Jeffrey Harding 🍂

John Lennon and Keith Richards side by side at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in December 1968, filmed on a big top set at Intertel Studios in Wembley, London, over the night of December 11 into the 12th. Mick Jagger dreamed up the circus to promote Beggars Banquet, with Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull and the Stones on the bill. Lennon came with Yoko Ono and a one-night band called The Dirty Mac, and Keith swapped his guitar for a bass to join Eric Clapton and Mitch Mitchell behind him. It was the first time since the Beatles formed that John had performed in public without them. Filming dragged on so long that the Stones finally took the stage at almost 5 o'clock the next morning, exhausted. It turned out to be Brian Jones' last appearance with the band, and the Stones shelved the whole special for nearly three decades before it finally came out in October 1996. Lennon was killed in New York on December 8, 1980, twelve years after the circus. Keith is still out there with the Stones. 👅 The Rock and Roll Circus sat in the vault for almost 28 years before anyone outside the studio got to see it. Have you watched the full film? 👅