Mick Jagger on the set of the British movie ‘Performance’ in September 1968.Photo:Larry Ellis/Daily Express/Getty
Larry Ellis/Daily Express/Getty
Trouble was just a shot away forMick Jaggerin the early 1970s.
After theRolling Stones’ free concert in Altamont, California ended in a tragic death in late 1969, the rocker was plagued with fear that amid a turning tide of public opinion, he may be next.
“Either I stopped touring or I didn’t. It was as simple as that. A few people said don’t go—friends of mine. They said, ‘You’ve really gotta be more careful, you can’t go.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s more or less what I do, so I gotta do it!’” Jagger, now 80, said. “‘Either I do it or I don’t do it.’ If I don’t do it, what am I going to do? There was a few places that it did get scary and there was a lot of guns confiscated and stuff like that. Don’t say I wasn’t scared—I was scared s—less!”
The Stones were fresh off the release of their soon-to-be classicLet It Bleedin December 1969 when they put on a free show at the Altamont Speedway.
The Rolling Stones perform at the Altamont concert in 1969.Jeff Hochberg/Getty
Jeff Hochberg/Getty
To keep the crowd in check, they hired members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club to act as security, as they were cheap (legend has it their payment was $500 worth of beer).
“The ultimate test of Altamont is the Grateful Dead turned around and went home,” said Greenfield, an author and formerRolling Stoneeditor. “So if there’s a gig that the Grateful Dead are not gonna play because it’s too chaotic for them—whoa!”
Though violence continued through the afternoon (Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balinwas among those knocked down during the show), things took a tragic turn when Meredith Hunter, an 18-year-old Black fan standing near the stage, pulled a pistol from his jacket.
Mick Jagger performs at Altamont in 1969.Jeff Hochberg/Getty
“I think it affected all of us very profoundly. The only thing we were very upset about was being accused and held responsible for what happened,” former guitarist Mick Taylor said in the tapes. “And you can’t really blame anybody in that kind of mass hysteria. People in America know the Hells Angels are a violent organization. For that reason alone, I don’t think they should have been hired as security guards, because it automatically gives them an excuse.”
Of course, the bad press wasn’t limited to the Stones — and the Hells Angels were none too pleased that the band had “left them high and dry” after the show.
Greenfield recalled swirling rumors that their ire would mean a possible hit put out on Jagger, prompting the rockers to up their security measures.
Concertgoers arrive via motorcycle at Altamont Speedway ahead of the show in 1969.Howard Erker/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty
Howard Erker/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty
“You’re always open to being shot on stage. You’re always aware of that,” former bassist Bill Wyman said. “You don’t think about it but anybody with any sense at all would think there’s a possibility at some time or another that some crank is gonna… I mean, we’ve been shot at with an air gun before onstage. [Drummer Charlie Watts] got a pellet in his cheek!”
Despite Jagger’s fear, the group soldiered on, eventually returning to America in 1972 for the “Stones Touring Party” tour.
Alan Passaro, the Hells Angels member who stabbed Hunter, was later acquitted in the teen’s death after a jury concluded he acted in self-defense because Hunter was carrying a gun. The investigation was officially closed in 2005, 20 years after Passaro’s drowning death.
source: people.com
