The Rolling Stones are to release a new photo album to mark 50 years since their first ever gig. The book, published by Thames & Hudson, will feature 700 shots, 300 of them in colour and many taken from the archive of the Daily Mirror. The photographic autobiography – entitled ‘The Rolling Stones: 50’ – will also include words from the band and images taken by Philip Townsend, the photographer for the their first ever shoot. In a statement on their official website Rollingstones.com, the band wrote:

“This is our story of 50 fantastic years. We started out as a blues band playing the clubs and more recently we’ve filled the largest stadiums in the world with the kind of show that none of us could have imagined all those years ago.”

It added:

“Curated by us, it features the very best photographs and ephemera from and beyond our archives.”

Ronnie Wood recently hinted that the band are also “on the verge” of touring this year. He said:

“Be lovely, wouldn’t it? That’s what we’re on the verge of. I don’t know what the hell is going to happen yet but we all feel we owe it to ourselves and to the people to do something.”

‘The Rolling Stones: 50’ will hit UK bookshelves on July 12, the date in 1962 when the band first played at London’s Marquee Club.