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Naturalust
Yes of course the Stones didn't directly hire the Angels, that is pretty much accepted by all the stories I have heard. But I'm pretty sure I read an interview where Sam Cutler did indeed put up the cash for the free beer for them. He was particularly miffed that he never got reimbursed for it and insinuated that that was the original deal.
So whomever originally asked Sam to put up the cash for the beer would likely be the party who could theoretically be the one who "hired" the Angels. The fact that they never reimbursed him is interesting but doesn't really make them any less responsible. And I've no doubt someone gave the Angels the instruction to keep the audience off the 3 foot high stage (ie: security duties), there was nobody else around to do it.
Sam had said several times the show was organized by Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Dead and CSN&Y with the Stones just being asked to participate, and that these bands people had no idea how to organize a free show of that magnitude at the last minute. A recipe for disaster. Those bands were certainly not the type who would be likely to hire cops to do anything..
Ron, I'm sure your Altamont experience and perspective is somewhat unique and certainly interesting and I'm looking forward to hearing it! But I don't think you need to defend the Stones and their role in hiring the Angels, I think it's pretty clear they were not involved with that aspect of the show.
peace
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bmuseed
Naturalust--I posted this in response to the many 45th anniversary articles that say-- "The Stones and their management made their key mistake of a day filled with mistakes when they hired the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang to provide event security..."
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bmuseed
Naturalust--I posted this in response to the many 45th anniversary articles that say-- "The Stones and their management made their key mistake of a day filled with mistakes when they hired the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang to provide event security..."
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swiss
I'm happy to be part of all efforts to get factual information out there. I wish it could all happen faster, but I'm doing the best I can.
- swiss
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NaturalustQuote
swiss
I'm happy to be part of all efforts to get factual information out there. I wish it could all happen faster, but I'm doing the best I can.
- swiss
Take your time swiss and do it right. We will all digest it like Thanksgiving dinner.
Besides in the long run, generally, people don't remember how long you took to do a job, just how well you did it. peace
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swiss
I'm happy to be part of all efforts to get factual information out there. I wish it could all happen faster, but I'm doing the best I can.
- swiss
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bmuseed
Hi John Lomax-My book includes the 1965 US tour, 1966 US tour, 1969 US tour, Altamont, 1970 Euro tour and Gimme Shelter, as well as my time with the Beatles, Sam Cooke, and many others. Besides the personalities, it deals specifically with the business of the '69 tour, 1970 Euro Tour and the producing of Gimme Shelter!Quote
john lomax
Hey Ron - really looking forward to your book about the 1969 tour. Stanley Booh's book has long been one of my favourites, but I really loved the different perspective in Sam Cutler's book - so I think yours will be fantastic. Will you be including anything about the business/logistical side of arranging the tour - I find the whole economics of rock tours really interesting and particularly so in the late 60s when the concept of an arena tour was in is infancy.
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2000 LYFH
Hunter's murder took place, Lord save us, while the Stones were playing "Sympathy for the Devil."
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Naturalust
painted it emphatically black: "The Stones screwed us all over royally. The Dead paid us all of their own expenses to fly to Altamont and back by helicopter, and then they weren't allowed to play. They put out money that hasn't been reimbursed, and now they're flat broke. The Stones are just not nice people, you know?
Wow this is a strange perspective. Swiss I wonder it there is any truth to this lady's comments. I mean how did the Stones screw the Dead over? And the "weren't allowed to play" bit sounds like it wasn't the Dead's idea not to play. Obviously everyone had their own ideas about what happened that day but this seems like an angle I haven't heard before from a participant who was close to the action. Sounds like something you might be able to clear up for us. Thanks!
peace
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KoenQuote
2000 LYFH
Hunter's murder took place, Lord save us, while the Stones were playing "Sympathy for the Devil."
No. It was Under My Thumb.
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rob51
Yeah that little bit of news has always pissed me off too. After all weren't the Dead the connection to the bikers in the first place? Chickenshit of them to bugger off.
It's easy to be judgmental about such things, who knows what their true motivations for not playing were. I can certainly see the logic of not performing if their personal safety was at issue.
Harder for the Stones as the headliner and yes lots of respect to them for pulling it off it such adverse conditions. But if the Dead played, that madness would have gone on even longer and possibly even more violence would have occurred, possibly even against the Stones, who knows. I'd say the general feel of "get this show over with" was prevalent in more that just the Dead.
peace
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bmuseed
I have contacted a couple of people that have made statements and written books that were provably inaccurate to give them the info to 'refresh their memories' with the facts. Their reply to me--'write your own book' and 'that's how I remember it..' So stay tuned..
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fuzzbox
Jeebus, this whole altamont hype thing is way outta hand.
A really quite minor event in stones and rock history blown way out of proportion.
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lem motlow
people are now just starting to realize after all these years just how much "rolling stone" magazine sucks. as he mentioned above the UVA article is now putting the spotlight on what has been years of bad reporting,lies and hypocritical bullshit.
just below them on the vermin scale is the grateful dead.sending out their surrogates and lackeys to blame the stones and downplay their involvment to the point of naseau just to preserve their little peacenik image in the public eye.
dont be fooled,this was a total p.r. move by the dead.if the" band of the poeple" - peace and love greatful dead suddenly had the image out there of them hiring a bunch of hells angels who eneded up killing a guy they were finished.
and the san francisco based "rolling stone" magazine were a big part of putting that narrative out there-put all the blame on the stones at all cost.
it just goes to show what a phony jan wenner is that he later sucked up to the stones for years to sell magazines.but then what do you expect, he also moved the magazine from san fran to a new york high rise the first chance he got and then left his wife for another dude.
this is a guy so twisted with sheer phoniness and hypocricy that he ripped the stones for being "corporate sell outs" by using a sponsor for the 81 tour-in a magazine in which every other page was a corporate advertisement.
as for the grateful dead saying the stones didnt pay them and didnt "allow" them to play-we have them ON FILM putting their tale between their legs and running away.
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71TeleQuote
fuzzbox
Jeebus, this whole altamont hype thing is way outta hand.
A really quite minor event in stones and rock history blown way out of proportion.
+ 1
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footloosemanQuote
71TeleQuote
fuzzbox
Jeebus, this whole altamont hype thing is way outta hand.
A really quite minor event in stones and rock history blown way out of proportion.
+ 1
several hundred thousand people at a free concert headlined by the greatest rock and roll band at their apogee and its a minor event? there was even a movie. what other concert did they ever play after that captured the zeitgeist of the era? brussels, knobworth? newark 2012 pay per view? what event in rock history was bigger maybe watkins glen, cal jam, woodstock 99 but who knows those? was it syd viscious od'ing ozzy biting the head of a bat, kurt cocaine blowing his brains out?