Sam Cutler, the one-time stage manager for The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Eric Clapton, has died in Queensland at age 80.
Sam was first diagnosed with cancer a decade ago. Sam’s two children Bodhi and Chesley announced his passing on Sam’s social media page.
Sam Cutler was on stage to introduce The Rolling Stones at the Hyde Park Concert on 5 July, 1969. Stones co-founder Brian Jones had died just two days earlier. Sam was also the road manager for The Stones US tour of 1969 and worked with the band at the infamous Altamont Free Concert where a studio was killed at the front of the stage during the band’s performance. Sam was the first to utter the famous Stones concert intro, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World…The Rolling Stones!”. Sam told A Current Affair in Australia, “Mick walked offstage and gave me a dirty look and said ‘I want to speak to you’ and he said ‘we don’t want you to call us the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world it’s embarrassing’.”
The line opens the Stones live album ‘Get Yer Ya Yas Out’.
After Altamont, Cutler remained in the USA and worked as tour manager for The Grateful Dead.
Sam Cutler moved to Australia in the late 90s and lived a quiet life in Queensland. Sam can be heard on Melbourne band Black Cab’s 2006 release ‘Valiant’.
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