rocks

Skin Rocks is the skincare and anti-ageing brand founded by Caroline Hirons, and it has a steady stream of fans – including our beauty editor. Here’s her honest review of every product…

Octopus one even moderately interested in beauty will know about skincare super-influencer and author Caroline Hirons – as well as her expanding range of products, Skin Rocks. Shunning gimmicks and trends and instead focusing on brilliant formulas with clinically proven results, as well as with no-nonsense instructions, Skin Rocks has quickly become popular with beauty fans – including myself.

As Reach’s Beauty and Wellness Editor, I and my team have been lucky enough to try every product from Skin Rocks, often before they hit the shelves, from cleansers and moisturisers, through to the latest launch, The Strong Acid, so we know which are really worth shouting about. Spoiler alert: I’ve never used a Skin Rocks product I didn’t like – they’re expertly formulated, never irritate my skin, and are well packaged – but here are the products that I would genuinely rebuy when I get to the bottom…

READ MORE: Caroline Hirons on ‘utter filth’ beauty trend and the one product teens should avoid

READ MORE: This is not for everyone’ Caroline Hirons launches Skin Rocks’ strongest acid ever and it’s ‘barely legal’

Pros

• Really well formulated: they’re very effective but never pill or irritate the skin
• Packaging looks and feels great, and is clear to understand, with notes about who it’ll suit (and who it won’t), and handy guides on the lids showing how much to use
• Clinically proven results
• Lots of the products are refillable, with refills costing a little less
• Lots of the products come in fragranced or fragrance-free options (I always choose fragrance-free)

Cons

• The prices range from mid range to high end
• Bottles are made of glass and are heavy (good for recycling, less good for travelling)

Skin Rocks product reviews

Skin Rocks Cleansers:

Caroline has been a vocal advocate for double cleansing since the beginning (before Skin Rocks, she created the two-in-one Double Cleanse with PIXI).

If double cleansing to you still sounds like too much time and effort, here’s why it’s probably worth you doing:

• Oil removes oil, which is why an oil-based balm cleanser is effective for make-up, SPF (especially water-resistant stuff) and sebum, the skin’s natural oil (which you don’t want to strip, but removing excess can be good). If your skin is normal/dry, you don’t use make-up and you’ve not applied SPF, you won’t need an oil-based balm cleanser. (Though by the way, if you’ve not applied SPF, that’s a bigger problem).
• Meanwhile a cream, gel or foaming cleanser will get off all the everyday grime, sweat and pollution – bits that those oil cleansers are not as effective at. That is why you might find the cream or gel cleansers aren’t the best for removing layers and layers of waterproof mascara – it’s not designed to.

The Cleansing Balm, £58 here

Though it’s probably your first step in a routine, this is the latest cleanser Caroline has released – and it’ll come as no surprise to learn that it’s truly one of the best I’ve ever tried. It melts into the skin, breaks down make-up and SPF easily, and emulsifies away quickly with water and a flannel, leaving skin feeling conditioned but absolutely no oily residue left behind.

There are also a few high street cleansing balms that I love and are cheaper, namely Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm, £16.50, and e.l.f. SKIN Holy Hydration! Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm, £11. However, if you love luxe offerings such as Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm (I’ve reviewed the newest cherry scented one here), I encourage you to try this Skin Rocks one next.

Side note: the Skin Rocks flannels are the biggest – and best – I’ve found.

Skin Rocks The Cream Cleanser, from £35 here

Skin Rocks’ first cleanser, and it’s a real goodie. As I’ve already covered, it’s not completely effective on layered up waterproof mascara, but for everyday make-up and daily grime, especially if your skin is on the drier side, it’s perfect. If I was only going to use one cleanser from Caroline’s range it would be the next one, but my colleague Octavia, with her dryer skin, would pick this one.

Due to popular demand, this and The Gel Cleanser (below) are now available in supersize 250ml tubes.

Skin Rocks The Gel Cleanser, from £39 here

This is nothing like the typical foaming, drying gel cleansers you’re probably used to. The formula is so unique – thick, nourishing and rich in moisture-locking glycerin – yet washes completely away as a milky liquid, that it would suit all skin types: young or old, dry or oily, sensitive or not. I squeezed out every drop of this and loved it, and would buy it again.

Skin Rocks Acids:

Exfoliating acid toners can brighten, renew and refine skin – though they are easy to overdo if you pick the wrong one for your skin type, age or routine – something I’m definitely guilty of. Caroline’s collection of three, covers all skin types and she’s really clear that the Strong is what is says in the bottle – so it’s not for everyone.

• The Control Acid, £45 hereIdeal for oily, congested and spot-prone skin, this salicylic acid (BHA) helps to control breakouts and minimise pores.
• The Gentle Acid, £53 hereThe brand’s original all-skin-types formula, contains AHA and PHA, is for tackling signs of ageing. It’s not actually that gentle compare to a lot that is on the market, but it’s a great balance of suitable for everyone to use but with effective results. I think you’ll notice a difference within a week if this is the first time you’re adding an acid toner to your regime.
• The Strong Acid, £75 here NEWThis is about as strong as an acid can get and stay on the right side of legal in this country. It’s a combination of AHAs, BHAs and PHAs in a secret formula (to prevent copycats) and even Caroline herself advises you don’t add it to your regime unless your skin is used to acid exfoliators already. You’ll feel it tingling on your skin when you apply (use cotton pads – not hands – for this one, and don’t be afraid to scrub a bit with them as you go to aid exfoliation). Two to three times a week is enough to see impressive results.

Skin Rocks Retinoids:

Retinoid 1, £70 here and Retinoid 2, £80 here

Retinoid 1 and 2 were Skin Rocks’ first products, and are a brilliantly formulated – and foolproof – way to introduce skin-renewing and anti-ageing ingredient vitamin A into your skincare routine: start with Retinoid 1, then move on to Retinoid 2. I find that I can use Retinoid 1 every night without any irritation, peeling or flaking; a rarity for me when using this potent ingredient.

Skin Rocks Retinoid 3, £90 here

Designed for more experienced users, Skin Rocks has launched its most advanced retinoid formula to date, created to deliver powerful results when targeting visible signs of skin ageing. The formula combines the brand’s highest concentration of vitamin A with 0.21% retinal and 0.5% Adapinoid — a third-generation retinoid known for helping to reduce breakouts while also addressing fine lines, texture, and overall skin ageing concerns.

According to Skin Rocks’ clinical studies, Retinoid 3 helped reduce the depth of deep wrinkles, minimise the appearance of UV pigmentation, and improve overall skin texture after four weeks of use. The studies also reported improvements in skin firmness, elasticity, and brightness. In consumer trials, 81% of users said their skin felt firmer after two weeks, while 91% felt their skin looked more youthful after eight weeks. The accompanying before-and-after images and customer feedback are equally impressive.

Skin Rocks The Eye Cream, £65 here

I’m fussy about eye creams – lots either irritate my skin, aren’t moisturising enough, or are too rich – but this one is absolutely perfect – immediately silky, smoothing and plumping. I’d happily use this one forever if I could.

Skin Rocks Moisturisers:

Keeping things as simple as possible, there are only three moisturises in the range – light, normal and rich, with each available fragranced or unfragranced. As someone with combination and occasionally blemish-prone skin, I go for the lighter Moisturiser, and it’s as close to a perfect face cream as you can get. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why it’s so good, but it layers well with other products, leaves my skin looking and feeling much healthier and, crucially, doesn’t cause breakouts.

My colleague Octavia on the other hand, can’t get enough of the the rich version: ‘My skin is normal-to-dry, but generally dehydrated (probably because I’m better at drinking coffee than water) so I love, love, love The Rich Moisturiser, which I’ll happily use all year round. I love the instant drink feeling it has and how well it dried down to a make-up base with no pilling. It’s just silky. It’s not my only moisturiser, I change things up, but it’s a core part of my repertoire.’

This is definitely one I would invest in, beaten only ever so slightly in price by my other ‘near perfect’ moisturiser.

Skin Rocks The Eye Cream,£70 here

I don’t mess about when it comes to eye cream – I’m very particular! Many either irritate my skin, aren’t hydrating enough, or are too heavy – but this is instantly silky, smoothing and plumping. I’d happily use this one forever if I could afford to.

Skin Rocks The Antioxidant, £70 here

Admittedly the one Skin Rocks product I haven’t thoroughly tested, mainly because of the aforementioned stripping of my skincare routine down to basics in a bid to repair its barrier, but I has tried it a few times, and it feels so nice on the skin and gives an instant subtle glow, and I love how it contains more antioxidants than just vitamin C.

The Hyperpigmentation Serum, £90 here

Another I can’t give a full review to as hyperpigmentation or melasma isn’t a big skin concern of mine, but as I’m naturally freckly I used this regularly in summer to try and reduce some of the unwanted post-summer pigmentation. If the clinical studies and incredible before-and-after photos of this new serum are anything to go by, this is the product I’d trust to help to tackle serious hyperpigmentation. I’ve also recommended it to others on numerous occasions and the feedback I’ve had was excellent.

Like all of Caroline’s products, it’s foolproof to use – it doesn’t pill, irritate or need introducing slowly into your routine, and feels wonderfully hydrating on the skin – and the results speak for themselves.

The Amplifier, £70 here

Another newbie on the Skin Rocks roster: a supercharged essence that does more than just hydrate skin – it’s clinically proven to make your other skincare products work more effectively, too, plus it increases moisture and skin firmness, and minimising the look of pores.

I’ve been using this liquid after cleansing and before serums for a couple of weeks now, and it’s an excellent way to add another light layer of hydration to my skin, especially at this time of year when the weather’s getting colder. I haven’t noticed a dramatic difference, but skin does feel smoother, softer and more hydrated afterwards.

I find this one quite difficult, because it’s a literal extra step in your skincare regime that I’d hope was already covered in other areas. But at the same time, it takes every one of your skincare products and makes it work harder, which in turn makes them better value for money. So overall, I wouldn’t say it’s the most essential product to have in your routine (I’d always prioritise a good cleanser, SPF and targeted serum), but if you can afford this additional step, it’s definitely a nice-to-have – a luxurious extra boost.

Conclusions – which Skin Rocks products I’d buy again tomorrow

Overall, it’s difficult to find fault with any of the Skin Rocks products. They’re a brand I completely trust, and I genuinely feel my skin would thrive using nothing but their range. That said, if I had to narrow it down to a few standout favourites, I’d choose the Retinoids, The Moisturiser, and whichever cleanser best matches your skin type and cleansing preferences.

If you’re beginning to notice new signs of ageing and want to introduce something effective into your skincare routine with visible results, I’d especially recommend The Acids. There are three options to choose from, so you can pick the one that best suits your skin’s needs and where you are in your skincare journey.

For more of Caroline’s practical, no-nonsense skincare advice, you can also pick up her books, Skincare: The New Edit, £17, and her latest one, Teen Skincare, £16.99.

On a Tuesday evening in Eagle Rock, used-bookstore owners Jeremy and Debbie Kaplan were closing up for the day when a stranger rushed through the entrance. He tossed an envelope onto the counter, said something like: “Building’s been sold,” and slipped out.

Inside the envelope, the Kaplans found a 30-day notice: The shop’s $1,200 monthly rent would be increasing to $2,805 on April 1, they were required to decide whether they would accept the more than 133% price hike a month in advance, and they’d need to agree to a three- to five-year lease if so. The letter arrived Feb. 17, which meant the Kaplans had 11 days to accept the new landlord’s terms or leave.

“We couldn’t even consider it,” Jeremy Kaplan said. “It would be suicide.” The couple looked around the 680-square-foot shop. From the floor to ceiling, more than 20,000 books were crammed every which way into shelves they’d built and stained themselves nearly 20 years before. “My first reaction was panic,” he said. “How are we going to move out of this place?”

Their children had grown up at Read Books (pronounced like the color, as in: “These aren’t new books, they’re previously read books.”) The realization began to set in, Jeremy said, that they were being pushed out with intimidation tactics. “We started getting angry. So the next day, we started looking into our legal rights.”

After searching the internet, the Kaplans found California’s Senate Bill 1103, the Commercial Tenant Protection Act that passed last year. The law offers protections for “qualified commercial tenants” and requires landlords to give a 90-day notice for rent increases surpassing 10%.

When the Kaplans tried to contact the new property management company, Jeremy said, Systems Real Estate was evasive.

“It’s the one bill that protects commercial tenants, and it’s a fairly toothless bill because they don’t have to acknowledge it, unless you make them acknowledge it,” he said. The Kaplans, along with Sharon Kroner, whose neighboring vintage boutique Owl Talk is facing the same fate, wrote to Systems Real Estate, citing SB 1103. They had the letter certified and attached their rent checks for the next month.

In response, the 30-day notice was amended to 90 days. Systems Real Estate did not respond to a request from The Times for comment.

The Kaplans had more time to search for a new location, but Jeremy quickly saw a trend in Northeast Los Angeles. “Vacant spaces all over the place,” he said. “When we inquired, they were ludicrously expensive, most over $5 per square foot. The second thing we started noticing was small stores like ours going out of business or being priced out in the exact same way we were.”

Jeremy Kaplan stands inside his bookstore on the last day Read Books is open for business.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Building a coalition

When Jeremy started posting about Read Books’ plight, the response was immediate and overwhelming. Many customers who reached out said they wanted to help — the bookstore had been in Eagle Rock for as long as they had.

“Not mere condolences but calls to action from people I barely knew,” he said. “Lawyers, journalists, activists, parents, children.”

Two days after the rent-increase notice was delivered, the Kaplans and their supporters were devising a plan to fight back — if not to save Read Books, then to save other small businesses.

Save North East Los Angeles Shops was born.

Chris Newman, an immigrant rights lawyer whose son learned to read with books bought at the Eagle Rock shop, told The Times he showed up to the group’s first official meeting with the intention of trying to save the bookstore.

“I was surprised to see so many people talking not just about the situation that Jeremy’s in, but an epidemic that small businesses are facing,” Newman said.

At one coalition meeting in April, Jeremy rushed in late.

He’d just come from an event where he’d been able to talk with Mayor Karen Bass about the plight small businesses are facing and asked about the possibility of imposing a commercial vacancy tax on property owners who leave storefronts vacant for extended periods.

Although sympathetic, the mayor shot him down pretty swiftly, Jeremy said, saying nobody in L.A. wants more taxes.

A representative for Bass told The Times that under her leadership, “the City is focused on cutting red tape, expanding support for local businesses, and advancing solutions that address the broader affordability crisis.”

Signs against rent increases are posted outside Read Books.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The precedent

In March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down, small businesses in San Francisco had been grappling with rising rents that increasingly led to empty storefronts. Then North Beach’s beloved corner gem, Caffe Sapore, got its notice. Like Eagle Rockers, San Franciscans were done merely lamenting the community’s loss. They started organizing.

Aaron Peskin, who at the time served on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, said that while there are a variety of factors contributing to the vacancy issue, impractical property owners were the most common thread.

“Commercial landlords had unbelievably unrealistic expectations of rent, and a small business can only sell a T-shirt or a hamburger or a service for what the market will bear, and none of them could swing the rent,” Peskin said.

That year he authored Proposition D, a commercial vacancy tax ordinance that applies to street-facing, ground-floor properties that sit vacant for more than 182 days a year. It passed with nearly 70% of the vote.

“I served on that Board of Supervisors for 17 years, and it’s one of my proudest pieces of public policy,” Peskin said. “In the years since it passed, it has been working and has really helped in the post-pandemic recovery in our neighborhood commercial corridors. It’s been a rare instant success story.”

Demonstrators march toward Eagle Rock City Hall carrying protest signs against rent hikes for small businesses.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The landlords

The question as to why someone would purchase a commercial property, raise the rent so current tenants are displaced and prospective tenants look elsewhere, only to have a onetime community hub collecting cobwebs, has inspired myriad theories.

Peskin pointed to an impractical landlord mentality; an L.A. council member suspected landlords were after tax breaks; a professor of economics said that his sense is that there’s more going on and tax benefits are likely not the driving factor; and a commercial real estate expert said landlords are likely pricing tenants out so they can tear the buildings down.

The Times reached out to Dr. Ari Ucar, the new owner of the Eagle Rock Boulevard building, who did not respond.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, a former tenant rights attorney, told The Times that landlords can benefit by claiming the vacancy as a loss on their taxes. “For landlords who own multiple commercial properties in a wide portfolio, a vacancy can be marked as a loss. In essence, when you file taxes and mark this as a loss, it reduces the total income generated. That’s the perverse incentive of having a vacancy.”

But a tax attorney in Los Angeles, Andrew Gradman, wasn’t convinced the tax incentive was enough to curb a landlord’s appetite for the passive income of steady rent payments. “You have to consider the most reasonable premise, which is that these landlords think they can get a better tenant, or they think that the lease would stand in the way of their getting some other better deal, in the form of, say, selling the whole building.”

A commercial real estate broker, Nick Quackenbos, said the likely motive for such a price hike is plans to scrape the building and build apartments in its place. He pointed to a recent landmark bill, State Senate Bill 79, which overrides local zoning laws to allow for taller, denser buildings near major transit stops. The bill will take effect statewide July 1, but L.A. plans to delay citywide upzoning until 2030 by carving out bespoke plans that target 55 single-family and low-density areas, allowing for 4-16 unit buildings up to four stories tall.

The 55 areas are mostly in Central L.A., West L.A., the Eastside and the San Fernando Valley. While Eagle Rock isn’t what L.A. city planners are designating an “opportunity hub” right now, Read Books is located a stone’s throw from the upcoming Colorado/Eagle Rock station, a stop on the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line slated to launch ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“The bill is allowing things to take place which could disfigure a city like Eagle Rock,” said Quackenbos. “I bet that’s what you’re going to find down the road: These places will become vacant, and suddenly there’s groundbreaking for a new apartment building going up.”

Jeremy Kaplan speaks to community members outside his store, Read Books, about the issues small business owners face.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

The rally

Read Books was set to close last weekend, and the Kaplans wanted to go out with a bang. In the shop’s front window was a single book: “The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto” by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, surrounded by signs that read “Forced Out!,” “Shame on Greedy Landlords,” and “Our Family Loves Read Books.”

As Debbie sat at the register inside, helping a steady flow of the shop’s final patrons, protesters gathered behind the building, clutching homemade posters and waiting for Jeremy to speak. Choking up, he addressed the crowd.

Debbie Kaplan, who co-owns Read Books, hands a customer books.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

“Three months ago, when this all began, my initial action was to fight back, because fighting is my default setting. But I also felt … fear of insignificance, of disappearing, as if everything we built in the last 19 years, often working seven days a week, might soon be dismantled and forgotten. The support you’ve gifted us with these last few months has been a constant reminder that we’re all in this together.

“The real estate lobby is rich and powerful. They have more lobbyists than our representatives have staff, but we are building a coalition to fight them.

“What’s at stake? The soul of Los Angeles.”

SABRINA Carpenter rocked an old Hollywood look at the Met Gala on Monday, rocking a tight-fitting frock with a racy thigh-high slit.

The 26-year-old singing sensation wore a gorgeous dress made out of real old Hollywood film reels as she attended the star-studded event in New York.

The film reels on the dress were of the Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn movie, which is titled Sabrina.

She flashed her toned pins as she strutted her stuff in front of onlookers, smiling and beaming as she made her way up the iconic steps.

Fans were left completely enamoured by her sizzling ensemble.

“The hair is so pretty, the dress is stunning, everything is amazing,” penned one person.

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“This b**ch wrapped herself in Kodak film,” added a second, complete with a laughing emoji.

“That is a cool dress and idea,” said a third.

“She DEFINITELY understood the assignment,” added a fourth.

While a fifth wrote: “Sabrina Carpenter’s dress is one of the most creative I’ve seen tonight. I love that.”

But not everyone was complimentary of her outfit, with some quick to share their critique.

“It’s classy but she could have done a whole lot better,” said one person.

“Boring as usual,” slammed a second.

While a third penned: “the dress itself is beautifully constructed but the choice of the film strips is lost on me and its connection to the theme/dress code?”

This comes off the back of Sabrina’s sensational headline concerts at Coachella last month.

The singer delivered a set dubbed “Sabrinawood” with a Hollywood-themed set across two weekends on April 10 and 17.

Her shows featured some very iconic cameos from the likes of Madonna, Susan Sarandon, Will Ferrell, and Sam Elliott.

The setlist highlighted her most recent album Man’s Best Friend, but also included some of her biggest hits like Espresso and Feather.

KYLIE Jenner has once again gotten fans talking with her daring looks as she rocked a curve-hugging “nipple dress” on the 2026 Met Gala red carpet. 

The reality star wore the sexy look for a solo night out in New York City despite fans hoping that boyfriend Timothee Chalamet would be her date for the first Monday in May. 

Kylie, 28, stunned in a formfitting Schiaparelli strapless nude corset that pushed up her chest with cups that included nipples poking out. 

The corset went down to her hips, where a long lace skirt draped down to her feet. 

She completed her look with a diamond necklace and smokier glam makeup. 

The mom-of-two rocked a side part with old Hollywood curls and a long piece of hair going over her forehead. 

INTERGALACTIC STYLE

Katy Perry rocks astronaut mask at Met Gala 1 year after space trip

Timothee, 30, chose to skip the Met Gala red carpet but was just down the street at Madison Square Garden to support his beloved New York Knicks as the team competes in the NBA playoffs.

While his girlfriend was serving looks for the cameras, the Oscar-nominee was pictured court-side at tonight’s Knicks game against the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 1 of the conference semifinals.

Kylie, 28, has become one of the Met Gala’s most talked-about regulars however, it’s not always for the right reasons.

From her dazzling debut to viral backlash over a baseball cap on the red carpet, the beauty mogul has built a reputation for bold glam – and also for occasionally missing the theme entirely.

She made her Met Gala debut in 2016 in a heavily embellished silver gown by Balmain.

The futuristic look, complete with a blunt bob wig, instantly put her on the fashion map.

Fans praised the bold entrance, though some questioned whether the edgy look felt too mature at the time.

In 2017, Kylie stepped out in a sheer, feathered gown by Versace for the avant-garde Comme des Garçons-inspired theme.

Kylie returned in 2018 just months after welcoming her daughter, Stormi, wearing a sleek black gown by Alexander Wang.

The moment grabbed headlines – but not everyone was impressed.

Fans applauded her confidence, while others slammed the outfit as “underwhelming” and off-theme for the religious-inspired night.

Her 2019 look remains one of her most iconic.

Kylie stunned in a lavender feathered gown by Versace, complete with a matching purple wig, fully embracing the “camp” theme.

Fans were overall obsessed, with many still ranking it as her best-ever Met Gala moment.

After a three-year hiatus, Kylie returned in 2022 in a white bridal-inspired gown by Off-White as a tribute to the late designer, Virgil Abloh.

However, it was her backwards baseball cap that stole the spotlight.

The unexpected accessory sparked backlash online, with critics calling the look confusing and “disrespectful” to the theme – though others defended the sentimental tribute.

In 2023, Kylie opted for a more refined look in a red gown by Jean Paul Gaultier honoring Karl Lagerfeld.

Kylie leaned into romance at the 2024 gala with a sculptural, corseted gown featuring floral accents.

The feminine look was well received, though some critics said it lacked the wow factor of her earlier appearances.

In 2025, Kylie returned in a sheer, corseted design that highlighted her signature hourglass shape.

Fans praised the fit – but others complained the style felt repetitive of her past red carpet choices.

By early 1963, the Station Hotel in London had become an epicenter of the burgeoning British blues scene. On a blustery, snowy night that February, the Rolling Stones’ classic early lineup took the stage for one of the first times, dazzling the audience with ferocious renditions of blues standards like Muddy Waters’ “I Want to Be Loved” and Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City.”

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, the band’s founder and leader, synchronized guitars with Keith Richards, who favored a distinctive slashing and stinging style. Drummer Charlie Watts, the group’s newest member, a jazz aficionado and an accomplished percussionist, propelled the music forward with a rock-solid beat.

Anchoring the rhythm section with him was bassist Bill Wyman, who was recruited more for his spare VOX AC30 amp that the guitarists could plug into than for his musical skills. The stoic bassist proved a strong and innovative player. Together, he and Watts would go on to form one of rock’s most decorated rhythm sections.

Ian Stewart’s energetic boogie-woogie piano style rounded out the sound. Months later, manager Andrew Loog Oldham kicked him out of the band for being “ugly,” although Stewart continued to record, tour and serve as the band’s road manager until his death in 1985.

This April 8, 1964, file photo shows the Rolling Stones during a rehearsal. The members, from left, are Brian Jones, guitar; Bill Wyman, bass; Charlie Watts, drums; Mick Jagger, vocals; and Keith Richards, guitar.

(Associated Press)

Fronting the group was Mick Jagger. Channeling the music like a crazed shaman, Jagger shimmied and sashayed, owning the stage like few lead singers have before or since. By the end of the night, the Stones had the crowd in a frenzy. Although only 30 people had made it to the gig because of the treacherous weather conditions, the hotel’s booker had seen enough: He offered the Stones a regular gig.

“The Rolling Stones had caught fire. The music they were playing and the way they played it struck a chord with a young crowd starved for something different, something their own… It was soul-stirring, loud and uncompromising,” writes Bob Spitz in “The Rolling Stones: The Biography,” his magisterial work that charts the 60-year journey of “the greatest rock and roll band in the world.”

Spitz, the author of strong biographies on the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, as well as Ronald Reagan and Julia Child, captures the drama, trauma and betrayals that have kept the Stones in the public’s consciousness for more than six decades. It’s all here: The Stones’ evolution from a blues cover band to artistic rival of the Beatles; the musical peaks — “Aftermath,” “Let It Bleed” and “Exile on Main Street” as well as misfires like “Dirty Work”; Keith’s descent into a debilitating heroin addiction that nearly destroyed him and the band; the death of the ‘60s at the ill-fated Altamont free concert; Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg, Bianca Jagger, Jerry Hall and other lovers, partners and muses; the breakups, makeups and crackups; and perhaps most important, the unbreakable bond between Jagger and Richards at the center of it all.

Although Spitz unearths little new information, he excels at presenting the Stones in glorious Technicolor. Spitz homes in on the telling details and anecdotes that give the band’s story a deep richness and poignancy.

Take “Satisfaction,” the Stones’ 1965 classic and first U.S. chart topper. The oft-told story is that Richards woke up in the middle of the night, grabbed the guitar that was next to his bed, and recorded the iconic riff and the phrase “I can’t get no … satisfaction” on a cassette recorder in his Clearwater, Fla., hotel room before falling back asleep. But as Spitz notes, the song initially went nowhere in the studio. That is until Stewart purchased a fuzz box for Richards a few days later, which gave the tune a raunchier sound that perfectly matched Jagger’s lyrics of frustration and alienation. A classic was born.

Piercing the Stones mythology

Spitz’s deep reporting often pierces the mythology surrounding the band. Contrary to the popular belief of many fans, for instance, Jones bears much of the responsibility for the rift with his bandmates and his tragic demise.

The most musically adventurous member of the group — he plays sitar on “Paint It Black” and dulcimer on “Lady Jane” — Jones wasn’t a songwriter. That stoked his jealousies and insecurities, along with frontman Jagger stealing the spotlight from him. A monster of a man, Jones impregnated multiple teenage girls and physically and emotionally abused several women, including Pallenberg. Perhaps that’s why she left him for Richards. Over time, Jones made fewer contributions in the studio and onstage, becoming a catatonic drug casualty. The Stones fired Jones in June 1969 but would have been justified doing so a couple years earlier. He drowned in his pool less than a month later.

Author Bob Spitz

(Elena Seibert)

Similarly, Stones lore has long romanticized the making of “Exile on Main Street” in the stifling, dingy basement of Richards’ rented Villa Nellcôte in the South of France, where the Stones had decamped to avoid British taxes. In this telling, Richards, deep in the throes of heroin addiction, somehow managed to come up with one indelible riff after another built around his signature open G tuning — taught to him by Ry Cooder — leading the band to create one of the best albums in rock history. That’s not entirely accurate, according to Spitz.

Yes, Richards came up with the licks for “Rocks Off,” “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice.” But it’s equally true that a strung-out Richards missed myriad recording sessions, invited dealers, hangers-on and other distractions to Nellcôte, and repeatedly failed to turn up to write with Jagger. Far from completing the album in the druggy haze of a French basement, the band spent six months on overdubs at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, where Jagger contributed many of his vocals.

Beatles vs. Stones

One of the more interesting themes Spitz develops is the symbiotic relationship between the Beatles and Stones, with the Fab Four mostly overshadowing them — until they didn’t.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote “I Wanna Be Your Man” and gave it to the Stones, whose 1963 rendition, with Jones on slide guitar, became the group’s first UK Top 20 hit. The Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership inspired Jagger and Richards to begin penning their own songs. In early 1964, the Beatles came to the U.S. for the first time, making television history with their appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and playing Carnegie Hall. A few months later, the Stones kicked off their inaugural American tour at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. In 1967, the Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” a psychedelic masterpiece. The Stones responded with “Their Satanic Majesties Request,” a psychedelic mess.

The Rolling Stones: The Biography cover

As the Beatles began to splinter, Spitz writes, the Stones sharpened their focus. The band released “Beggars Banquet” in late 1968 and “Let It Bleed” the following year, albums every bit as innovative and visionary as “The White Album” and “Abbey Road.” For the first time, the two groups stood as equals.

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, the Stones kept rolling. With Jones replaced by virtuoso guitarist Mick Taylor — whose fluid, melodic style served as a tasty foil to Richards — they produced what many consider their finest works, “Sticky Fingers” and “Exile on Main Street.” More impressively, the band, with Taylor’s successor, Ronnie Wood, has continued to dazzle audiences with incendiary live shows, touring as recently as 2024 behind the late-career triumph “Hackney Diamonds.” The Beatles, by contrast, retired from the road in 1966 and devoted their energies to the studio.

Hundreds of books have been written about the Rolling Stones, but few sparkle quite like Spitz’s. For anyone who loves or even likes the Stones, it’s indispensable.

Like most of the band’s biographers, Spitz gives short shrift to the post-“Exile” period after 1972. He curtly dismisses 2005’s strong “A Bigger Bang” and 2016’s “Blue & Lonesome,” a back-to-basics album of blues covers, as “adequate endeavors that signaled a band living on borrowed time.” That critique is both off target and under-developed. Spitz ignores the band’s legendary live album, “Brussels Affair,” recorded in 1973, or why the band waited decades before officially releasing it.

These are small quibbles. Spitz has written a book worthy of its 704-page length; another 50 or so pages covering the later years would have made it even stronger. To quote the Rolling Stones: “I know it’s only rock ‘n roll, but I like it, like it, yes, I do.”

Marc Ballon, a former Times, Forbes and Inc. Magazine reporter, teaches an advanced writing class at USC. He lives in Fullerton.