surviving amps are concerned, this is extremely unusual - perhaps something Vox did specially for him. Bill seems to have taken his Foundation Bass set-up some way into 1966.
At points on the German tour (centre pair below), an AC100 SDL appears on stage, perhaps belonging to a supporting act.
Far left, Hamburg, 13 September '65. Second from left, Berlin, 17 October. To its right, another shot (presumably) from the same tour. Far right, Essen - see the excellent photo thread on ORR. For the Stones' tours in 1965, see Nico Zentgraf's indispensable database.
Essen again, another band's AC100 SDL visible stage left (also visible fleetingly in the video).
American tour, Summer 1967 - from left to right, The Hollywood Bowl, San Francisco (from Michael Jang's blog), and Forest Hills Stadium. Note that at Forest Hills Bill has a Vox 460 amp.
Stones at the Albert Hall, September 1966 - the AC100 SDL cab belongs to The Yardbirds. The Stones have Vox 760s.
Keith At Olympic Studios in November/December 1966, AC100 in the background.
1967
Saturday Night at the London Palladium, January 1967
14th April 1967, Zurich, Hallendstadion. The two pics on the left are of "Les Sauterelles" performing their set. Note the large "Vox" banner just visible in the third picture. Two AC100s and a Foundation Bass rig on stage, perhaps provided by Vox, and presumably used by the Stones later in the event. Far right, the Stones on stage.
Stones European tour 1967, AC100s belonging to other bands visible on stage. For more on the Stones with new Vox solid state amps and cabs in 1967, see this page on the Vox Supreme website.
1968
The Stones performing at the NME Pollwinners' Concert, 1968 - Supremes, Super Foundation Bass amp, and four Vox 760 cabs on show.