Rolling Stones’ Famed 1977 Toronto Secret Shows Set for First-Ever Release

The Rolling Stones’ legendary two-night stand at a tiny Toronto venue in 1977 — a pair of secret shows the band performed under the name ‘The Cockroaches’ — will be released for the first time this May.

Live at the El Mocambo features the entirety of the Stones’ — or the Cockroaches’ — March 5, 1977 gig at the 300-capacity Toronto club, plus three bonus tracks from the March 4 show. While a handful of the Mocambo tracks appeared on the 1977 live album Live You Live, the full set has never officially been released in its entirety.

Ahead of the live album’s arrival, the Stones have shared a pair of tracks from “El Mo”: “Rip This Joint” and “It’s Only Rock ’N’ Roll”:

As legend has it, the El Mocambo shows were announced as headlining gigs for the Canadian rock group April Wine, with the unknown Cockroaches set to open the shows; it wasn’t until fans arrived on March 4 did they realize that April Wine were in fact the opening act, and the Cockroaches were the Stones.

The surprise shows featured a mix of hits (“Let’s Spend the Night Together,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Brown Sugar”), blues covers (“Little Red Rooster,” “Mannish Boy,” “Worried Life Blues”), tracks from their then-new album Black and Blue (“Hot Stuff,” “Hand of Fate,” “Melody”) and the first-ever performance of “Worried About You,” a song that would resurface four years later on 1981’s Tattoo You.


Live at the El Mocambo, due out May 13 and available to preorder now, will come in a variety of formats, including double CD, digitally, 4-LP black vinyl and a 4-LP neon vinyl set.

Live at the El Mocambo Track List

1. Honky Tonk Women (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
2. All Down The Line (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
3. Hand Of Fate (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
4. Route 66 (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
5. Fool To Cry (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
6. Crazy Mama (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
7. Mannish Boy (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
8. Crackin’ Up (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
9. Dance Little Sister (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
10. Around And Around (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
11. Tumbling Dice (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
12. Hot Stuff (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
13. Star Star (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
14. Let’s Spend The Night Together (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
15. Worried Life Blues (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
16. Little Red Rooster (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
17. It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It) (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
18. Rip This Joint (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
19. Brown Sugar (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
20. Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
21. Melody (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
22. Luxury (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)
23. Worried About You (Live at the El Mocambo 1977)