The Rolling Stones' Biggest Hit

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction was released in Britain on 20th August, 1965 - having already reached No. 1 for four weeks Stateside. 

With its distorted guitar riff, raw energy, and thinly veiled sexual frustration, it became the Rolling Stones’ biggest global hit - but initially could only be heard on pirate radio stations in the UK, thanks to the band’s label wanting the Stones back from their US tour to promote it in person; and it was banned by the BBC from mainstream airplay for being too sexually suggestive. 

Satisfaction wasn’t just a smash hit; it was a cultural shift, setting the Stones apart from their fellow British Invasion stars, the Beatles, by establishing them as a lurid, horny counterpoint to Lennon and McCartney’s more wholesome music-hall stylings. 

And the story of that famous riff? Keith Richards literally dreamed it up, woke in the middle of the night, grabbed his cassette recorder, played the now-iconic “da-da-da da-da-da-da” line, and promptly fell back asleep - leaving an hour of his own snoring on the tape.

In this episode, recorded to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of this iconic single, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why Richards wanted a horn section, not a fuzzy guitar; unpick  Mick Jagger’s surprising and satirical lyrics; and consider how, with Satisfaction, the Rolling Stones finally found their sound…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Story Behind The Song: ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, The Rolling Stones’ classic they wrote in their sleep’ (Far Out Magazine, 2020): https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/rolling-stones-satisfaction-story-jagger-richards-song/• ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ (Library of Congress, 2006): https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/CantGetNoSatisfaction_LeRoy.pdf

• ‘The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ (ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., 1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrIPxlFzDi0

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

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