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Topic: Peter Whitehead on filming The Rolling Stones (Timeout) Return to archive
23rd February 2007 10:16 AM
Gazza The directors: Peter Whitehead on filming The Rolling Stones


Loog Oldham and Whitehead

In 1965, Peter Whitehead travelled to Dublin with The Rolling Stones to make ‘Charlie Is My Darling’ – a film that now lingers on the shelf because of legal issues and so won’t be seen at the NFT’s March season dedicated to a filmmaker who was at the heart of London’s 1960s music scene

"It was 1965 and I had finished ‘Wholly Communion’, which is my film about the beat poet convention at the Royal Albert Hall, and it was going to be shown in the Academy Cinema on Oxford Street. The film had a bit of a reputation because the event was so spectacular: 7,000 turned up and 7,000 were turned away. And then I get a phone call and a strange voice asks: ‘Is that Peter Whitehead?’ He said: ‘It’s Andrew Loog Oldham.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m Peter Lorrimor Whitehead.’ I had no idea who he was. ‘I’m the manager of The Rolling Stones.’ I laughed a bit. He said he’d heard of ‘Wholly Communion’ and wanted to meet me: ‘Can I send a car?’


A car arrives and takes me from my flat in Soho to his office in Marylebone. I walk in and he is surrounded by acolytes at a big table. ‘People have told me of this amazing film that you shot of this poetry-reading. But listen: is it true that you have a camera that is completely silent?’ I said: ‘Yes, it’s true, it’s a new camera from France and it’s called the Eclair.’ ‘You don’t use a tripod?’ ‘No’. ‘You don’t use lights?’ ‘No.’ ‘What about sound?’ ‘Well, you have a little recorder with a microphone and it’s attached to the camera with a long wire.’ ‘Hmm. Would you like to film the Stones?’

I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d never listened to a Rolling Stones record in my life. I was listening to Janácek and Bartók at the time. But I said, ‘Yes – but why?’ The obvious answer was that I could film with minimum technology and so it was an attractive idea. This was Monday, and we chatted a bit, and he said: ‘OK, we’re going to Dublin and Belfast on Friday, for a two-day tour. How much do you need?’ ‘Two thousand pounds.’ He wrote a cheque.

I arrived at the offices of The Rolling Stones at half eight on the Friday morning with my crew – my ex-wife as the script girl and Anthony Stern, my assistant – and was introduced to Mick, Keith and the boys. We jumped in a car and drove to the airport. I started filming. Each of the band was very different. Brian Jones kept on looking at me and smiling, making sure that he was looking good. Bill was very self-effacing. Mick and Keith were totally unconcerned, as was Charlie. They didn’t talk. They weren’t going to cultivate me. I think I had too posh an accent. We flew to Dublin and went straight to the theatre.

There’s one scene in the film – which I called ‘Charlie Is My Darling’ after the folk song that The Stones sing in one scene – which for me is one of the best things I’ve ever filmed. The band is crammed into this little dressing-room and Brian and Charlie are fooling around, and then Keith picks up his guitar and starts to play. He sings a southern blues song so beautifully and with such control, and I remember thinking: Bloody hell, he can really play. He was a musician. It was my introduction to popular music and rock ’n’ roll, and I went on to make a lot of music films, with Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd among others.


Before going on stage in Dublin, Mick asked me: ‘Shall I get some of the crowd on stage near the end?’ He’d give me a signal to start filming. I stood in the corner and they started to play. There were all these kids and when the music started they jumped up in unison. It was an orgy. It was so unutterably pagan and ecstatic. And the heat. And the sweat. I was absolutely shattered by it. I thought it was amazing. Mick gave me a bit of a wave and within 45 seconds there were ten bloody kids on the stage. He went to the front and plucked one girl out and she managed to fling herself on the stage and her arms around him.

One thing that really took me by surprise was that down in the front where bouncers were holding them back, there was this guy, this young boy, who was just standing there, weeping, saying, ‘Mick, Mick, Mick…’ It was an incredible identification with the God. These were the disciples. It was an orgiastic, sacred rite. It wasn’t just a pop concert. I was really humbled, actually. The closest I’d got to this kind of stuff was Wagner’s ‘Ring’. I then thought: I’ve got to take these guys seriously.


After the gig, we ended up around the piano in the hotel bar. Mick and Keith were completely drunk; I obviously wasn’t going to get an interview, but I got something much better. Keith sat down on the piano and played. I realised that Keith was the musical master of the whole operation. Music was in his blood.

We flew back to London. I filmed them on the plane, and that was it. After I finished the film, they asked me to do a promo for their next single, ‘Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?’ They were too big and grand by this stage to appear on ‘Top of the Pops’. I’d make my film and it was shown on TV. We did half a dozen similar films. I was their filmmaker.

Two years later, I made a film for their ‘We Love You’ single when Mick and Keith were waiting to appeal their drugs convictions. I came up with the idea of recreating the Oscar Wilde trial. Mick loved the idea. We met up on the Friday to discuss it and we filmed on the Sunday because they were back in court for the appeal on Monday. We found a church that looked like the Old Bailey. Mick was Oscar Wilde. And Marianne Faithfull was Bosie – she had short hair at the time and looked like a little boy. That left Keith: Keith was the judge and wore a wig made out of old newspapers on his head.

‘Charlie Is My Darling’ has barely been seen. When Andrew Loog Oldham sold The Stones to Allen Klein of ABKCO soon after, things became extremely acrimonious. They disputed who owned the film. I own the copyright as the director and producer. Mick owns The Stones. ABKCO owns all the music. And they’ve just fought and fought. It wasn’t shown at the time because Klein didn’t want to show a little black-and-white movie of the band.

A Peter Whitehead season runs at the NFT from March 1 to 11. Whitehead will discuss his career there at 8.45pm on March 7 .
Interview: Dave Calhoun




www.timeout.com





[Edited by Gazza]
23rd February 2007 10:19 AM
jb thanks so much Gazza.......
23rd February 2007 10:24 AM
charlotte interesting...thanks gazza

rarely/barely...I wonder who has seen it?
23rd February 2007 11:02 AM
Gazza I have a pirate copy of it on DVD, but Ive seen the film in a special presentation too.

It was shown here as part of a little tour Andrew Oldham did of a few arts festivals in various parts of the UK about three years ago. He'd introduce the film and talk about it, they'd show the movie and then he would do a Q&A session afterwards. Turned out to be quite an interesting evening too.
23rd February 2007 11:09 AM
glencar I too have it on DVD. I only watched it once. i recall much train riding.
24th February 2007 07:27 AM
charlotte OK, found most of it on YouTube...
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