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Post by maddogfagin on Sept 11, 2013 10:38:54 GMT
Interesting retrospective interview with IA about The Rock And Roll Circus from Goldmine from 2012. www.goldminemag.com/(Apologies if a re-post btw ) Jethro Tull’s band members were relative rookies when they found themselves plopped in the midst of the over-the-top superstar summit known as the “The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus.” Yet, even though Tull had only recently released its debut album, “This Was,” the band was already in transition. Original guitarist Mick Abrahams had recently left the fold, and the band had yet to find a permanent replacement. Consequently, for this single performance only, Tull was augmented by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, whose own band was, at that point, known simply as Earth. The show served as the only record of Iommi’s participation with Tull before the band recruited guitarist Martin Barre. ntroduced by a smiling Mick Jagger and an agitated little person in a clown costume, Jethro Tull — which then included founder and mainstay Ian Anderson, bassist Glenn Cornick and drummer Clive Bunker — immediately launched into an early signature tune, “A Song for Jeffrey.” However, the band was forced to mime its performance after being told by the hosts that there was no time for rehearsal. (That edict also forced Tull’s other contribution, a take on their song “Fat Man,” to be excised entirely.) Notably though, Anderson’s vocals and flute were recorded live, and his manic facial expressions and early attempt to play while balancing on one leg provided a preview of the exaggerated stage stance for which he’d soon become famous. Goldmine recently had the opportunity to chat with Anderson, who graciously agreed to provide an exclusive insider’s look at the Stones’ colorful caper. Goldmine: What memory do you have of participating in “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus?” Ian Anderson: I have lots and quite detailed memories of playing “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.” It was one of those moments where we knew we were the new kids on the block, and in musical terms, we were well advised to just sit quietly along the sidelines and not make our presence too overly felt because we were among the good and the great — The Rolling Stones, The Who, Eric Clapton, John Lennon. So, we were the token new band on the bill. If the stories are to be believed, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts had heard our first album and suggested to Mick that we should be guests on the show, as Mick was trying to put a bill together. GM: As the new kids on the block, so to speak, were the other Circus participants hospitable and accepting of you? IA: Without overdoing it, yes, they were quite polite, but we sat on the sidelines. We knew our place. We didn’t feel it would be proper to go over and start having conversations with John Lennon or whoever and push ourselves on them or to try to hobnob with the stars that were already hugely successful. We tended to just kind of watch and keep our heads down. Apart from anything else, the whole “Rock And Roll Circus” kind of thing was kind of embarrassing. And we had to dutifully dress up and appear in some kind of fanfare, encorelike moment. It was pretty embarrassing, so we just kind of stood off to the side and in the back where we really couldn’t be seen, because we just didn’t feel very comfortable with it. I was probably the second-most uncomfortable person in the room. I think the most uncomfortable was probably Keith Richards, who was probably thinking, “Screw it; let’s just get this over with and get out of here.” He was smiling and acting OK about it, but he looked like underneath he was thinking, “For God’s sake, Mick. What have you gotten us into this time?” (laughs) GM: Was Mick Jagger aware of you at that time? What role did he play in the proceedings? IA: In truth, though, Mick Jagger himself didn’t really have anything to do with us at all. He was trying to play his very important and pivotal role, which was to get this whole show together. It was his idea, his motivation, and the rest of the guys in the Stones weren’t really sure what was going on. They were playing along, but they looked a little uncomfortable with the dressing up and the circus atmosphere that Mick was trying to create. In fact, it wasn’t an easy atmosphere. It was a self-conscious and slightly edgy atmosphere. It was difficult, because Brian Jones wasn’t really a fully functioning musician anymore, and he was ostracized by the other members of the band because they knew he couldn’t really contribute. So there was this feeling of strange embarrassment and awkwardness about it all. But Mick Jagger was really, really energetic, and he was pushing everybody to try get this to work. So without his enthusiasm and hard work and self belief, it couldn’t have ever been made. GM: Why do you think it took so long for the film to be released? IA: It wasn’t shown for many years afterward, because Brian Jones died soon after, and no one really wanted to see it released, because it wasn’t really a good testament to Brian Jones and his involvement with the band, nor was it a good representation of The Rolling Stones. It was their first attempt to play together outside the studio for two or three years, and so they were all pretty rusty as performers. It took a bit of brute force by Mick to get them on to a performance level, obviously without any input from Brian Jones. I don’t think The Stones thought it was them at their best, and they presumably and reluctantly agreed to let it go out when Allen Klein, who had the copyright as part of some deal he had done at some point, got permission from Eric Clapton and members of The Who and from me. Apparently, he sought approval from the other performers to release the product so that he could use that approval to convince The Stones that they shouldn’t stand in his way to releasing it. I’m assuming they reluctantly agreed to go out there. GM: What’s your assessment of the film? IA: It was released, but not to any great acclaim. Rather, it is a historical document of a particular era. It was just that little moment, a crossover point between the hippie era and The Stones’ return to performance with a very good album, “Beggars Banquet,” which they were essentially there to promote. But for some peculiar reason, Mick’s idea of promotion was kind of a hippie idea of having us all there in an indoor circus tent surrounded by circus performers, and it was a bit hippielike in that it was all dressed up in some sort of fake theatrical context. The songs The Stones were playing from that new album was really more about brothel music; it was smoky barroom music, it was blues and it was rock ’n’ roll. It was a great album presented in the wrong setting as Mick chose to portray it. That’s just my personal view. GM: Perhaps they should have taken their cue from The Beatles’ failure with “Magical Mystery Tour.” The Stones always seemed to follow The Beatles in certain regards. IA: Indeed. But The Beatles exited more or less on a high note from that hippie progressive-pop kind of era, due to “Sgt. Pepper” and all that. Th e Stones came to it kind of late and didn’t really acquit themselves terribly well. It was a difficult time. There was a lot of competition between the various great artists of the U.K. Th ey were sometimes uneasy bedfellows in the same pubs and clubs and parties because they had a high regard for each other in that peer group of high-ranking and very successful pop musicians. I can’t help but think that some were more overly influenced than others, and Mick always seemed strangely too readily influenced by The Beatles. The Beatles’ strength was clearly to write their own songs, and for awhile the Stones didn’t seem to have that. It was only when Keith Richards and Mick Jagger found this songwriting partnership in a way that did rival the Lennon-McCartney thing that The Stones really began to have that self-confidence, and I think that really began at the time of “Beggars Banquet.” Sadly, it was after the demise of Brian Jones that The Stones really kicked into gear, and the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards partnership produced big results and big riffs and big rock ’n’ roll and confident anthems. Lee Zimmerman
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Post by bunkerfan on Sept 11, 2013 19:40:01 GMT
A little reminder.
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Post by maddogfagin on Sept 12, 2013 7:49:50 GMT
And by the lack of Tull "backstage" images, seems they left the proceedings shortly after they did their performance. Shame because I for one would have liked to have seen IA & co. "jamming" with the Stones and The Who.
Would have been rather interesting to hear and see the results.
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Post by maddogfagin on Jul 9, 2017 7:54:56 GMT
www.dumbbaby.net/music/rs.shtmlFirst band is Jethro Tull. Let me check my records regarding Jethro Tull. Ah yes, it would appear that Jethro Tull is wanted by the Rock Police for over a thousand accounts of rocking way too hard! Jethro Tull is bad ass and in this appearance Ian Anderson looks more like Aqua Lung than is healthy.
The Jethro Tull performance is filled with oddities. For some reason only Ian Anderson is playing live. The rest of the band is just miming their instruments while a recording is played. Apparently this was done to save time on practice. This is actually terrible because this is the only appearance of Tony Iommi during his brief tenure with Jethro Tull during which he learned from Ian Anderson what it takes to have a successful rock band. It requires waking the band up early in the morning and picking them up in a van to make sure they get to practice. That’s not a joke, that is what Tony Iommi did after rejoining Black Sabbath. Go check out Wikipedia, it's right there.
In conclusion, Jethro Tull not actually playing their instruments is a huge disappointment since they had one of the best rock guitarists ever with him and he just stood up there looking board and moving his hands when he thought the camera was pointing at him. Ian Anderson meanwhile, despite being the only person performing live still manages to sound like an engineer put an effect on his voice in post production. It is also the debut of his weird one legged playing stance.
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Post by elmsliegirl on Jul 25, 2017 22:58:12 GMT
I wasn't there but I did get a letter from Ian describing The 'Rock and Roll Circus' to me to me, I seem to remember Ian saying that Marianne Faithful was brave, all alone singing beautifully. She was on it wasn't she?
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Post by bunkerfan on Jul 26, 2017 5:18:04 GMT
I wasn't there but I did get a letter from Ian describing The 'Rock and Roll Circus' to me to me, I seem to remember Ian saying that Marianne Faithful was brave, all alone singing beautifully. She was on it wasn't she? Hi Yvonne, There is a section of footage on this video from 1.07 to 1.37 and then at 2.20 to the end of Marianne Faithful appearing at the 'Rock and Roll Circus' 1968. Hope you like it. John
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Post by maddogfagin on Oct 30, 2017 8:49:19 GMT
www.vintagevinylnews.com/2017/10/the-rolling-stones-circus-and-live-rick.htmlThe Rolling Stones' Circus and Live Rick Springfield Come to Amazon Streaming11:51 AM -New in Streaming- by VVN Music The following are music documentaries and concerts added to Netflix and Amazon Prime over the last week: Netflix None Amazon The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was filmed before a live audience at a North London TV studio in 1968, Rock and Roll Circus was originally conceived as a BBC TV special but it never aired. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and centers on the original line up of the Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts (with Nicky Hopkins and Rocky Dijon) who serve as both the show's hosts and featured attraction. The"World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" is seen and heard performing six Stones classics-to-be:"Jumping Jack Flash,""Parachute Woman,""No Expectations,""You Can't Always Get What You Want,""Sympathy For The Devil" and"Salt of The Earth." The program also includes full length musical performances by The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful, Yoko Ono as well as The Dirty Mac, a group that was the first musical context in which John Lennon performed before an audience outside The Beatles. The Dirty Mac was Eric Clapton (lead guitar), The Rolling Stones' own Keith Richards (bass) and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience (drums) with Lennon on guitar and vocals. A mirthful conversation between Jagger and Lennon to introduce The Dirty Mac finds them referring to each other as"Winston" and"Michael" with Jagger affecting a convincingly flat American accent and Lennon referring to himself as"Winston Leg-Thigh."
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Post by shufflingmadness on Nov 3, 2017 3:07:23 GMT
www.vintagevinylnews.com/2017/10/the-rolling-stones-circus-and-live-rick.htmlThe Rolling Stones' Circus and Live Rick Springfield Come to Amazon Streaming11:51 AM -New in Streaming- by VVN Music The following are music documentaries and concerts added to Netflix and Amazon Prime over the last week: Netflix None Amazon The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was filmed before a live audience at a North London TV studio in 1968, Rock and Roll Circus was originally conceived as a BBC TV special but it never aired. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and centers on the original line up of the Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts (with Nicky Hopkins and Rocky Dijon) who serve as both the show's hosts and featured attraction. The"World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" is seen and heard performing six Stones classics-to-be:"Jumping Jack Flash,""Parachute Woman,""No Expectations,""You Can't Always Get What You Want,""Sympathy For The Devil" and"Salt of The Earth." The program also includes full length musical performances by The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful, Yoko Ono as well as The Dirty Mac, a group that was the first musical context in which John Lennon performed before an audience outside The Beatles. The Dirty Mac was Eric Clapton (lead guitar), The Rolling Stones' own Keith Richards (bass) and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience (drums) with Lennon on guitar and vocals. A mirthful conversation between Jagger and Lennon to introduce The Dirty Mac finds them referring to each other as"Winston" and"Michael" with Jagger affecting a convincingly flat American accent and Lennon referring to himself as"Winston Leg-Thigh." FYI: It's actually on STARZ. Accessible through Amazon as well if you've got your STARZ subscription through them.
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Post by maddogfagin on Sept 22, 2018 8:27:29 GMT
It was meant to make the Rolling Stones cool again — but turned into a farce. Fifty years on, RAY CONNOLLY relives the shambolic circus Mick Jagger tried to hide from the worldBy RAY CONNOLLY FOR DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 01:01, 21 September 2018 | UPDATED: 10:44, 21 September 2018 At the time, it seemed that The Rolling Stones’ Rock And Roll Circus was just a bizarre exercise in Sixties fancy dress, with Mick Jagger in a top hat, riding boots and red tails, cracking a whip like the ringmaster he would always be. Originally planned as a BBC TV show to promote the Stones’ return to proper rock with their album Beggars Banquet, after a disastrous follow-the-Beatles detour into dippy-hippiness the previous year, in the end it turned out to be rather more than that. This was the night — December 11, 1968 — when Brian Jones, who had founded the Stones but by then had a serious drug problem, played his last gig with the group. Link
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Post by maddogfagin on Dec 9, 2018 7:16:26 GMT
celebrityaccess.com/2018/12/07/legendary-rolling-stones-rock-roll-circus-concert-film-to-be-given-invite-only-screening-in-london/Legendary Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus Concert Film To Be Given Invite-Only Screening In LondonIan Courtney Posted on 7 December, 2018 LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The 50th anniversary of the filming of the Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus will be marked with a special, invitation-only screening at London’s Dolby Screening Room on Tuesday, December 11. The Rock & Roll Circus, an extraordinary concert organized in 1968 by the Stones, was filmed on a makeshift circus stage and featured rock legends Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and The Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono also performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called The Dirty Mac, which also featured Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, and Keith Richards. The performance was originally intended to be broadcast on the BBC, but that was canceled after the Stones seemingly got cold feet. At the time, they attributed their reluctance to broadcast the show due to a poor performance after being awake (and maybe intoxicated) for 15 hours before they took the stage, with some observers noting that the Stones appear to have been upstaged by the Who, who had just concluded a successful tour. The show was also the final appearance with the Stones for Brian Jones, who would die by accidental drowning several months after the filming of the Circus, while the film was being edited. Whatever the reason, the concert was never broadcast and became the stuff of legends. The 50th Anniversary edition of Rock and Roll Circus was produced by ABKCO’s Robin Klein and Mick Gochanour, the Grammy award-winning team behind Sam Cooke: Legend and (The Rolling Stones) Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965. Gochanour noted, “Watching it in widescreen is like seeing a whole new film at times with amazing intimacy and detail.” In conjunction with its 50th anniversary, ABKCO will release an expanded edition of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in Spring 2019. It will be the first concert film to be presented in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound. The film’s 4K restoration was sourced from the 35mm internegative and, for the first time, presented in widescreen format (16:9 for home and 1:85 for theatrical showings supervised by original cinematographer Tony Richmond). “Michael Lindsay-Hogg . . . is a very creative guy,” noted Mick Jagger with some ellipses. “We came up with this idea and the whole idea, obviously, is to make it a mixture of different music acts and circus acts, taking it out of the normal and making it slightly surreal . . . mixing the two up. And also we wanted as many different kinds of music as possible. So that’s why we thought about who would be the best kind of supporting acts.”
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Post by maddogfagin on Dec 13, 2018 7:44:54 GMT
www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/12/12/cbf-morning-run-being-brutally-honest-with.html1968, The Rolling Stones film their TV show Rock and Roll Circus.
The Stones created a circus with live animals, clowns and plate-spinners, invited a bunch of artists, including The Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithful, Eric Clapton, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and filmed the whole thing for British television.
Some of the music was just incredible, but Mick, Keith and the boys didn't like how their performances measured up, and the show never aired.
Many years later, some of the film was discovered and a version premiered in 1996.
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Post by maddogfagin on Mar 20, 2019 7:44:54 GMT
bestclassicbands.com/rolling-stones-rock-roll-circus-screening-3-19-19/NEWS PLUS: NEWS Rolling Stones ‘Rock & Roll Circus’ in Theatersby Best Classic Bands Staff To time with the upcoming North American leg of The Rolling Stones’ No Filter tour, the band’s 1968 film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus will screen in theaters during the first week of April. The list of theaters screening the film (and the dates of each screening) can be found here. The Circus soundtrack will also be released as a triple LP, the first time the music will be available on vinyl. The program, which features the Stones (with Brian Jones making his final appearance with the band), the Who, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal and Marianne Faithfull, was intended for television broadcast in Britain at the time it was made, but the Stones reportedly nixed the release because they felt that they were overshadowed by the Who. Twenty-eight years later, in 1996, it was finished, with the Stones’ blessing, by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg (who also directed the Beatles’ Let it Be); it premiered at the New York Film Festival and was released on video in 1996. According to a press release, “The live concert special’s restoration has been sourced from the 35mm internegative and will be presented in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound. The Dolby Vision laser projection system delivers astonishing brightness, incomparable contrast, and captivating color that more closely matches what the human eye can see. Dolby Atmos places and moves sounds anywhere in the Dolby Cinema, including overhead, to make audiences feel they are truly attending The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Together, Dolby Cinema’s combination of powerful image and sound technologies creates an engaging, multi-sensorial cinema, and concert, experience for viewers. Through 2019 technology, the audience is whisked back to 1968. The 4K restoration beautifully captures and recreates this historic event, creating a truly unique and immersive experience that fans won’t be able to get anywhere else.” The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, performed in front of a live audience, includes the Stones—Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman—who serve as the show’s hosts and featured attraction performing tunes from their then-new Beggars Banquet album. The Who perform “A Quick One While He’s Away” and the program includes a one-time-only performance by the Dirty Mac, an impromptu collaboration of Lennon and Ono, Keith Richards (on bass guitar), Clapton, Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and violinist Ivry Gitlis. They perform Lennon’s “Yer Blues” and then Ono takes over to do her thing. It’s believed to be Lennon’s first performance before an audience outside the Beatles. It is also the only time Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath performed with Jethro Tull. “I was thrilled by it anew, which I hadn’t been for a long time,” Lindsay-Hogg, now 78., told the Los Angeles Times. His credits also include directing several Stones videos, including “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Angie” and “Dancing With Mr. D.” The Rock and Roll Circus soundtrack is set for 180-gram vinyl release by ABKCO this spring. The third disc in the set will reportedly feature previously unreleased material from the TV special. The Rolling Stones will be touring the U.S. with their No Filter tour starting April 20, and are currently recording tracks for their next studio album. [ Blink and you'll miss Glenn]
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Post by maddogfagin on Mar 21, 2019 7:52:08 GMT
www.blabbermouth.net/news/tony-iommis-only-performance-with-jethro-tull-to-receive-theatrical-release/TONY IOMMI's Only Performance With JETHRO TULL To Receive Theatrical ReleaseMarch 20, 2019 ABKCO Films in collaboration with Screenvision Media, a national leader in cinema advertising, announced today ticket availability for "The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus". Theatre screenings for the iconic 1968 concert show will take place April 1, 3, 4, and 5 in select theaters nationwide, including markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas. The live concert special's restoration has been sourced from the 35mm internegative and will be presented in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound. The Dolby Vision laser projection system delivers astonishing brightness, incomparable contrast, and captivating color that more closely matches what the human eye can see. Dolby Atmos places and moves sounds anywhere in the Dolby Cinema, including overhead, to make audiences feel they are truly attending "The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus". Together, Dolby Cinema's combination of powerful image and sound technologies creates an engaging, multi-sensorial cinema, and concert, experience for viewers. Through 2019 technology, the audience is whisked back to 1968. The 4K restoration beautifully captures and recreates this historic event, creating a truly unique and immersive experience that fans won't be able to get anywhere else. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, "The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus" was originally conceived as a BBC special and was filmed before a live London audience in 1968. The film centers around the original lineup of THE ROLLING STONES — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts and Billy Wyman — who serve as the show's hosts and featured attraction. It stars the band performing fan favorite classics like "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want", as well as extraordinary live performances by THE WHO, JETHRO TULL, and more. This performance marks the first musical concert in which John Lennon performed before an audience outside THE BEATLES, as part of supergroup THE DIRTY MAC, which also included music legends Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell. "The Rolling Stone Rock And Roll Circus" is also the only time Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH performed with JETHRO TULL, and the last time Brian Jones would perform with THE ROLLING STONES in front of an audience. Iommi joined JETHRO TULL in December 1968 after leaving EARTH, his pre-BLACK SABBATH band with Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne. After performing with JETHRO TULL at "The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus", Iommi quickly came back to EARTH. "I learned quite a lot from [JETHRO TULL's Ian Anderson], I must say," Iommi later said. "I learned that you have got to work at it. You have to rehearse. When I came back and I got [EARTH] back together, I made sure everybody was up early in the morning and rehearsing. I used to go and pick them up. I was the only one at the time that could drive. I used to have to drive the bloody van and get them up at quarter to nine every morning, which was, believe me, early for us then. I said to them, 'This is how we have got to do it because this is how JETHRO TULL did it.'" "We are thrilled to share the incredible 'The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus' with moviegoers and music fans for this limited engagement," said Darryl Schaffer, executive vice president of operations and exhibitor relations, Screenvision Media. "We think it's the perfect time to answer fans' excitement and give them an unforgettable concert experience from the comfort of their local movie theatres." For more information on "The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus" or to purchase tickets, visit www.rockandrollcircusthefilm.com.
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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 2, 2019 6:43:04 GMT
entertainmenttoday.net/film/19753/2019/04/the-rolling-stones-rock-and-roll-circus-finally-theatrically-released/"Jethro Tull opened the festivities with Ian Anderson looking much like the title character he would write about several years later in “Aqualung,” his long trenchcoat and bedraggled appearance undoubtedly off putting to many. Anderson was still working on his one-legged flamingo style of flute playing. Look for a pre-Black Sabbath Tony Iommi on guitar. Tull was the first of what would essentially be all quartet bands until the Stones finished up 15 hours later."
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Post by maddogfagin on May 4, 2019 6:19:41 GMT
www.uncut.co.uk/blog/down-a-different-river/jethro-tull-rolling-stones-rock-roll-circus-song-jeffrey-directness-110481Jethro Tull on The Rolling Stones’ Rock And Roll Circus and ‘A Song For Jeffrey’: “It has a directness!”Tom Pinnock May 3, 2019 Ian Anderson and co recall their early years Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesOriginally published in Uncut’s March 2018 issue of Uncut “Jeffrey just looked the part,” remembers Ian Anderson today. “He always had that rather enigmatic, strange, slightly detached, rather arty aspiration. There was sometimes a little bit of play-acting, of studied eccentricity about him.” The charismatic Jeffrey Hammond would eventually join Jethro Tull on bass in 1970, but before that he was, in Anderson’s words, their “unofficial mascot”, and the inspiration behind one of their earliest songs, fan favourite “A Song For Jeffrey”. “If you saw someone reading a newspaper at the back of the crowded Marquee Club,” laughs Anderson, “that would be Jeffrey. It was all designed to be a little mysterious and a bit odd – and he was!” The song, the swaggering first single from the band’s 1968 debut This Was, sonically bridged the gap between their R&B roots and their quirkier, progressive leanings. However, blues purist guitarist Mick Abrahams wasn’t pleased, and ended up departing before the group performed the track on The Rolling Stones’ Rock And Roll Circus in December 1968. Future Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was instead drafted in to mime the cut. “You had to progress pretty damn quick in those days,” explains drummer Clive Bunker, “because every other band was getting good by the week. Within a couple of years we were topping the bill in America – it was stupid times, really.” Despite barely performing it live since the end of the ’60s, Anderson and the modern-day Tull have been rehearsing “A Song For Jeffrey” in preparation for their 50th Anniversary Tour this year, which the songwriter confirms will focus heavily on their ’60s and ’70s work. “Of course the key word in the title is ‘for’,” muses Hammond, who left Jethro Tull in 1975, and now dedicates himself to painting. “I’ve always thought that the song was meant as a rather lovely gift or dedication, more than it having anything lyrically to do with me. What is so pleasing to this day is being associated vicariously with that edginess of the opening bars, the sparseness of it, the breathy flute, rhythmic bass and drums and almost elegant guitar.” IAN ANDERSON (vocals, flute, harmonica): I first came across Jeffrey at Blackpool Grammar School. He, like I, had an interest in painting, and in music. We didn’t strike up an immediate bond, but when I got it into my head that it might be fun to form a band [The Blades], I went to John Evan, who had become the owner of a drum kit – and to Jeffrey, who didn’t play anything at all, so I said, “Right, you’re the bass player!” JEFFREY HAMMOND (inspiration, later Tull bassist): To someone with no musical ability both John and Ian seemed incredibly talented in their different ways. It was Ian who held everything together without exerting a sense of leadership. The overriding feeling was a desire to be different yet without needing to say how or why or to define it in any way. TERRY ELLIS (manager, producer): Almost every band of that era, like Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones, started off playing blues. Then they would graduate from blues into something that was different and more personal. ANDERSON: Because he was at art college in London [after the Blades split], Jeffrey was the unofficial mascot of the early [Jethro Tull]. He would come along sometimes to the Marquee Club and hover about in the background, studiously avoiding looking at the band, and reading whatever newspaper he fancied at the time. CLIVE BUNKER (drums): In the winter he would grow his hair very long and look beatnik-y, and he would always stand at the lefthand side of the stage, from my view. He would never look at the stage, but at the audience, so there was always nobody around him, because no-one dared go near him! And then in the summer, he’d shave his head completely and grow a big beard and do exactly the same thing. He was great. HAMMOND: Yes, I was the male groupie who was fortunate to travel to gigs in the London area in the Transit. It was especially exciting to see their following grow from barely a hundred or so at their first Marquee gig to packing the place out within a very short period of time. ANDERSON: “A Song For Jeffrey”, it’s not very clever lyrically, but it’s really about Jeffrey being a slightly wayward lad who wasn’t quite sure where he was headed in life. He knew that he loved painting, but he seemed sometimes without direction and rather lonely. So I thought, ‘Well, I shall write a song with his name in it.’ HAMMOND: I think that Ian must have played it to me rather than being so straightforward as saying, “Hey, this is for you.” I do remember the striking instrumental introduction which defines the song for me. BUNKER: In those days, when Ian had a rough idea of a song, we would all go round to his place and he’d play it on acoustic guitar and either hum or sing the basic melody. I was tapping my knees trying to come up with a drum part, but I just didn’t know what to do. So I said to Ian, “Have you got any ideas?” And he sang that shuffle beat, and that’s what I played. ANDERSON: There was a Nice song called “Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon”, which had this wonderful rhythmic feel that I really liked. I remember saying to Clive, “Try something like Blinky Davison played.” It was difficult writing music – impossible, towards the end of 1968 – that was in Mick Abrahams’ comfort zone. The more I felt I was progressing as a musician, as a songwriter, the further I seemed to be stretching Mick’s potential, because he was very much a died-in-the-wool British R&B blues player. But luckily, “A Song For Jeffrey” just about came into his comfort zone. ELLIS: We chose Sound Techniques because it was cheap. This was the very early days of independent recording companies or even groups recording themselves. ANDERSON: Sound Techniques was best known for recording folk music, but we went there because it was the cheapest place Terry and Chris [Wright, Ellis’ business partner] could find. It was a four-track, and luckily of course the tapes they were using then were industrial so the oxide is still on them to this day. ELLIS: I booked a four-hour session, which was all we could really afford. They had this funny engineer called Victor Gamm – he got the band’s humour, so he made us feel very comfortable. In that first four-hour session we did three tracks – recorded, overdubbed and mixed. BUNKER: We would be working live virtually every night of the week – I remember one time having a three-day holiday, it was amazing! ELLIS: I took the first recordings back to Chris Wright and said, “Do you think I should finish the record?” He said, “Yeah, there’s just one problem, we don’t have any money.” I had a company bank account with the National Provincial Bank in Welwyn Garden City, where I was brought up. So I got in my little Mini and visited the bank manager, took him a bottle of Scotch, and persuaded him to lend us the money. Which he absolutely shouldn’t have done – that’s not what country bank managers do, they don’t lend little rock’n’roll agencies money to make risky records. But it paid off for him – we kept our account with him for many years. ANDERSON: Terry was very much part of Jethro Tull’s success, but we began to clash. Musically he had no ideas at all, but he was behind the funding of the first album, so that earned him the right of being our producer. But of course ‘producer’ in movie terms, rather than a producer like George Martin. But I still have healthy regard for Terry and his diligence and his enthusiasm and his growing business acumen. Of course, by the time “Jeffrey” came out as a single, Mick [had left]. ELLIS: They were on the road in a van all the time, so that difference between Mick and Ian made that travel difficult. I think Mick just saw the way the music was going, and just didn’t like it. BUNKER: Mick was blues, full stop. He doesn’t listen to anything else! It’s not like Mick was gonna progress anywhere. He was being a bit of an idiot, to be quite honest – acting up in the studio, like facing the wall when he was recording. I remember we were in Watford Gap on the way back from a gig, and Ian and Glenn said to me, “Look, we’re thinking of asking Mick to leave. What do you think about it?” And I said, “He’s being a prat, he should go.” He didn’t wanna be in the band, but he didn’t wanna leave the band. He didn’t wanna do what we all wanted to do, which was to progress further. ANDERSON: It fell to an embarrassed and slightly reluctant Tony Iommi to mime the guitar part when we did The Rolling Stones’ Rock And Roll Circus, at the cusp of the new year [December 1968]. Tony’s got a hat pulled down his face lest anybody, particularly the other members of the soon-to-be Black Sabbath, realised their guitar player was still cohorting with another band here and there! That was the one and only meaningful performance of “A Song For Jeffrey”. ELLIS: I remember being on the set while the were doing the recording, and Ian rushing over with Mick Jagger in tow, and them sitting down with me, and Mick saying, “We’re gonna take the whole thing on the road, and do a concert tour with all the bands, and we want Tull to be involved.” I said, “Sounds great”, but it never happened. BUNKER: After the Circus, Tony phoned me up and said, “Do you wanna come and see my band?” They were called Earth. I went to see them, and there was this banner behind the stage that said, ‘Ex-Jethro Tull guitar player, Tony Iommi’ – I thought that was brilliant! [laughs] That was just before they turned into Sabbath. ANDERSON: I think we played “Jeffrey” onstage a few times back then, but it was long forgotten for many, many years. HAMMOND: I can’t recall playing “Jeffrey” – I think that it would have had to have been sometime in 1970 or ’71 if we did so. ANDERSON: Of course, Jeffrey got a couple more songs along the way which mentioned his name. But they’re not really songs about Jeffrey – when you’re coming up with characters and ideas, it’s a very painterly thing. Putting people into a landscape is more interesting than simply portraiture or landscape painting. I like context with people, I like to put people in a place where they can interact, a context that explains a little about them. And though “A Song For Jeffrey” is lyrically simplistic and not one of my finest moments, it has a directness. From 1970, Jeffrey enjoyed five glorious years of playing with Jethro Tull, but he knew he didn’t belong in that world, so he went back to being a solitary painter. He finally held the first exhibition of his work, just recently in a gallery in Lytham St Annes. All these years later, finally, he came out and said, “I’ve been doing a bit of painting!”
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Post by maddogfagin on Jul 5, 2019 6:30:34 GMT
www.alternativenation.net/keith-richards-savagely-turning-led-zeppelin-revealed/Keith Richards Savagely Turning Down Led Zeppelin RevealedBy Brett Buchanan - Jul 4, 2019 The Rolling Stones held the The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in December 1968, and it featured some of the biggest names in rock including The Who, John Lennon, Jethro Tull , Taj Mahal, and Marianne Faithfull. One big name that wasn’t invited by ringleaders Keith Richards and Mick Jagger was Led Zeppelin, who they declined to invite after consideration. That kind of lineup is something fans could only dream of now, with no Led Zeppelin reunion on the horizon. It was intended to air the show on the BBC, but the band held back, as it eventually became a concert film.
The band claimed they did it because they were disappointed in the marathon performance. The show is also connected to tragedy, as it was Brian Jones’ last performances with the Stones before he left the band and died several months later. John Lennon nearly pulled out after discovering a disgusting part of the show.
Michael Lindsey-Hogg said in a new retrospective, “Then Mick and I thought it’d be great to have a group just coming together for the show and Steve Winwood, we thought would be good. We thought he’d have a tap on even younger musicians. He said ‘sure, I’ll try to come up with some guys I’d like to play with’.So we thought we had this supergroup to be, Taj Mahal, The Who, Marianne Faithfull, who was going out with Mick at the time was going to be the female on the show… Mick and I wanted a new group to give someone a break. We both watched a late-night television show that Jethro Tull was on, and we thought they’d be good. Ian Anderson’s a wonderful showman. We turned down Led Zeppelin, which would’ve been a great show.” Keith Richards later said, “We just sort of said, we’re going to do this circus. Who wants to turn up? And basically you got that.”
You can read the full retrospective at NME.www.nme.com/features/roll-roll-drop-oral-history-rolling-stones-star-packed-rocknroll-circus-folly-2523443Michael Lindsey-Hogg: “I liked Jethro Tull because Ian Anderson was playing his flute and looking like someone who’d been sleeping in a ditch the way he dressed and the wonderful way he pulls his knee up when he’s playing.” Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull: “At the time we were stuck. We didn’t have a guitar player. So the only guy we could call upon was someone that we’d had a little afternoon in the studio with to try things out, and that person was then unknown, Tony Iommi, who of course went on to be the instigator of everything that we call Heavy Metal, I suppose.” Jethro Tull by Michael Randolph
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Post by rredmond on Jul 5, 2019 20:22:08 GMT
So boxing kangaroos were a no-go for Yoko, huh? Interesting stories!
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Post by maddogfagin on Oct 12, 2019 6:50:03 GMT
www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/why-did-the-rolling-stones-keep-rock-and-roll-circus-hidden-for-28-years.html/Why Did the Rolling Stones Keep ‘Rock and Roll Circus’ Hidden for 28 Years?Eric Schaal October 11, 2019 When you look at the lineup for Rock and Roll Circus, it’s hard to imagine a better roster. The Who, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Taj Mahal in effect served as opening acts for the Rolling Stones, who planned to release the literal rock circus as a film for the BBC. "In December ’68, the Stones were intent on promoting their new album (Beggars Banquet), and a rock ‘n’ roll spectacle seemed like a great idea. However, they hadn’t counted on how long it would take to film all the performers (including circus acts with a live tiger and Jethro Tull)."
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Post by maddogfagin on Feb 11, 2020 13:49:41 GMT
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Post by rredmond on Feb 24, 2020 13:15:24 GMT
Did I beat Graham here??? New article. I had heard the bit about Tony not feeling like he fit with Tull, and that Tull had given him more of a work ethic. I don't think I had heard that Ian liked to eat alone. That actually sounds a little sad www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/black_sabbaths_tony_iommi_recalls_really_strange_thing_ian_anderson_did_that_made_him_quit_jethro_tull.html"We've [early Black Sabbath] done a gig with Jethro Tull; we supported them and it was the night where [original guitarist] Mick Abrahams had been fired. "They were passing notes on stage to each other, and he was passive on back. We didn't know what was going on - 'They keep passing notes to each other.' "After they played, they asked me if I'd be interested in joining them. It was a bit of a shock, really. I was, like, 'I don't know, I've got to talk to my band and tell them, really.' "So I told the rest of the guys; I said, 'They've asked me to join them.' They went, 'You should go for it.' I went, 'Oh, thanks.' So I did. I mean, they supported me that way, so I went. "I got in touch with them and Jethro Tull management and then turned up to play, and there was, like, 50 other guitar players there, and I walked in a room, and I thought, 'Oh, no. Bloody hell, they are auditioning all these guitar players.' "So I turned out and walked out, and one of the crew from Ten Years After saw me walking out, and he'd come and grab me and said, 'Don't go, they really want to hear you. Go and sit in the cafe across the road.' "I said, 'I don't want to sit in there, I didn't think all these people were going to be here.' And there were some well-known guitar players as well. So, I went and sat in a cafe across the road. "And then everybody had done their bit and gone, and they'd come and fetch me. I played for them, and they said, 'You've got the job; if you want it.' So I did, and I felt really bad there for our band. 'When I did actually go to London for the rehearsal, I took Geezer [Butler, Black Sabbath bassist] with me. He'd be sitting at the back of the room while we rehearse and I thought, 'Oh, this is terrible.' "I realized after a while, it wasn't for me, really. Because they were different. Where we were all together and laughing, it was different... We went for a lunch break because everything was: 'Be there at nine o'clock in the morning,' and then lunch at mid-day. "And it came to lunchtime, and we went to this cafe, and I thought we would all sit together, but three were over this table, and Ian [Anderson] was on this table. So I went and sat with Ian, and they're going, 'No...' "I go, 'What's the matter with them?' And afterward, I said, 'What's wrong?' They said, 'No, you shouldn't sit with Ian, he doesn't like people sitting with him. You got to sit with us, we're the band.' 'Oh, god...' It just seemed really strange. "So, I said, 'It's not for me, I'm going to leave.' And he [Ian] said, 'Well, just give it a bit longer...' I said, 'No, it's really not the sort of thing that I thought it would be.' "And he asked if I would do The Rolling Stones movie ['The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'] with them, and I said, 'Yeah, I'd do that,' because they couldn't find anybody else that quick. "So I did that, and after that, I was gone. But it was a good experience for me; it taught me a hell of a lot because seeing how they worked, they were: nine o'clock rehearsal, lunch break, back in again... "I mean, it's like going to work, really, but they took it as far as that because they did discipline, so of course, when we [Black Sabbath] got back together - it was, like, 'I'll pick you up at nine o'clock in the morning and then we go to rehearsal,' and it worked. "It was a bit difficult because Geezer never used to get up until about 11 anyway, and I was the only one that could drive, so it was me that had to pick everybody up to rehearse, but it worked. "I'd had that experience of being with them [Jethro Tull], and learned, even for that short time, what it was like. "Doing the movie with them was good because I met everybody, you know, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, The Who, everybody who was anybody at that time was in the film - and The Stones, of course. "So it just gave me an idea of how things could be. It went from the 12-bar stuff to... we started writing our own. We wrote a couple of songs; 'Wicked World' and 'Black Sabbath' were the first two. "After that, we knew as soon as we've done 'Black Sabbath,' we knew exactly where we were going. That's where we wanted to be, doing our own music, and that was the vibe we wanted, so that's sort of the benchmark of all the rest of the stuff, really."
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Post by maddogfagin on Oct 17, 2021 16:23:46 GMT
Rehearsals for the Circus
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Post by maddogfagin on May 19, 2022 15:57:27 GMT
romesentinel.com/stories/simple-props-rolling-stones-film-to-close-out-capitol-theatre-film-series,134452 Simple Props, Rolling Stones film to close out Capitol Theatre film seriesPosted Sunday, May 15, 2022 4:50 pm ROME — The third and final night of the film series, “Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll’ begins with a live music concert starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, outdoors in the Capitol Courtyard, 230 West Dominick St., followed indoors by a movie at 7:30 p.m.
Simple Props will perform music from the 80s, 90s, and today. Copper City Brewing will also be in the courtyard.Following the band performance will be the movie “The Rolling Stones Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus.” On Dec. 11, 1968, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono all performed on stage, but footage of the performances was not released until 1996. The project was conceived by Mick Jagger as a way to promote the new record, “Beggars Banquet.” The made-for-BBC TV production was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The cost is $10.
For more information, visit www.RomeCapitol.com.
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