"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" had just exploded on the radio. Male fans were rushing the stage at Rolling Stones concerts. No one knew quite what to make of it -- not young people, the media or even Mick Jagger himself.
That's the impression given by "Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965," the little-seen Stones documentary that will be screened this weekend at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis before it arrives on home video Nov. 6.
Filmed on a two-city tour of Ireland in September 1965, the 65-minute doc was produced by Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham and directed by Peter Whitehead. A 35-minute director's cut and a later 50-minute producer's cut received exposure over the years but neither got widespread distribution. Producer Robin Klein and director Mick Gochanour helmed the new version.
Watching this footage now is probably more fascinating than it would have been 45 years ago. This gives us historical perspective on the 1960s counterculture and on a remarkable band that music fans have been worshipping for 50 years.
"Charlie Is My Darling," which takes its title from a Scottish folk song, features interviews with the band members and fans, a hotel jam session and, most significantly, concert footage of the early Stones, with Jagger all pouty lips, loose-limbed and hip-shaking.
Answering a series of questions, Jagger explains "as far as lyrics go, sex doesn't play as important a part as generally believed." As for what he does onstage, "all of it is acting." After establishing that most successful entertainers are egotistical onstage, he says that, offstage, "I'm half as egotistical." Revealing stuff.
All five Stones are interviewed. Drummer Charlie Watts admits to being different from his mates because he's a homebody with a wife. Guitarist Brian Jones confesses: "I've always been a little apprehensive about the future." He also talks about marriage, and Jagger opines on the impact of the counterculture, saying "the people who are 21 now, when they reach the age of 75 and are grandfathers, that's when the whole thing [will be] changed."
The performing footage is priceless, as the Stones tear through "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," "Pain in My Heart," "Around and Around" and "Satisfaction," during which fans jump onstage, hug the musicians and bring the show to an abrupt end.
