They might have been the most legendary supergroup of all time…even though they only played together once. Known as The Dirty Mac, the band’s lineup was a classic rock fan’s dream come true: John Lennon, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Mitch Mitchell. It’s hard not to fantasize about what might have been if these guys ever made an album together, but at least we have two songs to remember them by decades later: “Yer Blues,” which first appeared on the Beatles’ White Album, and the improvised “Whole Lotta Yoko” (with Yoko Ono on vocals).
Interestingly enough, most people didn’t get to hear or see either of those Dirty Mac performances for nearly 30 years. That’s because they were filmed for a TV special that never actually aired: The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.
It all started when Mick Jagger approached director Michael Lindsay-Hogg about filming an elaborate televised promo for the Rolling Stones’ album Beggar’s Banquet, according to Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond. Lindsay-Hogg came up with the idea for a circus theme, and an assortment of the era’s most talented musicians was recruited to make appearances: Jethro Tull, the Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the aforementioned members of The Dirty Mac (plus, of course, the rest of the Rolling Stones).
An approximation of a big top circus setting was built on a British sound stage, and an invited audience had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of watching some of rock history’s biggest stars play…for a very long time.
In fact, the filming process took so much longer than expected that by the time the Rolling Stones took the stage, it was 5 o’clock in the morning and everybody was exhausted. As a result, Jagger was disappointed with his band’s performance and refused to let the special air on TV as planned. (Thankfully, it was finally released on CD and video in 1996.)
While the entire special is absolutely essential viewing, there’s no question that “Yer Blues” is one of the highlights from The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Music journalist David Dalton, who attended the filming, called The Dirty Mac’s performance “breathtaking.”
“A simple stage is set up for the Supergroup,” Dalton wrote in the March 19, 1970 issue of Rolling Stone.
“John is wearing his Levi outfit, and Mitch Mitchell looks almost unrecognizable with his straight blond hair,” Dalton continued. “Keith plays a simple bass line, and Eric performs with masterful imperturbability. John looks a little apprehensive, but once they start playing he relaxes, turns his back to the camera occasionally in the classic jamming position. Yoko gets up on the stage, climbs into her black bag, and during the breaks, holds John’s hand. Even while you are watching, it is hard to believe all this is actually happening.”
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Dalton went on to say that “Mitch’s drumming is a little brisker and he is more in control of the cymbals, but this is not a jam session, in fact, ‘Yer Blues’ is almost identical to the album track.”
“Why is Eric following the record so closely? It is a strange paradox, but simply the presence of all these magicians together is completely overwhelming. What more can you say?” Dalton asked, adding, “But the effect of ‘Yer Blues’ live is very different to hearing it on the record. To begin with it is obvious that John means every word of this song. He has used the form because the blues is the ultimate expression of a down trip. ‘Even hate my rock and roll’ screams at you like a nightmare.”
It seems Lennon was channeling the feeling of desperation he had when he was writing “Yer Blues” in India.
“The funny thing about the [Maharishi’s] camp was that although it was very beautiful and I was meditating about eight hours a day, I was writing the most miserable songs on earth. In ‘Yer Blues,’ when I wrote, ‘I’m so lonely I want to die,’ I’m not kidding. That’s how I felt,” Lennon explained in The Beatles Anthology.
According to Dalton, during the rehearsal for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, Lennon, Jagger and Clapton played “Peggy Sue” together, with Lennon also belting out a “wry” version of “It’s Now or Never.” The audience, Dalton recalled, was “totally awestruck” and didn’t “move or talk.”
Somehow, those lucky audience members must have known they were watching history being made.
Related: 1963 Rock Song, Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as a ‘Throwaway,’ Became the Rolling Stones’ 1st Top 20 Hit
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