How old were your favourite Classic Rock stars when they had their first hit?

28 April 2025, 15:13

The year is almost over - how much did you achieve? See if you had done as much as Alex Turner by the time you were 19...

By Radio X

@RadioX

"Youth is wasted on the young" goes the old saying. Here's some evidence to the contrary - just how young were the stars of rock when they first came to the public's attention?

1. Keith Moon - 18

   The wild man of rock drumming was just 17 when he auditioned for The Who, and was still only 18 when the band's first single, I Can't Explain, broke the British Top 10. His colleagues were 19 (Pete Townshend) and 20 (Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle).

   

   The Who - I Can't Explain

2. Angus Young - 19

   The AC/DC guitarist was just 19 years old when the band had their first minor Aussie hit with Can I Sit Next To You Girl. The follow-up, a cover of Baby Please Don't Go, broke the Australian Top 20 when Angus was still that age.

   

   Can I Sit Next to You Girl

3. Kate Bush - 19

   Young Catherine Bush was just six months shy of her 20th birthday when she topped the charts with Wuthering Heights, making her the first female artist to get a UK Number 1 with a self-written song. She'd penned it the year before, when she was just 18!

   

   Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights - Official Music Video - Version 1

4. John Lydon - 20

   Then going under the punkier pseudonym of Johnny Rotten, the Godfather Of Punk was only a few weeks away from his 21st birthday when Anarchy In The UK snuck into the lower reaches of the Top 40.

   

   Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK

5. Paul McCartney - 20

   Sir Fab Macca was born in June 1942, making him a fresh-faced 20 when Love Me Do got into the UK top 20. He was still 20 when The Beatles had their first Number 1 the following Spring.

   

   Love me do - The Beatles (HD-HQ)

6. Mick Jagger - 20

   Come On was the debut Rolling Stones single, which charted in July 1963, the week of Mick's 20th birthday. His first Number 1 was It's All Over Now, which hit the top just before his 21st. What a present!

   

   The Rolling Stones - Come On

7. Robert Plant - 20

   "Percy" Plant was a mere 19 years old when he released his first solo singles in 1967, but none of these efforts made a dent on the British chart. Once he'd hooked up with Led Zeppelin, however, it was a different story - while their debut single Good Times Bad Times wasn't a chart success, its parent album made Number 6 in May 1969, making the young singer a star in the UK. He'd turn 21 in August the same year and recorded the all-time classic Stairway To Heaven when he was only 22.

   

   Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times (Official Audio)

8. Ray Davies - 20

   The songwriting mastermind behind The Kinks had just turned 20 years old when You Really Got Me spent two weeks at Number 1 in September 1964.

   

   The Kinks - You Really Got Me (Official Audio)

9. Ozzy Osbourne - 21

   Black Sabbath's Paranoid peaked at Number 4 in the UK charts in October 1970, when frontman Ozzy was still 21.

   

   BLACK SABBATH - "Paranoid" (Official Video)

10. Jon Bon Jovi - 21

    The Bon Jovi frontman was a couple of weeks away from his 22nd birthday when Runaway broke into the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984 - he'd have to wait another year before the band would enter the UK Top 40 with Hardest Part Is The Night.

    

    Bon Jovi - Runaway (Official Music Video)

11. Bono - 21

    U2 formed at school in Dublin, and had been knocking around together for a few years before they had chart success. Their first UK hit was Fire, taken - incredibly - from their second album, October, in July 1981.

    

    U2 - Fire (live from Werchter 1982)

12. David Bowie - 22

    The Thin White Duke was a youngster of 17 when he released his debut single, Liza Jane, as Davie Jones & The King-Bees in June 1964. He spent the rest of the decade aiming for the top, but failing... until his topical fantasy Space Oddity made the charts in the wake of the Moon landing in 1969.

    

    David Bowie – Space Oddity (Official Video)

13. John Lennon - 22

    Johnny Rhythm had just turned 22 when Love Me Do first appeared on the Record Retailer chart at a respectable Number 50 in October 1962. He was still that age when The Beatles first topped the charts.

    

    The Beatles - Love me Do

14. Jim Morrison - 23

    Mr Mojo Risin' had only just turned 23 when Break On Through (To The Other Side) broke on through into the bottom end of the Billboard chart in January 1967.

    

    The Doors - Break On Through (To The Other Side) [Official Video]

15. Roger Waters - 23

    As one of the founding members of (The) Pink Floyd, bassist Waters was part of the line-up who recorded the band's debut single Arnold Layne, released in March 1967 when he was still 23. The track reached Number 20 in the UK charts.

    

    Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne (Official Music Video)

16. Phil Lynott - 23

    The Thin Lizzy frontman was 23 when Whiskey In The Jar made its way to Number 6. It would be the most successful of the Irish band's singles.

    

    Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar 1973 Video Sound HQ

17. Elton John - 23

    Sir Elton had been a performer since 1962 and a professional songwriter since 1967, but it wasn't until Your Song entered the chart in early 1971 that he began his stint as one of Britain's most popular stars.

    

    Elton John - Your Song (Top Of The Pops 1971)

18. Jimi Hendrix - 24

    Hendrix had been working as a professional musician since he left the US Army in 1962, but his first chart hit in the UK was in January 1967, a couple of months after his 24th birthday.

    

    The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe (1967)

19. Freddie Mercury - 28

    The Queen frontman was a relatively mature 28 when Seven Seas Of Rhye made it to Number 10 in April 1974. He managed to get his first Number 1 single (Bo Rhap of course) under his belt before he was 30.

    

    Queen - Seven Seas Of Rhye (Official Video)