Fantastic pictures of The Rolling Stones in Morecambe before they were famous could be worth thousands

But 63 years on, his memories of that time are still fresh and were captured on camera for posterity by Mike.

As a teenager, growing up in Lancaster, Mike was always interested in music so when Nelsons, where he worked, wanted to raise money for their sports and social club, he started Teen Beat Nights at Morecambe’s Floral Hall.

He found an agent’s name in the Melody Maker, phoned him and booked Freddie and the Dreamers for £50 which was a lot to pay considering Mike, as an assistant purchasing officer, was earning £12 a week.

However, their appearance was such a success that other concerts followed and in 1963, Mike was offered a new group called The Rolling Stones who had just recorded a cover version of Chuck Berry’s Come On.

The price was high - £95 – but also included The Merseybeats, Dave Berry & The Cruisers and local band the Doodlebugs on the same bill.

“We put up posters everywhere, even on bus windows, and sold 2,000 tickets at five shillings in advance or six shillings on the door. It was unbelievable,” said Mike.

“The Rolling Stones arrived in a Bedford van and I thought they were very quiet. They hadn’t released any of their own songs by then so I suppose when I booked them, it was just the right place at the right time.”

There were so many people at the gig that some sat on the stage to get a good view of what was to become one of the biggest bands in the world.

“They were so close, the audience could reach up and touch them,” said Mike.

And Mike took photographs of the performance and informal shots of the band in the Floral Hall bar which are so rare that they now could be worth thousands of pounds according to an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow on which he has appeared.

Mike, now 83, lives in South Wales and retired from his job as an area manager for C&A in 2000 but he still has fond memories of his time at the centre of Morecambe’s music scene in the Swinging Sixties.

“At that time, more pop groups came to Morecambe than to Blackpool,” said Mike.

As well as running the Teen Beat Nights, he became a DJ, known as Michaelangelo, spinning the discs at the Central Pier, the Broadway Hotel and Vale of Lune Rugby Club, often in the interval when the Doodlebugs performed.

Married to Avriel and with two sons, Mike received a High Sheriff award for his work in the community where he now lives and attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace five years ago.

He is hoping to place some of his musical memories of Morecambe on his YouTube channel as his many talks in the area have become so popular.

And decades after he first saw them in Morecambe, Mike did see The Rolling Stones again – at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, a far cry from the Floral Hall and the ticket was a bit more expensive than five shillings!