| In the summer of 1992, I had the opportunity
to leave my Ontario home and work in Silicon Valley, in California. It was
a wonderful summer, and opened my eyes to a whole new way of living and
working. As August drew to a close, I found myself in a bookstore on University
Avenue in Palo Alto. I spotted a book by Martin Elliott, The Rolling Stones
Complete Recording Sessions, and picked it up. Inside I found descriptions
of hundreds of Rolling Stones songs I had never heard of, let alone heard.
I purchased the book, and took it back to the University of Guelph with
me. It was my first glimmer, if you will, that there was a universe of
the Rolling Stones that went beyond the albums and compilations I owned.
I had encountered a few folks online (through Usenet) and we even discussed
the possibility of a Stones mailing list. A few months later, I was finishing
up a conference I had been organizing. I had been given access to a mailing
list by the sys admins in my grad department. I asked them to change the
name from cscs92sv to undercover. I figured that name
was benign enough not to look too obvious. I didn't think putting Sticky
Fingers or Beggars Banquet as the brand was
going to be cool, and I didn't need to attract too much attention. We
really were "undercover."
As the weeks passed, new participants trickled in, and this idea began
to solidify into a thing, a place, even a community.
Flash forward to 10 years later, the summer of 2002. The list has turned
into something beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Thousands of people have
joined Undercover over the years. Friendships have been created, romances
have blossomed, and failed, the Stones have toured and we've been there
together, gathering before the show, sharing stories after, and of course,
providing vicarious thrills to each other online. And the music - the
music had been shared; the previously hidden secret mysteries of unauthorized
songs are shared regularly. Martin himself has become an icon of the group,
and I never tire of telling him how his hobby was the germ of an idea
that grew into a global force that brings together a wide range of people
who have a passion for the Stones as their common ground.
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