Ladies & Gentlemen The Rolling Stones

Photo | Ethan Russell

Posted on June 15, 2022

Capturing the Stones in 1972 in the midst of the North American leg of the Exile On Main St. tour, Ladies & Gentlemen the Rolling Stones is a raucous document of the band at the top of their live game. Shot on 16mm, and initially presented in quadasound, the Rollin Binzer directed film first saw its theatrical release in 1974 before virtually disappearing from the market for the next three decades. Fast-forward. After years of warped VHS bootlegs, Ladies & Gentlemen finally received a proper (remastered in HD) re-release in the fall of 2010. Following a limited run in select theaters in the US and UK, the film was released on DVD, complete with rehearsal footage from 1972’s Montreux Jazz Festival, and a 1972 interview with Mick courtesy of The Old Grey Whistle Test.

While the whole thing is an obvious must-cop for Stones freaks, here’s a little taste: Keith and the band working up “Happy” in Fort Worth, TX, June 24, 1972.

Hold up … we’d be remiss if we didn’t share the below footage, an excerpt of a rehearsal jam session shot in Montreux, Switzerland, 1972. Note: Ian Stewart on keys.