The offstage chaos was document-
ed by the legendary photographer
Robert Frank, who brought along a
camera for a documentary that, as
Jagger understood, would be “about
playing and about music”. Instead,
Cocksucker Blueswas a cinéma vé-
rité experiment full of lurid scenes:
naked groupies having sex on an air-
plane, Jagger snorting cocaine, and
groupie heroin use. The band blocked
its release (though it became a popu-
larbootleg).“[Robert]wouldinitiate
things,”saysJagger.“Mostdocumen-
taryfilmmakerskindofgetyoutodo
things that you perhaps wouldn’t do
if they weren’t there.” Jagger cites the
famous scene where Richards and
KeysthrewaTVoutofaHyattHotel
window:“Robertwouldprobablysay
to Keith, ‘Keith, throw the TV out the
window.’ They probably weren’t going
to do that that morning.” But Rich-
ardsdisagrees.“BobbyKeysandIen-
gineered that,” he says. “We called the
cameraman ’round when we disman-
tled the TV. So that scene was direct-
ed by Bobby Keys and Keith fucking
Richards.”
The tour wrapped with four shows
atMadisonSquareGarden.Though
theStoneshadplayed48showsin
only 54 days, they didn’t hold back.
TheJuly25thshowfeaturedasen-
timental singalong of “You Can’t Al-
waysGetWhatYouWant”andper-
hapsthefiercest“AllDowntheLine”
ever played. “You almost feel like
you’re levitating on the energy from
the audience,” says Richards. “It’s a
strange experience.” The tour ended
the following night, on Jagger’s 29th
birthday. Wonder joined the band for
a raucous medley of “Uptight (Ev-
erything’s Alright)” and a revved-up,
horn-fuelled take on “Satisfaction”
(Wondersaidhewrote“Uptight”with
“Satisfaction” in mind). A cake was
rolled onstage, and the show ended
withapiefightamongbandmates.
The afterparty, thrown by Ahmet
Ertegun, included Muddy Waters,
Bob Dylan and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Itwastheendofanera.Afterward,
Richardsslidfurtherintoaddiction,
and was arrested on heroin and gun
charges the next year. In 1974, after
only five years, Taylor left the band to
gosolo.TheStones’nextNorthAmeri-
cantour,in1975,featuredstageprops
likeagiantinflatablephallus,andlittle
oftheraggedcharmofthe1972tour.
“There were no sort of guidelines,”
Richardssays.“Yousortofmadeitup
andyouwentalong.Itwasagoodfeel-
ing,thattour.Abitfreneticandalittle
blurry, like an old movie, you know?
It was a bit jerky.” PATRICK DOYLEFor all the onstage professional-
ism, the backstage scene was as wild
asanyrock&rolltourbeforeorsince.
The band travelled with the largest
entourage in rock history up to that
point – including a physician, label
president Marshall Chess and a press
corpsRichardscomparedtoapolitical
campaign. The press included photog-
rapher Annie Leibovitz, and authors
Terry Southern, Robert Greenfield,
andTrumanCapote,whoreluctant-
ly joined for aRolling Stonecover
story. “For him, it was a social occa-
sion,” says Jagger, who recalls Capote
saying he hated the fact that Jagger
wore the same clothes every night.
“Hewould’velikeditbetternow–I
havesuchabiggerwardrobe.”(Capote
never wrote his piece, claiming it
“didn’tinterestmecreatively”.)
Jagger admits that the travelling
partywas“abitdistracting”.Hehad
to watch his drug intake in order to
perform. “I wasn’t on meth, out of my
mind or anything,” Jagger says. “But
Iwashavingalotoffun.”Richards’
favouritestory“hasgottobeBobby
Keysandmenearlyburningdown
the Playboy mansion”, he says. Stay-
ingatHughHefner’shome,Richards
and saxophonist Keys accidentally set
fire to one of the bathrooms. “We were
goingthroughadoctor’sbagandwe
knockedoveracandle,”saysRichards.
At the same time, Jagger remem-
bers “all these dark moments” on the
tour. On the morning of July 17th in
Montreal, dynamite exploded be-
neath one of the band’s vans, destroy-
ingequipment.“Itwaskindofscary
because it was during the separatist
movement of Quebec,” says Jagger. “I
mean,itwasn’tjustsomerandomguy
tryingtoblowupatruck.”Theshow,
remarkably,wentonthatnight,buta
riotensuedwhen500fanswithcoun-
terfeit tickets were turned away.
The following day, the band flew to
a small airport in Rhode Island. As
the entourage cleared customs, Rich-
ardstookanaponthesideofaparked
firetruck.Hewokeuptotheflashing
lights of a local newspaper photogra-
pher. “I just reacted,” Richards says.
“I got up and hit in the general direc-
tion of the light and busted the guy’s
camera. Things escalated from there.
Then the fucking FBI got involved.”
The photographer claimed he was
assaulted, and Richards and Jagger
werearrestedandplacedinajailcell,
while an unruly audience at Boston
Gardenwaited.Fearingariot,Boston
Mayor Kevin White organised their
release, and the band took the stage
after midnight. “There was never a
dull moment,” says Richards.The Stones are the best live band in rock history, playing
tours that combine spectacle with a sense of danger.
Jagger reflects on five of their best
American Tour 1969
After years of controversy and the loss of Brian Jones, the
band hit the road with a dark energy that perfectly captured
the political upheaval of the time. It was the first arena tour
of its kind, with a travelling, hanging sound system and
lighting rig. “There was nothing to draw on,” says Jagger. “I
always thought of that one as groundbreaking. It was the
early days of doing arenas properly.”
‘Some Girls’ Tour 1978
“That was fast and furious,” Jagger says of the tour, which
lost the props and large band of the 1975 tour and saw the
band channel punk energy in 25 mostly small venues, debut-
ing new anthems like “When the Whip Comes Down” and
“Respectable”. “It was a great tour,” says Jagger.
‘Steel Wheels’ Tour 1989
After seven years of fighting, the band returned for its first
“megatour”, as Richards called it. The Stones played nearly
30 songs on a stadium stage that raised the bar for everyone
else. “It was the biggest fun house,” Jagger says of the stage,
which featured steam pipes, catwalks and a revolutionary
video screen. “Just crazy big. When it was all smoking at night
and we put the lights on it, it was the most amazing thing I’ve
ever seen. No one had built anything like that before.”
Licks World Tour2002-03
The band shook things up often by playing three shows in
the same city: a stadium gig, an arena and a theatre. Jagger
liked the theatre shows, where they returned to their R&B
roots, including a devastating cover of O.V. Wright’s “That’s
How Strong My Love Is”. “We hadn’t done theatres in a long
time,” he says. “But it was so much fun.”
50 and Counting2012-13
The band celebrated its 50th anniversary by playing its best in
a decade. With fewer backing musicians, it broke out rarities
like “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Around and Around”. “The
idea was having three really ancient numbers to open with,
and having this black-and-white look and feel to the whole
thing,” Jagger said. The tour also included the return of Bill
Wyman, who joined the band in London, and Mick Taylor,
who came onstage every night to rip on “Midnight Rambler”.
LET IT LOOSE: MORE
GREAT STONES TOURS
Jagger and
Richards
in 1989GREATEST
50 CONCERTS60 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com July, 2017
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