Maggie May: Stealing Ripon’s Heart

Our first blog explored the enduring power of The Killers’ dancefloor ballad, ‘Mr. Brightside’. This time, we’re travelling back to the early 1970s. For many Ripon students, there is only one man and one song that could properly represent their time at college: Rod Stewart and his 1971 hit, ‘Maggie May’.  

In its “definitive” list of the world’s top 500 songs, The Rolling Stone places Maggie May at number 131, in the company of Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to Be Wild’ and U2’s ‘With Or Without You’. However, although ‘Maggie May’ was by far our most frequently chosen song across both Ripon Rewind and YSJ Replay, as The Rolling Stone explains, it could have easily passed us by:  

The song, a last-minute addition to Every Picture Tells a Story, was initially the B side of “Reason to Believe.” Stewart has joked that if a DJ hadn’t flipped the single over, he’d have gone back to his old job: digging graves. But the song’s rustic mandolin and acoustic guitars — and Mickey Waller’s relentless drum-bashing — were undeniable. The song became Stewart’s first U.S. Top 40 hit — and first Number One.  

The Rolling Stone

From this unlikely start, ‘Maggie May’ would become a feature of Ripon student life throughout the early 1970s. As one Ripon Rewind participant commented, “Rod was the man back then in 71” (Class of 1974).  

Do you share in any of these Maggie May memories? 

Wake Up, Wilkie  

“Nights spent in the Wilkie Building Ripon, 1971-1974.” 

“Always blasting out every time I was in the Wilkie building.” (Class of 1973) 

“Often played in the Wilkie bar, Ripon College 1972.” 

“Remember it well from the Wilkie bar.” (Class of 1974) 

“Just released when I first went to college in Ripon. I think of the Wilkie every time I hear it.” (Class of 1974) 

A Hit in the Discos 

“This was one of the records played in Freshers week September 1971 at the first college disco I attended.” 

“I can still hear Rod in the Friday night discos and the foot stamping in the breaks in Maggie May. Hearing them permits real time travel.” (Class of 1973) 

“Freshers’ disco September 1971” 

“Discos in the concours.” (Class of 1974) 

“The girl in the next room to me on I Block was obsessed with this song and played it constantly!” (Class of 1975)  

“Memories of end of year disco at Ripon 1977!” 

You Stole My Heart 

“We made a huge circle in the college hall singing to this during the final college ball at the end of our time at Ripon. The following day our friend Maggi married Paul in the college chapel, making history. Happy days.” (Class of 1975) 

“Started going out with my eventual wife at Ripon College who was also called Maggie. So this song is very special to both of us.” (Class of 1973) 

Ripon Rewind: The Ultimate Standings

Keep an eye out for the finalised, ultimate YSJ Replay and Ripon Rewind playlists and find out which song was chosen to represent your student days! 

You can check out all of the entries, grouped by decade, on our Spotify playlists. 

If you have any questions or comments about Ripon Rewind, we would love to hear from you.