''The Stones in the Park'' was a free outdoor festival held in Hyde Park on 5 July 1969, headlined by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

and featuring

Third Ear Band Third Ear Band were a British musical group formed in London during the mid-1960s. Their line-up initially consisted of violin, cello, oboe and percussion. Most of their performances were instrumental and partly improvised. Their records for th ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

, Screw,

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

's New Church,

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

and the Battered Ornaments, in front of an estimated audience between 250,000–500,000 spectators. It was the Stones' first public concert in over two years, and was planned as an introduction of their new guitarist, Mick Taylor, though circumstances inevitably changed following the death of former member

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

two days earlier. The band rehearsed at

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' studio in a basement on

Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

, and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

came up with a 14-song set; the Hyde Park concert would be the first time many of the songs had been played before a public audience. The PA system was supplied by

Watkins Electric Music Watkins Electric Music (WEM) is a British company known for manufacturing PA systems, the Copicat tape echo unit, guitar amplifiers, and electric guitars. History The company was co-founded by musician Charlie Watkins and his brother Reg Watki ...

, who had handled amplification at previous Hyde Park events. Fans started to arrive at the park with candles on 4 July in tribute to Jones, and by the morning of 5 July, 7,000 people had already gathered. Jagger read a short eulogy on stage before the Stones' set began, reading two stanzas of

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achi ...

's poem on

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculos ...

's death, ''

Adonaïs ''Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc.'' () is a pastoral elegy written by Percy Bysshe Shelley for John Keats in 1821, and widely regarded as one of Shelley's best and best-known works.cabbage white butterflies were released. The setlist for their performance was " I'm Yours & I'm Hers", "

Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was perceived by some as t ...

". " Mercy Mercy", "Down Home Girl", "

Stray Cat Blues "Stray Cat Blues" is the eighth song on the Rolling Stones' album ''Beggars Banquet''. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Jimmy Miller. Miller's production of the song is very representative of his style, featuring a ...

", "

No Expectations "No Expectations" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. It was first released as the B-side of the " Street Fighting Man" single in August 1968. The song was recorded in May 1968. Bria ...

", " I'm Free", "

Loving Cup A loving cup is a shared drinking container traditionally used at weddings and banquets. It usually has two handles and is often made of silver. Loving cups are often given as trophies to winners of games or competitions. Background Loving cups ...

", "

Love in Vain "Love in Vain" (originally "Love in Vain Blues") is a blues song written by American musician Robert Johnson. Johnson's performancevocal accompanied by his finger-style acoustic guitar playinghas been described as "devastatingly bleak". He rec ...

", "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The rif ...

", " Honky Tonk Women", "

Midnight Rambler "Midnight Rambler" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song is a loose biography of Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler. Keith Richards has called the nu ...

", "

Street Fighting Man "Street Fighting Man" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Considered one of the band's most popular and most controversial songs, it features Indian instrume ...

" and "

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones and the opening track from the band's 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. The song is a product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership. It is consi ...

". During the 18-minute-long rendition of "Sympathy for the Devil", a number of African tribal drummers joined the band. While the event is considered a memorable one by several critics, they also agree that it was not one of the Stones' best performances, and the guitars played during the concert were out of tune. In a 1971 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine, Richards evaluated their performance, "We played pretty bad until near the end, because we hadn't played for years ... Nobody minded, because they just wanted to hear us play again." The Stones' portion of concert was filmed by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

and broadcast that September. It has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray. In April 2013, the band announced their intention to play two return concerts on 6 and 13 July, although the performances were not free.

Background

The festival was an important one for the Stones. They had not performed a public concert since their 1967 European Tour, and in 1968 had only performed at the '' NME'' Poll Winners Concert and at their television project ''

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'' was a concert show organised by the Rolling Stones on 11–12 December 1968. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal (musician), Taj Mah ...

''. In interviews,

stated that he felt the band's forte was performing live, rather than in the studio, and was keen to return to the stage.

Blackhill Enterprises Blackhill Enterprises was a rock music management company, founded as a partnership by the four original members of Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright), with Peter Jenner and Andrew King. Blackhill were the or ...

, which had already managed several successful concerts in Hyde Park, including a festival headlined by

Blind Faith Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...

in June 1969 attended by 150,000 people, were contacted to organise one at the next convenient date after the organiser-compère of that concert, Sam Cutler, had met Jagger in the VIP area at the concert and later at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. When asked why the festival would be free, Jagger noted that they had not made much money from previous concert tours anyway, and that he felt the audience would have a better time if they did not have to pay although he ensured that the cost of the concert would be covered by selling exclusive television rights to

. However, the gradual estrangement of

and his decreasing musical contributions – he had only appeared on two tracks on the then in-progress ''

Let It Bleed ''Let It Bleed'' is the eighth British and tenth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released 28 November 1969 on London Records in the United States and shortly thereafter by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. ...

'' — made a return to touring problematic. They had shelved ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'' after having been upstaged by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. By June 1969, matters had finally come to a head and it was decided that Jones should be replaced for the gig. Mick Taylor2

Mick Taylor, who had by this time obtained a reputation for himself by playing with

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

, was invited to work on ''Let It Bleed''. The band enjoyed his contributions and decided to make him an offer to join full-time. After considering this for a few days, he accepted, and his position was officially announced at a press conference in the park's bandstand on 13 June. The single " Honky Tonk Women," recorded on 1 June with Taylor, was rush-released to tie in with the festival date. The Hyde Park concert would be Taylor's first gig with the band, and as they had barely had any time to rehearse with him he was understandably nervous. Jagger, too, was nervous, unsure whether Jones's fans would take to Taylor and indeed whether they would boycott the concert; he did not expect the crowd to match the 150,000 who had come to the Blind Faith gig. In addition, the hot summer had sent the pollen levels soaring and Jagger suffered from hay-fever and laryngitis in the days leading up to the concert. Jones died on 3 July, two days before the festival. The Stones were in

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

when they were told of his death by Ian Stewart, and, although grief-stricken, decided they would go ahead with the gig and dedicate their performance to him.

later wrote: The band rehearsed at

' studio in the basement of Savile Row, and Jagger and Richards came up with a 14-song set; the Hyde Park concert would be the first time many of the songs had been played before a public audience.

Performance

Hyde Park, Tour de France Day - geograph

The performers at the festival included

, Screw,

's New Church, Roy Harper, Battered Ornaments,

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

. Fans started to arrive at the park with candles on 4 July in tribute to Jones, and the police allowed the park to be opened late so they could stay. By the following morning, there were already 7,000 people. As with the Stones' performance at the infamous

Altamont Free Concert The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Livermore, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, and some a ...

later that year, the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporati ...

were hired as stewards to protect the stage and equipment, something suggested by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

's manager

Rock Scully Rock Robert Scully (August 1, 1941 – December 16, 2014) was one of the managers of the rock band the Grateful Dead from 1965 to 1985. Living in Haight-Ashbury as a graduate student prior to the Summer of Love, Scully first saw the Grateful Dead ...

, who was used to the Angels performing this service at free festivals in California. According to Cutler, Jagger said that he was keen on doing a similar free concert in California at some time in the future. At Hyde Park, fifty Angels patrolled the vicinity of the stage, though there was little resemblance other than a superficial one to their American counterparts. They performed their duties in exchange for a cup of tea. In the event, there were only twelve arrests on the day and a subsequent police report claimed that the Angels were "totally ineffective". King Crimson at this point still consisted of the original line-up of

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a sessio ...

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and ...

, Ian McDonald,

Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1969. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...

. They had not yet released an album, and were invited to play on the strength of word of mouth after their live performances in venues such as the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed ...

. Sam Cutler introduced them on stage, stating the "new band is gonna go a long way". The band's setlist was "

21st Century Schizoid Man "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson from their 1969 debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King''. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it has been described by sources such as Rolling Sto ...

", "

The Court of the Crimson King "The Court of the Crimson King" is the fifth and final track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Released as a single, it reached No. 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, th ...

", "Get Thy Bearings", "

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

", "Mantra", "Travel Weary Capricorn" and "

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

". Three of the tracks appeared in studio form on the band's debut album, '' In the Court of the Crimson King'', albeit with different lyrics compared with the performance here. The band's set has since been released on CD, with some bonus material. Recalling the event, Fripp remembers the sense of community at the event and the good weather, particularly noting a sense of goodwill backstage. Alexis Korner's involvement with

Blues Incorporated Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, or simply Blues Incorporated, were an English blues band formed in London in 1961, led by Alexis Korner and including at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Davy Graham, Ginger Baker, Art ...

had been a key ingredient in the Stones forming in 1962, and he had played onstage with several group members during this time. New Church had been formed with guitarist

Peter Thorup Peter Eiberg Thorup (14 December 1948 – 3 August 2007) was a Danish guitarist, singer, composer and record producer. He was one of the most important blues musicians in Denmark, and he was known outside his own country, when in the late 1960s ...

after the demise of Blues Incorporated. Roy Harper had been regularly appearing at a number of Hyde Park festivals since 1968 and saw his popularity increase as a result of these. This eventually resulted in Blackhill's Peter Jenner managing him, leading to a contract with

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

. For 5 July gig, he contributed a one-song set between equipment changes. The Battered Ornaments had been the backing band for

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

collaborator

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Br ...

. They performed without Brown, who had been fired from the band the previous day. Guitarist

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

took over lead vocals. The band supplied the

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

that carried the Stones from their hotel to the park.

The Rolling Stones

The band met at the Londonderry Hotel on

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

, overlooking the park, where they had booked a tenth-floor suite, and proceeded to the park in the armoured personnel carrier, together with their two official photographers,

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning ...

and Spanish Tony Sanchez. They alighted from the carrier into a caravan-trailer behind the stage. Jagger, his face heavily made up and with a studded leather collar around his neck, was clad in a white dress. He had borrowed the dress, which had been made for Sammy Davis Jr. at the

Mr. Fish Mr. Fish is the name of two fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Mortimer Norris version of Mr. Fish first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Power Man'' #29 and was created by Bil ...

boutique, and wore it to Prince Rupert Lowenstein's white ball, where he had shown it to

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

. Jagger was only to wear it for half-an-hour at the Hyde Park concert, after which he tore it off to reveal a violet T-shirt and white

loon pants Bell-bottoms (or flares) are a style of trousers that become wider from the knees downward, forming a bell-like shape of the trouser leg. These are similar to flared jeans. History Naval origins In the early 19th century, when a standardized u ...

Before the Stones opened their set, Jagger addressed the crowd, asking them to be quiet so he could read something as a tribute to Jones. He then read two stanzas of

's poem on

's death, ''

Royal Parks The Royal Parks of London are lands that were originally used for the recreation, mostly hunting, of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of The Crown, now managed by The Royal Parks Limited, a charity which manages ...

authority having stipulated before the concert that any butterflies released by the Stones should be sterilised and should certainly not be of the voracious cabbage white genus (''Pieris'' spp.). 2,500 butterflies were due to be released, but due to the hot weather, many of them died from lack of air in storage. The Stones then launched into "I'm Yours and I'm Hers", which, according to Philip Norman, was an ironic choice given that

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

and Marsha Hunt, both of whom Jagger was alleged to be having relationships with at that time, were in the audience. (The song was performed because it was a favourite of Jones.) The setlist for their performance was " I'm Yours & I'm Hers", "

", "

", " Mercy Mercy", "

", " I'm Free", "Down Home Girl", "

", "Give Me a Little Drink", "

", "

", " Honky Tonk Women", "

" and "

". During the 18-minute-long rendition of "Sympathy for the Devil", a number of

Ginger Johnson George Folunsho "Ginger" Johnson (1916 – July 15, 1975) was a Nigerian percussionist and bandleader who was a prominent musician in London from the 1950s to the early 1970s. He led Ginger Johnson and His African Messengers, and recorded and per ...

's African tribal drummers joined the band. After the concert ended, the volunteers who cleared up the 5,000 tonnes of rubbish were each given a copy of "Honky Tonk Women". Though park keepers feared that the crowd would cause damage to the park, an official estimate suggested the cost was only around £100 (now £). Park superintendent John Hare reported the most serious damage was to a silver birch tree planted the previous year. He praised the concertgoers, many of whom helped clear up after the concert and were awarded with a free Stones LP if they returned a full sack.

Date

Equipment

Blackhill Enterprises provided a high stage, with the speakers being housed in a thirty-foot-high tower so that people at the far end of the park would be able to hear the music. The stage was flanked by palm trees in pots and behind the performers there was a blowup of the cover of the ''

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Ro ...

'' album. Richards had started experimenting with

open tunings Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...

by this point in the band's career, particularly after hearing

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, a ...

, and the Hyde Park gig was the first chance audiences got to hear them. He played a

Gibson ES-330 The Gibson ES-330 (1959-1972) is a thinline hollow-body electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It was first introduced in 1959 and the guitar had the same dimensions as the ES-335. History Sales of Gibson’s Electric ...

tuned to open G tuning played both open and with a capo on the fourth fret, and a

Gibson Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...

. Taylor, meanwhile, played a

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typ ...

for the opening number, followed by an SG for the majority of the set. The PA system was supplied by

, who already handled amplification at previous Hyde Park shows. Company founder Charlie Watkins recalls it was the largest PA he had assembled to that point and, unable to provide enough gear himself, he was forced to borrow extras from other groups, later saying, "I didn't have many columns, but I wanted to put 1500W up. I borrowed some from

T-Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

. They all chipped in — that's what we used to do."

Reception

In 1971, in an interview with ''

'' magazine, Richards said, "We played pretty bad until near the end, because we hadn't played for years ... Nobody minded, because they just wanted to hear us play again." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'''s

Richard Gott Richard Willoughby Gott (born 28 October 1938),Winchester College: A Register. Edited by P.S.W.K. McClure and R.P. Stevens, on behalf of the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester College. 7th edition, 2014. pp. 271 (Short Half 1952 list heading) & ...

stated that the show was "a great and epoch-making event in British social history", although he added that "most of the music ... was indifferent". According to Norman, "the band's underpreparedness was painfully obvious. Keith and Mick Taylor's guitars, so harmonious at first meeting, turned into a pair of pneumatic drills fighting a grudge match to the death. Charlie's drumming and Bill's bass each seemed to have melted into jelly." The ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'''s Iain Martin stated that the Stones were "under-rehearsed and quite possibly nervous, not having performed live in front of an audience in more than two years. The guitars were badly out of tune and half the songs were approached at the wrong tempo", adding that Jagger appeared to be "trying to cover up for the shortcomings of his bandmates". Retrospectively reviewing the DVD release of the Stones' set,

Film 4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, it ...

commented: "It isn't the greatest film about the band and it isn't their greatest performance, but for fans it captures the band at a significant moment."

DVD release

The DVD, released on 25 September 2006, includes the same concert footage as the TV broadcast of 25 September 1969. The DVD includes three previously unseen songs which were filmed at the concert – "Mercy, Mercy", "Stray Cat Blues" and "No Expectations". The latter two are incomplete but are included here due to their uniqueness (HD). Also included is news footage of their early fame from 1964, footage of Mick Jagger discussing his arrest for drugs possession in July 1967 and his subsequent press conference on his release from prison, and a 1971 interview with Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts about their tour of France.

Eagle Rock Entertainment Eagle Rock Entertainment is an international producer and distributor of music films and programming. It operates two record labels (Eagle Records and Armoury Records), a full-service production company (Eagle Rock Productions) and a music publis ...

later issued reissued the special on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

as ''From the Vault – Hyde Park – Live in 1969'' in 2015.

Track listing

# "

" (4:30) # "

" (4:00) # " I'm Free" (2:50) #

Eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...

(for

) (2:00) # " I'm Yours & I'm Hers" (

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

) (2:10) # "

" (3:20) # " Honky Tonk Women" (3:05) # "

" (

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

) (4:30) # "

" (10:30) Bonus tracks * " Mercy Mercy" * "

" * "

2013 concert

On Richard Bacon's

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

show on 3 April 2013 it was announced that the Rolling Stones would hold a concert in Hyde Park as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations on 6 July. Mick Jagger quipped, "I'll try and keep the poetry to a minimum", and remarked, in respect of the white dress that he wore for the 1969 concert, "I can still just about get into the zippers." On 9 April it was announced that they would hold a second concert, on 13 July.

References

External links

UK Rock Festivals − The Stones in the Park

British Pathé video of the Stones' set

Article of the Spanish website The Fifth Beatle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stones in the Park, The 1969 in London 1969 in British music 1969 music festivals July 1969 events in the United Kingdom 1983 video albums 2006 video albums 2015 video albums Rolling Stones, The Concerts in Hyde Park, London Free festivals Live video albums Music festivals established in 1969 Music festivals in London The Rolling Stones documentary films The Rolling Stones video albums

Background

Performance

The Rolling Stones

Date

Equipment

Reception

DVD release

Track listing

2013 concert

See also

References

External links