What would happen if you gathered members The Rolling Stones, The Who, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull for a one time only rock and roll extravaganza? If you guessed “The Stones would be so embarrassed by their performance that the footage would be hidden for thirty years,” then give yourself a gold star.
On this day in 1968, a once-in-a-lifetime television taping occurred in Wembley, London. However, it would take us thirty years to finally see just what happened, when the biggest stars of the British music scene gathered together for a circus act that would become legendary…though not for the reasons originally envisioned.
In the late sixties, Mick Jagger was hanging out with The Who’s Pete Townshend and The Faces’ Ronnie Lane, discussing ways to promote their new album, when he suddenly said the fateful words “I have an idea!” Usually those words mean gathering together super models, a jaguar, and copious amounts of every inebriate known to man. But this idea was a little different. Jagger had decided he wanted to run away and join the circus, with acrobats, clowns, super models, a jaguar and every inebriate in the world, and take us all with him. Say what you will, but the man knew what he liked.
The Rolling Stones were releasing a new album, Beggar’s Banquet, and he wanted to do something different to spread the word. Being one of the biggest recording acts in the world, the Stones had already done pretty much every kind of promotional stunt imaginable already, and their success lead to levels of excess that are hard to imagine. So when some of the world’s biggest rock stars says they want to throw a circus, you can be damn sure a circus was on the way.
A sound stage was booked, aerialists, tumblers and clowns booked, a deliberately run down circus styled tent was designed and fabricated, while Jagger and the band’s management gathered talent. Led Zeppelin was reportedly considered briefly, and the Faces were also part of the original plan, but both bands were voted down. Taj Mahal, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithful and The Who were brought on to the bill, as well as a John Lennon-containing super group called “The Dirty Mac.” Jagger was to act as host and ring master for the ceremonies.
On the day of the filming, the royalty of the British music scene converged on the set. A born, front man who had years of swaggering across stages under his belt at this point, Jagger looks visibly uncomfortable through the non performance portions of the special. Woodenly going through pre written intros and set ups, Jagger seems miles away from the iconic force he had become in the eyes of his adoring fans.
Those fans got a lot more of an inside look at a television production than they had anticipated as well. The process of setting up and tearing down the bands was lengthened considerably by the need to account for camera angles and lighting. A series of equipment malfunctions and harried staff, some reportedly getting a little to close to the wild party happening among the musicians, lead to the taping taking much longer than anticipated. Though the invited audience arrive around two pm, The Stones didn’t actually take the stage until close to 5 am.
Leading a cavalcade of musicians, acrobats and horse back bound cowboys the bands entered. Jagger promised sights and sounds and marvels for your ears,” The performances ranged widely in quality, and were in some cases not even done live. For the briefest of periods Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi was a member of Jethro Tull, and this was his only appearance ever with the band onstage.
Sadly, the band “played” to prerecorded audio tracks which did not feature the Iommi, so there is no audio record of his tenure with the group. Though Ian Anderson did sing live, the music was done earlier in and attempt to cut down on set up time, at the suggestion of The Stones. The backing tracks for “A Song for Jeffrey” and “Fat Man” were done prior to filming, and the audience was disappointed when they saw the band was not actually giving a true live performance.
Up next came The Who, a set of actually live material that many feel was the show stealing performance of the day. After watching Jethro Tull lip sync through their songs, The Who’s well known reputation as one of the fiercest live acts on the planet was shown to be well earned. Their version of “A Quick One, While He’s Away” received an uproarious reception the Jagger noted with a bit of worry.
To make the show truly one for the ages, a “auper group” was proposed, featuring a one time gathering of John Lennon (Playing as “Winston Legthigh“) Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton and Mitch Mitchell from the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Jagger and Keith Richards rounding it out. Tamer than might be expected, the only performance by “The Dirty Mac” was far more mundane than the talent might have looked on paper. Even the Yoko shrieked “Yer Blues” did not overly impress nor disappoint.
That said, it did look as if Lennon and Jagger had a lot of fun in the rehearsals leading up to the taping, as shown in the clip below.
While all the performances were going on, the overworked crew were trying desperately to keep old equipment together and make it through the taping. At the same time, the rock stars were partying as hard as to be expected. A full day of stress, drugs and unaccustomed roles had taken their toll on the members of the Rolling Stones, and as the clock neared 5 AM, they were no where near their finest as they took the stage.
The Stones’ performance of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and the rest of their set were flatter than usual, buoyed only by Jaggers undeniable charisma and boundless energy with a mic in his hand. The band knew that they weren’t giving their best, but, due to the time constraints, they had no choice but to do what they could. Though the footage shows serviceable versions of the selected songs, it didn’t come close to the might and majesty imagined on that earlier day by Jagger. Check out a couple of their songs from the show below.
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
Upon reviewing the footage, Mick Jagger immediately scrapped the broadcast, locking away the footage and throwing away the key. Though the stated reason was a disappointment in the Stones performance, a more credible theory exists. Besides his personal dislike of Jethro Tull’s music, and his agreement with much of the worlds feeling of disdain for Yoko’s “singing,” the real root of the problem was simple insecurity.
Though Jagger was less than impressed with his bands performance, he reportedly realized that, if broadcast alongside The Who’s energized and wildly received tune, The Stones would clearly fail in any comparisons. Known for being very protective of his band’s reputation, Jagger simply could not allow a show to air where his band was blown off the stage.
The footage languished in the vaults for thirty years, while Jagger and The Stones ignored calls from fans and music aficionados alike to release the footage for at the very least the historical aspect of the performances. Such a collection of talent performing together was something that belonged to the music community, they argued, though it took a full 28 years before they would get their wish.
The long anticipated release was done, and viewers were somewhat puzzled. Through the lens of history, and the aura of legend that had sprung up around the taping, they were disappointed to see that none of the highs were as high as previously reported, nor the lows that low. Tull’s lack of real performance aside, their set was serviceable. The Who did indeed deliver a stellar performance, but the Stones’ set, while slow starting, was not the debacle imagined. It was merely a flat set delivered by a tired band with a still ready to go front man urging them on.
The failure of the Rock And Roll Circus concept was a sad one. A series of shows like this would have indeed been a original way to promote the bands, and with better planning and execution could have made a real mark in the annals of music history, instead of a curious foot note. Fans wanted to see more of these bands, and they pestered the band for decades until they got their wish. But, as The Stones themselves sang, “You can’t always get what you want…but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.”