Through The Past Darkly: Sucking In The 60’s (Apocalypse Sound AS153)
Arthur Haynes Show, February 8th, 1964: I Wanna Be Your Man, You Better Move On. TOTPs, March 12th, 1964: Not Fade Away. Big Beat ’64, May 3rd, 1964: Not Fade Away, I Just Wanna Make Love To You, I’m Alright. Odeon Cinema, Hull, England, September 21st, 1964: Around And Around. The Red Skelton Hour, September 22nd, 1964: Introduction, Tell Me, Carol, It’s All Over Now. Ready Steady Go, November 20th, 1964: Off The Hook, interview, Little Red Rooster, Around And Around.
“Rolling Stones Special” ATV Melbourne, Australia, January 29th, 1965: Walking The Dog, Heart Of Stone, Little Red Rooster, Around And Around. TOTPs, April 7th, 1965: The Last Time. Big Beat ’65, April 18th, 1965: Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Pain In My Heart, Around And Around, The Last Time. Ready Steady Go, September 10th, 1965: I Got You Babe, We Got A Good Thing Going, That’s How Strong My Love Is, Satisfaction. Dublin, Ireland, September 1965: Teddy Bear. TOTPs, November 4th, 1965: Get Off Of My Cloud. Hullabaloo TV, Brooklyn, NY – November 11th, 1965: Intro (train time), She Said Yeah, Get Off Of My Cloud.
Thank Your Lucky Stars, ABC TV, May 13th, 1966: Lady Jane, Paint It Black. Ready Steady Go, May 27th, 1966: I’m Waiting, Under My Thumb, Paint It Black. Teenage American Music Awards, Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA, August 7th, 1966: Around And Around, Off The Hook, Time Is On My Side, The Last Time, It’s All Over Now, It’s Alright, Get Together. Royal Albert Hall, London, England, October 16th, 1966: Have You Seen Your Mother Baby. Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (promo video version 1), Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (promo video rare unreleased version)
TOTPs, January 1967: Let’s Spend The Night Together. We Love You (promo video 1967), 2000 Lightyears From Home (promo 1967), Jumping Jack Flash (promo 1968), Saville Theater, London, December 14th, 1969: Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash, Carol. TOTPs December 25th, 1969 Honky Tonk Women: Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Women.
Going Up North 1965 Scandinavian TV reports and outtake reels: Copenhagen Denmark June 26th, 1965 (color reel), Danish TV report March 25th, 1965, Bromma Sweden arrival April 1st, 1965, Palace Hotel Stockholm Sweden April 1st, 1965, Palace Hotel press conference, Oslo Norway June 23rd 1965, Sjolyst Norway June 24 1965, Finland TV report June 25th 1965
Through The Past Darkly is another excellent and comprehensive collection of Rolling Stones video tapes and films from the 1960s published by Apocalypse Sound. Like Not Fade Away, this title focuses primarily upon television appearance n the UK between 1964 to 1969. There are three tapes from the US and several interesting newsreel footage shot on their second tour of Scandinavia. The video quality varies depending upon the source, but it is all perfectly watchable and as a whole works as an interesting documentary of when the Stones were trying to established themselves outside of the popularity of The Beatles and self-define their own image and music.
The first clip is from “The Arthur Haynes Show.” This was taped at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood on February 7th and televised the following day. The video quality is very good and has a time counter in the bottom center of the screen. They play two covers, “I Wanna Be Your Man” by The Beatles and “You Better Move On” by Arthur Alexander. The camera focuses upon Mick and (surprisingly) Charlie behind the drum kit. This is followed by their appearance on “Top Of The Pops” from March 12th. This is also in very good quality but is only a very short fragment of the band playing “Not Fade Away.”
The more exciting clip in this collection is their set from the NME Poll Winners Concert on April 26th. The two hour long show featured performances by The Beatles, the Hollies, the Searchers, the Merseybeats, the Swinging Blue Jeans, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Joe Loss orchestra, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, Manfred Mann, Jet Harris with Sounds Incorporated, Kathy Kirby, Big Dee Irwin, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers in addition to the Stones and was televised on “Big Beat ’64” on May 3rd, 10th, and November 1st. Videotaped at Empire Pool in Wembley, they start out with “Not Fade Away” with Jones on harmonica and Jagger prancing around the stage with the maracas. In contrast to the still studio performance for “Top Of The Pops,” this is full of energy in an attempt to blow all of the other artists off of the stage. Charlie Watts introduces the third and final number, a scathing version of Bo Diddley’s “I’m Alright.”
Following Wembley is the first bit of color footage in this collection. It is a fragment of the band playing “Around And Around” at Kingston-upon-Hull on September 21st and used for the newsreel “The Rolling Stones Gather No Moss” for the Pathé News. It begins with a clip of the band in the dressing room and fans entering the theater screaming their heads off. Jagger is talking about the Stones being billed as “a black version of them” (probably referring to The Beatles). At the end of the clip Richards speaks about the difficulty of playing in a larger venue and the gulf between band and audience.
Following the newsreel is the first US clip in the collection. It is taken from the September 22nd broadcast of the “Red Skelton Hour” on CBS. Skelton, in his Clem Kaddiddlehopper character wanders into the venue and joins the screaming girls to a waiting, stoned-faced Rolling Stones standing and waiting to begin in the lobby of the Palladium in London lip syncing to three songs. After “Carol” The Stones run off the steps and the girls chase after them. “I’ve wasn’t pushed around like that for Lawrence Welk” Skelton jokes. Before the final number Skelton is back in the studio saying he’s back from London. “If we were still in London the CBS eye would have a monocle in it.” He announces the added attraction of a third number by the Stones and fires off a bunch of jokes: “aren’t those Rolling Stones something? They make the Beatles look like Yul Brenner. England must have socialized haircuts.” Following is their appearance on “Ready, Steady, Go” on television where they play three songs. Brian Jones speaks about getting a virus in America and Mick speaking about books.
The first 1965 footage is “Big Beat ’65” taped for ATVO channel 10 in Melbourne, Australia. It was taped on January 29th and televised on February 12th. The sound is good but the picture is very dated, saturated and lacks contrast. The following is one song from the March 4th session for “Top Of The Pops” in Manchester. There was an interview with Jagger and Jones and they played “Down The Road Apiece,” “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” “Oh Baby” and “The Last Time” but only the last song is featured where they mime to the studio recording to a room full of dancing teens. Wyman looks especially cool wearing his shades! This is followed a brief appearance on “Top Of The Pops” where they lip sync to “The Last Time.”
The NME Poll Winners Concert was taped at Wembley Empire Pool on April 11th, 1965. The video is in excellent quality as they perform a short medley of “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” and “Pain In My Heart,” “Around And Around” and “The Last Time.”
The appearance on “Ready Steady Go” was taped on September 2nd for ARTV, hosted by Cathy McGowan and broadcast on September 10th. The Stones play a large part of the program playing several songs live and participating in a skit at the beginning. Jagger makes some funny comments before they cast and Stones lip sync to the Sonny and Cher hit “I Got You Babe.” Brian and Charlie in particular really ham it up for the skit. They then play three songs live, “Oh Baby,” “That’s How Strong My Love Is” and their latest hit “Satisfaction.” The camera work gets very funky on the last song as Jagger gives an intense performance as the studio audience charge the small stage by the end. The Stones were also interviewed and Brian Jones introduced The Preachers, but Apocalypse Sound didn’t include that footage.
After taping “Ready Steady Go” the Stones went on a short tour of Ireland, playing in Dublin and Belfast on September 3rd and September 4th. The short clip in this collection is identified as Dublin, but is really a short candid film of Jagger and Richards in the hotel bar in Belfast on September 4th. In the clip they sing “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” hum “I Feel Fine By The Beatles” and “Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me.” Both musicians looks trashed but are having fun. This is followed by the Stones lip syncing to “Get Off Of My Cloud” on “Top Of The Pops.”
Their appearance of “Hullabaloo” follows, taped on November 11th and broadcast on November 15th. The footage begins with movie footage of the Stones in concert with the Hullabaloo orchestra playing “Satisfaction” before they play “She Said Yeah” and “Get Off Of My Cloud,” a playback with live vocals.
“Thank Your Lucky Stars” is the first of the 1966 footage in this collection. It was taped in Alpha Studios in Birmingham on May 8th and televised on May 15th. They lip sync to “Lady Jane” and “Paint It Black” enveloping a very short interview of Mick conducted by Jim Dale. “Ready Steady Go” followed soon afterwards, taped on May 27th. In this segment they play “I Am Waiting,” “Under My Thumb” and “Paint It Black.”
Another long segment follows, their appearance on the TAMI awards show. The sleeve states it was in 1966 but really dates from October 29th, 1964 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California. They play “Around And Around,” “Off The Hook,” “Time Is On My Side,” “It’s All Over Now,” “I’m Alright,” and “Get Together” with the other artists of the show. Electronovision/Screen Entertainment made a movie of this show. This is followed by video clip of from “Top Of The Pops” with “Have You Seen Your Mother” as a soundtrack over live footage. Overall this is another excellent compilation of Rolling Stones television appearances by Apocalypse Sound.
