The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

For the album of the same name, see The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (album).

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
Directed byMichael Lindsay-Hogg[1]
Produced bySanford Lieberson[1][2]
Starring
CinematographyAnthony B. Richmond
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed byABKCO Films
Release date
Running time
66 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was a British concert film hosted by and featuring the Rolling Stones, filmed on 11–12 December 1968. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who proposed the idea of a "rock and roll circus" to Jagger.[3] The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called The Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Mitch Mitchell (of The Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums, and the Stones' Keith Richards on bass. The recently formed Led Zeppelin had been considered for inclusion, but the idea was rejected.[4] (As the Who's Pete Townshend recalled, an earlier idea for a circus-themed concert tour had been floated; it would have featured the Stones, the Who, and the Small Faces.)[5]

The film was meant to be aired on the BBC, but the Rolling Stones withheld it, contending that they did so because they felt their performance was substandard; they were clearly exhausted after 15 hours of filming (and some indulgence in drugs).[6] It was Brian Jones' last appearance with the Rolling Stones; he drowned some seven months later while the film was being edited. Some speculate that another reason for not releasing the film was that the Who, who were fresh off a concert tour, upstaged the Stones on their own production.[7] The show was not released commercially until October 1996.

  1. ^ a b c "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference nyt96maslin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond. Alfred A. Knopf. 2011. ISBN 9780307594686.
  4. ^ Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond. Alfred A. Knopf. 2011. ISBN 9780307594686.
  5. ^ ""Radically Festive": The Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus. By Mat Snow : Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages".
  6. ^ "The Story of 'The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'". Ultimate Classic Rock. 11 December 2015.
  7. ^ "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". CD Universe Store.
    - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus at IMDb
    - Brusie, David (12 February 2009). "1996: The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". Tiny Mix Tapes.
    - See infobox picture for appearances
    - Fischer, Russ (4 February 2008). "STONES ON FILM: THE ROLLING STONES ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS (1968/1996)". Chud.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2012.