THE ROLLING STONES: AN UNSEEN DIARY TO SHOW AT KILDARE VILLAGE
Behind the scenes photography from
The Tour of the Americas 1975
The Rolling Stones are widely regarded as one of the most influential and iconic groups in music history. Kildare Village is excited to be hosting an exhibition of images of the band by photographer Christopher Simon Sykes in association with Getty Images Gallery, London. The exhibition is free of charge and will be on show from Friday 17th September until the 3rd October in The Gallery Space at Kildare Village.
In 1975 Sykes was commissioned by the biggest Rock n’ Roll band in the world to photograph the behind and on stage action of what was then the largest tour ever mounted, known as T.O.T.A – Tour of the Americas.
Christopher Simon Sykes was an unusual choice for this assignment, since he had never previously photographed Rock & Roll. The result was a refreshingly different selection of images, which had previously only been seen by intimates of Sykes, and the Stones close circle. For three months Sykes lived and toured with the Stones, hanging out with them in their hotel rooms, backstage and on their plane (The Starship).
Sykes said, “Arriving on the tour, which had already been in progress for ten days, in the middle of mid-America, in Milwaukee, Kansas, felt rather like my first day at school.”
Sykes private yet objective vantage point to one of most influential bands in the world is what makes these photographs extraordinary. He captures the intimacy of the relationships within the band and manages to demonstrate the electric atmosphere attendant at these groundbreaking concerts.
Bianca Jagger displays her backstage pass, which is attached to her white platform shoe, during the Rolling Stones' 1975 Tour of the Americas. (Photo by Christopher Simon Sykes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Sykes remembers, “The first time I covered a show, standing right in front of the stage, I found that afterwards I was stone deaf. I went out and bought some ear plugs, which I wore to the next show. When Lisa Robinson, the rock journalist covering the tour, saw me, she said “For God’s sake, Christopher, don’t let Mick see you wearing those!”
Later that week she wrote in her column “Mick was wearing a pink satin jacket. Keith wore his customary leather trousers, Bill had a red shirt, Charlie sported a plain white T shirt, Ronnie was in red leather, and Christopher Sykes wore ear plugs.”
