ABKCO Films is proud to join in the celebration of the Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary by announcing exclusive details of the release of the legendary, but never officially released film, The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965, the cinematic debut of the band. This new cut of the film features newly discovered, never-before-seen or heard performances and will be released in Super Deluxe Box Set, Blu-ray and DVD configurations worldwide on November 6 (or 5 in the world excluding N/A).
The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 was shot on a quick weekend tour of Ireland just weeks after “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit # 1 on the charts and became the international anthem for an entire generation. Charlie is my Darling is an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Rolling Stones featuring the first professionally filmed concert performances of the band’s long and storied touring career, documenting the early frenzy of their fans and the riots their live performances incited.
Charlie is my Darling showcases dramatic concert footage – including electrifying performances of “The Last Time,” “Time Is On My Side” and the first ever concert performance of the Stones counterculture classic, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Candid, off-the-cuff interviews are juxtaposed with revealing, comical scenes of the band goofing around with each other. It’s also an insider’s glimpse into the band’s developing musical style by blending blues, R&B and rock-n-roll riffs, and the film captures the spark about to combust into The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.
The 1965 version of Charlie is my Darling was produced by Stones’ manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham who enlisted director Peter Whitehead to travel with the group and film them as “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” rocketed the band to the pinnacle of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Whitehead, who would later capture “swinging London” in Tonite Let’s All Make Love in London, crafted a 35-minute version of the film (director’s cut) that would surface, from time to time over the years, usually seen with grainy visuals and out of phase music. Later, Oldham put together a 50-minute producer’s cut that was first seen in the 1980s. As noted, both the director’s and producer’s cut are part of the DVD, Blu-ray and Super Deluxe Charlie is my Darling release.
The GRAMMY® winning team of producer Robin Klein and director Mick Gochanaur developed the new 65 minute version after researching and locating additional film footage shot by Whitehead and uncovering a source of first generation audio recordings of the band’s concert performances. Painstaking work was done on restoring the footage to come up with the new film that offers a coherent narrative and gives the viewer unprecedented access to the Rolling Stones’ original line-up – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman –on stage live and captured, literally, in trains, planes and automobiles as well as backstage and in smoky hotel rooms where they candidly discuss their future. Never-before-seen footage of the band’s early songwriting process is also included as motel rooms host impromptu songwriting sessions and familiar classics are heard in their infancy as riff and lyric are united.
The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 Super Deluxe Box Set includes both DVD and Blu-ray discs that incorporate the new 2012 version of the film as well as the director’s cut and producer’s cut, plus significant unseen additional performance and other footage shot in Dublin and Belfast in September of 1965, bonus content, two audio CDs, one of which is the film’s soundtrack album and the other a compilation of 13 live recordings the band made over the course of their 1965 UK tour. A 10” vinyl record of the live material is also part of the package, as well as a replica poster heralding the September 4, 1965 date they played in Belfast. The Super Deluxe box is housed in an ingeniously designed luxurious “soft touch” package, each featuring one of over 200 Limited Edition numbered and enlarged cells randomly inserted from the film. There is also a stunning 42 page Collector’s Edition hardcover book that includes 14 never before seen, and painstakingly restored exclusive photographs, including the key art, of the band from the Irish Photo Archive/Lensmen Photo Archive as well as color photos taken by Marc Sharatt, the Stones’ tour photographer. Reprints of vintage newspaper and magazine articles from the UK and Irish press that offer accounts of the dates and attendant mayhem are included as are essays from American rock journalist and Rolling Stone Magazine staffer David Fricke and GRAMMY® and Academy Award® winning Irish singer/songwriter/actor Glen Hansard. A featured recollection from Reverend Donor Macneice, who was recently located living in Thailand and whose attendance at the ’65 Belfast show nearly cost him his job after he was spotted on the local news is also part of the package.
Both individual Blu-ray and DVD editions of the package mirror the discs featured in the Super Deluxe Box comprising the 2012 version, the director’s cut and the producer’s cut. Simultaneously, there will also be a digital-only release of the 2012 edition of The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965.
The world premiere of The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 will take place this Friday, September 29 at the 50th New York Film Festival with Andrew Loog Oldham in attendance. An encore screening is set for Wednesday, October 3. Additionally, Oldham and Steven Van Zandt will also host a screening and Q&A at New York’s 92 Street Y on Friday, October 5.
November 2012 broadcast premieres are being scheduled for the US and the UK, as well as worldwide theatrical screenings.
Rolling Stones – Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965
Original Soundtrack – track listing
1) Play With Fire – The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra
2) Heart Of Stone – The Rolling Stones
3) Who Do You Like In The Group? – Peter Whitehead and Fans
4) The Last Time (Live) – The Rolling Stones
5) Time Is On My Side (Live) – The Rolling Stones
6) I´m Alright (Live) – The Rolling Stones
7) The Next House We´ll Turn The Screaming Down – Andrew Loog Oldham and Priest
8) Theme For A Rolling Stone – The Andrew Oldham Orchestra
9) Nice Tea – The Rolling Stones and Andrew Loog Oldham
10) Maybe It´s Because I´m A Londoner – ALO Productions
11) Play With Fire – The Rolling Stones
12) Tell Me – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Andrew Oldham
13) Heart Of Stone – The Andrew Oldham Orchestra
14) Are You Going To The Show Tonight? – Peter Whitehead and Fans
15) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Live) – The Rolling Stones
16) Pain In My Heart (Live) – The Rolling Stones
17) Blue Turns To Grey – The Andrew Oldham Orchestra
18) Subconsciously Supernatural – Mick Jagger and Andrew Oldham
19) (I Can´t Get No) Satisfaction – The Andrew Oldham Orchestra
20) The Moon In June – Mick Jagger
21) (I Can´t Get No) Satisfaction (Live) – The Rolling Stones
22) Going Home – The Rolling Stones
Live In England 1965 – Track Listing/CD
1) Show Intro
2) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
3) Pain In My Heart
4) Down The Road Apiece
5) Time Is On My Side
6) I’m Alright
7) Off The Hook
8) Charlie’s Intro to Little Red Rooster
9) Little Red Rooster
10) Route 66
11) I’m Moving On
12) The Last Time
13) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Finale)
Live In England 1965 – Track Listing/10” Vinyl
Side 1
1) We Want The Stones
2) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
3) Pain In My Heart
4) Down The Road Apiece
5) Time Is On My Side
6) I’m Alright
7) Off The Hook
Side 2
8) Charlie’s Intro to Little Red Rooster
9) Little Red Rooster
10) Route 66
11) I’m Moving On
12) The Last Time
13) Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Finale)
Archival Footage From 1965 Tour Shows Band’s Primal Energy, Hysterical Fans, Camaraderie
In September of 1965, the Rolling Stones did a quick two-city tour of Ireland on the heels of the success of their latest single, “Satisfaction.” Inspired by the Beatles “Hard Days Night,” released the previous year, manager Andrew Loog Oldham hired director Peter Whitehead to film some cinema verite footage and ace engineer Glyn Johns to record the shows. The footage was collected into a maddeningly uneven 50-minute documentary called “Charlie Is My Darling” that was shopped the following year but never officially released or aired — although wobbly bootleg copies have been making the rounds for decades — and the reels sat in film cans, largely untouched, for more than 40 years.
As part of ABKCO’s ongoing exploration and restoration of the Stones’ early archives — not to mention the band’s 50th anniversary and tour dates later this year — the footage has been laboriously cleaned up and made into a new, longer film, with 60 percent new footage and six complete songs (including “The Last Time,” “Satisfaction” and “Time Is On My Side”) that represent nothing less than the earliest known professionally shot concert footage of the Rolling Stones, with painstakingly remixed sound.
The results are absolutely staggering: The live footage alone is arguably the most exciting video document of the Stones’ early years, capturing both the primal energy of their performance and the hysteria it evoked in their audiences. (One song actually is not “complete”: During “I’m Alright,” crowd members swarmed onstage — not just hugging the band but tacklingthem — and the Stones had to be rushed offstage by police before they could finish.)
The cameras follow the Stones nearly every step of the way during the trip, traveling to, from and around Ireland (where it was seemingly always raining); signing autographs and doing interviews; talking to (and running from) fans, goofing around in hotel rooms; writing songs (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are seen polishing the deep cut “Sittin’ on a Fence”) and doing juvenile musical impersonations of the Beatles, Elvis, Fats Domino and cheesy music-hall songs and other songs of their own.
Throughout, the Stones look absolutely magnificent in their Swinging London splendor, with lots of turtlenecks, sunglasses, suede, Cuban heels, and checkered jackets and pants.
And while the then-scourges of British society are shockingly young and fresh-faced (Jagger is 22, Richards is 21), they’re also wise far beyond their years in a way that the film — with nearly 50 years of hindsight — skillfully plays up. Jagger says when they started they expected to be around for a year to 18 months; Brian Jones says “Let’s face it: The future as a Rolling Stone is very uncertain,” refers to “our peculiar sort of success” and says “I’ve always been a little apprehensive of the future” (he had less than four years to live). Jagger speaks presciently about the rise of the counterculture, the anti-war movement and sexual liberation, “especially in America.” Asked how much of his performance is acting, he says, “I suppose really all of it is acting …. The most successful actors have been the most egotistical ones.” And offstage? “[I’m] about half as egotistical,” he laughs.
At one point Bill Wyman muses, “It makes you wonder if there’s an easier way of making a living.”
Perhaps most strikingly of all, “Charlie Is My Darling” captures the group at a unique point in their career. They’d been famous for more than a year, long enough to be accustomed to it on one level, and still overwhelmed and perplexed by it on others. They’re also close-knit in a Beatles-ish way that was probably a distant memory just a year later: You see them sleeping on each others’ shoulders as the plane leaves Ireland, and supporting each other in a way that would soon be superceded by the Mick/Keith power duo.
The film footage is grainy at times but always clear, and the sound improvement is downright astounding. “We did some pretty serious science on this,” director Mick Gochanour, a longtime fan, told Billboard about the painstaking restoration process, which found them working with completely un-synched, often unlabeled separate soundtracks and film. “It took eight months to synch up the [soundtrack] with the live performances,” he said. “We realized during the middle that we had six complete performances” from the two different cities, recorded on long-obsolete three-track tape.
“Glyn Johns did a phenomenal job,” he said. “There were three tracks: the audience, Mick, and the band. The audience recording was slightly out-of-synch with the band, and when we aligned them, it gave unbelievable definition to the bass and drums.
“You can only imagine what it was like to work on this!” he gushed.
The world premiere of “The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965” takes place during the New York Film Festival on September 29 (Andrew Loog Oldham will be present for a Q&A); an encore screening of the film will be held on October 3 at 8:30 PM. Both screenings are scheduled for the Walter Reade Theatre. There will be another screening at the 92 Street Y in New York on October 5, which will feature a conversation between Oldham and Steven Van Zandt (tickets are available to the public).
The film has a commercial retail release date of November 6; the director’s cut, the producer’s cut and this new 2012 version will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and as part of a Super Deluxe Box Set.
In its world-premiere week, the 92Y and ABKCO Films take great pride in presenting a screening of The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965, the long-rumored but never released film. Shot on a quick tour of Ireland just weeks after the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit #1 on the charts and became the international anthem for a generation, the film is an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Stones. It features the first professionally filmed concert performances of the band and documents the early frenzy of their fans, the riots the band’s appearances inspired, and their transition from a blues and R&B cover band to the Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World.
A discussion follows the screening, featuring Andrew Loog Oldham, the Stones’ first manager and producer of The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 speaking with celebrated rock guitarist and raconteur Steven Van Zandt.
Starring the original lineup of the band – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts – The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 is an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Stones that has long been a holy grail of rock fans, surfacing in bits and pieces and tantalizing but frustratingly un-synched fragments. Now in its fully produced and technically updated form, the film boasts both meticulously restored and never before seen footage that features the first professionally filmed concert performances of the band, and captures the early frenzy of their fans and the riots their concerts stirred. The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling- Ireland 1965 is the invaluable, unseen story of the band becoming the legend, originally directed by pioneering filmmaker Peter Whitehead and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. The new 2012 version of the film was directed by Mick Gochanour and restored and produced by Robin Klein, the GRAMMY® Award winning team that brought the classic The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus to the screen.
Oldham is best known for managing the Rolling Stones from 1963-1967, encouraging Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write their own material, and producing such global hits for the Stones as “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “The Last Time,” “Paint It Black,” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” He introduced Marianne Faithfull to the world and co-wrote her first hit, “As Tears Go By,” and established England’s first independent label, Immediate Records, releasing hit recordings by such influential artists as the Small Faces, Rod Stewart, Chris Farlowe and the Nice. Relocating to Colombia in the 1980s, Oldham produced best-sellers for Los Ratones Paranoicos and Charly Garcia while establishing himself as a critically acclaimed author of two autobiographies: Stoned and 2Stoned. Oldham has won a devoted following by way of his program on SiriusXM satellite radio, deejaying the best of classic and contemporary rock ‘n’ roll for Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM. He recently completed his third book, Stone Free, to be published by Escargot Books, and a new album by the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra, The Rolling Stones Songbook Volume 2.
Steven Van Zandt, who recently interviewed the great Dion DeMucci as part of the 92Y’s Music Icons series, may be the planet’s most charismatic, dedicated and visible crusader scrapping to preserve the dirty purity of rock ‘n roll. Born in Massachusetts, Van Zandt has earned international praise and recognition for a variety of roles: first, as Bruce Springsteen’s long-standing guitarist since the early 1970s, a four-decade run that found his talents shaping such classic albums as Born to Run, The River and Born in the U.S.A. In the 2000s, Van Zandt was cast as consigliere Silvio Dante in the widely popular TV hit The Sopranos, and he launched Little Steven’s Underground Garage, a nationally broadcast rock radio show that recently celebrated its 500th broadcast, on which he spins cuts by the likes of the Ramones, Carl Perkins, and the Amboy Dukes next to the Black Keys and White Stripes.
About 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a world-class nonprofit community and cultural center that connects people at every stage of life to the worlds of education, the arts, health and wellness, and Jewish life. Through the breadth and depth of 92Y’s extraordinary programs, we enrich lives, create community and elevate humanity. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y’s New York City venues annually, and millions more join us through the Internet, satellite broadcasts and other digital media. A proudly Jewish organization since its founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and enthusiastically welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. For more information, visit www.92Y.org
ABKCO Films and the 50th New York Film Festival are proud to join in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Rolling Stones by announcing the World Premiere of The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 on Saturday, September 29th at 7:00 PM. An encore screening of the film will take place on Wednesday, October 3rd at 8:30 PM. Both screenings are scheduled for the Walter Reade Theatre.
What was once rumor is now fact as ABKCO Films presents a meticulously restored and fully-realized version of this first-ever, legendary but never released film. Shot on a quick tour of Ireland just weeks after the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit # 1 on the charts and became the international anthem for a generation, The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 is an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Stones. It features the first professionally filmed concert performances of the band and documents the early frenzy of their fans and the riots the band’s appearances inspired.
Charlie is my Darling is a rediscovered letter from a lost world. It has long been a holy grail of rock fans, surfacing in bits and pieces and tantalizing but frustratingly un-synched fragments. The band is shown traveling through the Irish countryside by train; dashing from cabs to cramped, basement dressing rooms through screaming hordes of fans. Motel rooms host impromptu songwriting sessions and familiar classics are heard in their infancy as riff and lyric are united.
This new 2012 version of the film with added never-before-seen footage was directed and restored by director Mick Gochanour and producer Robin Klein, the GRAMMY® Award winning team that brought the classic The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus to the screen. Charlie is my Darling’s dramatic and stunning concert footage – including electrifying performances of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “The Last Time” and “Time Is On My Side” – shows the band developing its musical style by blending blues, R&B and rock-n-roll riffs, and captures the spark about to combust into The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. Candid, off-the-cuff interviews are juxtaposed with revealing, comical scenes of the band goofing on one another as well as unsuspecting outsiders, and offers an unmatched look inside the day-to-day life of the Stones.
Originally directed by pioneering filmmaker Peter Whitehead and produced by Rolling Stones manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham, Charlie is my Darling is the lost preamble to a life captured on screen. Like no other band, the Rolling Stones repeatedly put themselves under the microscope, allowing the greatest filmmakers of our era – including Jean-Luc Godard, the Maysles, Robert Frank, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Hal Ashby and Martin Scorsese – inside their world. Charlie is my Darling is the invaluable frame: the unseen story of the band becoming the legend.
ABKCO Films will be making a major announcement regarding a nationally televised Broadcast Premiere in the next few weeks and has set Tuesday November 6th as the commercial retail release date for The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965, the director’s cut, the producer’s cut and this new 2012 version will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and as part of a Super Deluxe Box Set.
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam, upper level)
Monday – Friday: 12:30 p.m. – 15 minutes after the start of the last screening of the day.
Saturday and Sunday: 30 minutes prior to start of first screening of the day – 15 minutes after start of last screening of the day.
212.875.5601
ABKCO Films is proud to join in the celebration of the Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary by announcing exclusive details of the release of the legendary, but never officially released film, The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965, the cinematic debut of the band. This new cut of the film features newly discovered, never-before-seen or heard performances and will be released in Super Deluxe Box Set, Blu-ray and DVD configurations worldwide on November 6 (or 5 in the world excluding N/A).
