Filmed before a live audience in London, The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was originally conceived as a BBC-TV special. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who had worked on videos for both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, it centers on the original line up of the Rolling Stones -- Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman (with Nicky Hopkins and Rocky Dijon)-- who serves as both the show's hosts and featured attraction. For the first time in front of an audience, "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" performs six Stones classics ("Jumpin' 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 extraordinary performances by The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, Yoko Ono as well as The Dirty Mac a 'supergroup' before the term had even been coined, the band was comprised of Eric Clapton (lead guitar), Keith Richards (bass), Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (drums) and John Lennon on guitar and vocals. This performance marks the first musical context in which John Lennon performed before an audience outside the Beatles. A mirthful conversation between Jagger and Lennon captures these two at a pivotal creative point in time. The Circus is the only time Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) performed with Jethro Tull and the last time Brian Jones would perform with The Rolling Stones in front of an audience.
As David Dalton, who covered the event for Rolling Stone, so aptly put it, "...for a brief moment it seemed that rock 'n' roll would inherit the earth."
