Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones Read online

  Chapter 3: A Bunch of Nankers

  Main interviews: Pat Andrews, Geoff Bradford, Rick Brown, Norrie Burnette, Janet Couzens, Billie Davis, Andy Hoogenboom, Glyn Johns, Bobbie Korner, Jeffrey Kruger, Harold and Barbara Pendleton, Mike Peters, James Phelge, Keith Richards, Keith Scott, Cleo Sylvestre, Dick Taylor. Early Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys background based on Dick Taylor’s account, as is much of the information on early Stones rehearsals. Main Ian Stewart background comes from Hamish Maxwell, while Ben Waters provided insight into his style. Description of Bill Wyman being drawn into the band is based around his account in Stone Alone. Main reference for 1963 gigs is Karnbach and Benson, It’s Only Rock’n’Roll. For further reading, I’d recommend Phelge’s Stones, a hilarious, witty account of the atmosphere around the Stones in 1963. I did trace ‘Sal’, mentioned in the final paragraphs, through another interviewee, but she declined to be interviewed. For that reason I’ve changed her name.

  Chapter 4: I Can’t Be Satisfied

  Main interviewees include those listed for Chapter 3, plus Keith Altham, Tony Bramwell, Eric Burdon, Tony Calder, George Chkiantz, Jeff Dexter, John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, John Keen, Linda Leitch, Andrew Oldham, Nicky Wright, Patrick Wright. Information on the life and background of Andrew Oldham from my interviews with him, plus Oldham’s three volumes of memoirs. Dick Rowe section: I have relied heavily on Johnny Rogan’s excellent story on Brian Epstein, Starmakers and Svengalis (p109). ‘Blotches all over his face’ quote is from Stone Alone. I Wanna Be Your Man account draws on Paul McCartney’s Many Years From Now. Further reading: Andrew Oldham’s Stoned and 2Stoned are a great reference for this era. Although his own recollections are sometimes unreliable, they are always entertaining, and counterpointed by the other insiders’ accounts.

  Chapter 5: How Many More Years

  Main interviewees: as for Chapter 4, plus Toni Basil, Tosh Berman, Peter Guralnick, Chris Hutchins, Stash Klossowski, Ken Kubernik, Harvey Kubernik, Gered Mankowitz, Phil May, Scott Ross, Guy Webster. Account of Mick and Keith’s meeting on Dartford train platform based on my interview with Keith. Charlie Watts quote is from an interview by Sylvie Simmons in MOJO (2003). ‘Brian was Welsh’ quote is from Hotchner, Blown Away: The Rolling Stones and the Death of the Sixties (Simon & Schuster, 1990, p206). Astrid Lundstrom quote is from Stone Alone. Dave Thomson references throughout the book from his interview with John McGillivray. ‘They had done the whole thing, and left him to overdub’: some accounts conflict with this one, in particular Dave Thomson’s, Brian’s friend, who thought the band recorded the track together. But Ian Stewart’s account in Blown Away corroborates that of Phil May. If the pair are mistaken, it’s in attribution, i.e. it was during the recording of another song that the event occurred.

  Chapter 6: Paranoia Meter

  Main interviews: Toni Basil, Ken Boss, Denny Bruce, Eric Burdon, Tony Calder, Jeff Dexter, Marianne Faithfull, Christopher Gibbs, Chris Hutchins, Stash Klossowski, Ken Kubernik, Linda Leitch née Lawrence, Gered Mankowitz, Michael Rainey, Scott Ross, Pete Townshend, Hilton Valentine, Chris Welch, Peter Whitehead, Zouzou. ‘Jumped along the pavement’ quote comes from Wyman’s Rolling With the Stones (Dorling Kindersley, 2002). Description of Allen Klein draws on Johnny Rogan’s Starmakers and Svengalis, and Johnny Black’s feature in MOJO’s The Beatles: 10 Years That Shook the World. Nico quotes come from Witts’s Nico: The Life and Lies of an Icon. As Witts points out, Nico is an exceptionally unreliable witness – Stash, Zouzou and others suggest Nico’s relationship with Brian was briefer than her notes for Witts indicate. Meeting Klein: in Stone Alone, Wyman says it’s in Miami, mid July 1965. Jack Nitzsche mentioned Keith and Mick’s abuse of Brian in context with the later 1968 session, in his November 1974 Crawdaddy interview; however, it seems certain that this incident took place in the Aftermath sessions, during the period Denny Bruce stayed with Nitzsche.

  Chapter 7: Paint It Black

  Main interviews: Tosh Berman, Tony Bramwell, Denny Bruce, Eric Burdon, Jeff Dexter, Marianne Faithfull, Christopher Gibbs, Dana Gillespie, Stash Klossowski, Eddie Kramer, Donovan Leitch, Michael Rainey, Harriet Vyner, Nigel Waymouth, Peter Whitehead, Bill Wyman. Gene Clark quote is from a 1983 TV interview. Wyman ‘funnily enough’ quote is from Rolling With the Stones. The analysis of how many Stones gigs Brian really missed comes from Karnbach and Benson’s It’s Only Rock’n’Roll. The total of missing shows comes to either 11 or 12 (depending on references) from around 934. Some Hamri background comes from John Geiger and Michelle Green (see Further Reading). ‘Witches coven’ quote is from Faithfull. Stan Blackbourne interview courtesy of Simon Spence. References for the Beatles’ parallel developments are Mark Lewisohn’s Complete Beatles Chronicle and Neil Spencer’s ‘Eastern Rising’ from The Beatles.

  Chapter 8: Butterflies and Wheels

  Main interviews: Tony Bramwell, Tony Calder, Glyn Johns, Kenney Jones, Stash Klossowski, Sonja Kristina, Linda Leitch, Michael Rainey, Mim Scala, Volker Schlöndorff. Tom Keylock interview is courtesy of Pat Gilbert, Stan Blackbourne interview courtesy of Simon Spence. Robert Warren quote is from the BBC Radio 2 documentary Who Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel? Although all other Christopher Gibbs quotes come from my interview with him of 18.6.13, the ‘obnoxious behaviour’ quote is taken from Harriet Vyner’s wonderful Groovy Bob. The Morocco trip: main sources are Tom Keylock, Marianne Faithfull (including her book Faithfull), Keith Richards’ Life, Christopher Gibbs, Brion Gysin’s ‘Moroccan Mishaps with the Strolling Ruins’, Cecil Beaton’s diaries, John Geiger’s Nothing is True Everything is Permitted, and the newspaper La Dépêche (January 2011). Beaton’s diaries are courtesy Hugo Vickers, © The Literary Executors of the late Sir Cecil Beaton. Several quotes by Gysin are taken from the book by John Geiger entitled Chapel of Extreme Experience (Soft Skull Press): © 2003 by Brion Gysin, used by permission of the Wylie Agency LLC. Each of their accounts contradicts the other to some extent. Keylock suggests Anita returned to London from Marbella rather than Tangier, and arrived in Marrakesh directly with Brian and Anita. However, Gysin’s diaries maintain the party assembled in Tangier, and as they were written more or less contemporaneously I’ve gone with his timeline – even though Gysin, like the others, contradicts himself over various accounts. For good measure, Marianne’s book seems to splice in the story of Brian breaking his wrist – an incident that took place eight months earlier. Keith’s ‘he never stopped whining’ quote is from Life. Through this and Chapter 9, one key source on the character and background of Norman Pilcher is Simon Wells’ The Great Rolling Stones Drugs Bust. Although it contains odd factual errors derived from secondary sources, it’s a fantastic overview and analysis of the bust, and is especially good on the character of Judge Leslie Block and the identities of the police squads that raided Redlands.

  Chapter 9: The Kindness of Strangers

  Interviews: Keith Altham, Stan Blackbourne, Tony Bramwell, Caroline Coon, Jeff Dexter, Stash Klossowski, Eddie Kramer, Gered Mankowitz, Mim Scala, Murray Zucker. In this and the following chapters, I reveal several new attempted police busts on Brian, which clearly demonstrate he was the Rolling Stone pursued most consistently by the police. When I’ve written Brian was ‘reportedly’ busted, for instance, this comes from Simon Wells: I’ve used ‘reportedly’ because he doesn’t mention the source of the information. Beatles recording info comes from Mark Lewisohn’s Complete Beatles Chronicle. Nico ‘spotty’ quote is from Richard Witts. The story of the Monkees’ Royal Garden attempted bust comes from Blackbourne. Dr Green’s quote about Brian calling at three in the morning comes from Mandy Aftel’s Death of a Rolling Stone (I normally wouldn’t quote from another biography, but this is the only direct evidence I’ve seen of what a difficult patient Brian was) – the name Dr Green is apparently a pseudonym. Wyman’s ‘their idea of a joke’ is from Rolling With the Stones. The details of Brian’s loan from Major Dawson, and Keith’s £20,000 wall, also come from Wyman.

  C
hapter 10: Bou Jeloud

  Interviews: Tony Bramwell, Sam Cutler, George Chkiantz, Christopher Gibbs, Blanca Hamri, Boualem Hamri, Glyn Johns, Adam Kinn, Al Kooper, Eddie Kramer, Linda Leitch, Taj Mahal, Roger Mayer, Michael Rainey, Keith Richards, Mim Scala and Ron Schneider, plus Simon Spence’s Stan Blackbourne interview. Chronologies of Brian’s interactions and recordings with Jimi Hendrix courtesy of Caesar Glebbeek. Timeline and background of Brian’s drug bust use information from Simon Wells (notably the 2001 reference) and the British Library Newspaper Collection. Timeline of the Stones recording session based on Felix Aeppli’s Rolling Stones: The Ultimate Guide plus Karnbach and Benson’s It’s Only Rock’n’Roll. Thanks to Andrew Lott at the London Metropolitan Archives, which holds details of the Inner London Sessions. Description of Mick’s approach to Performance and Brian’s encounter with Mick at Redlands based on Faithfull. Nitzsche ‘aloof’ quote is from his interview with Crawdaddy. Timing for Brian’s visit to Marrakesh is from Glyn Johns’ records – this trip has often been confused with Brian’s visit to Tangier, this time with Suki, which Bill Wyman dates as 4 July. It’s been written that Brian visited Joujouka in July to make an early attempt at recording: I’m certain this is incorrect, as neither Boualem Hamri, Christopher Gibbs nor others on the scene remember it. Ron Schneider is certain that his night with Brian at the Hilton took place after the second bust, and that he was not present for the first. This conflicts with Wells and others who suggest Brian went straight to the Priory, but given that Ron was there, I’ve gone with his version. Likewise, Al Kooper’s account of the You Can’t Always Get What You Want recording in November might be confused with a further session on 15 March 1969. Brian’s condition suggests the latter, but Al is adamant that the ‘biology textbook’ moment came during the first session, when Jimmy Miller was playing drums, while Glyn Johns, who engineered the later session, didn’t witness the incident. It’s possible James Karnbach’s personnel list for the later session is incorrect, as Glyn does not remember Al being present at the later session. Joujouka, Bowles and Gysin background: Michelle Green, John Geiger. If anyone thinks I’m being hard on Bowles, they should have been present at Dean’s Bar on 17 June 2013 when I met a Moroccan psychiatrist who informed me he is still dealing with the psychological damage inflicted by Bowles on the young men of Tangier.

  Chapter 11: Just Go Home

  Interviews: Keith Altham, George Chkiantz, Sam Cutler, David A. Hardy, Bobbie Korner, John Mayall, Nick South, Cleo Sylvestre, Zouzou. Keith Richards’ ‘He left [the band]’ quote is from his Rolling Stone interview with Robert Greenfield in 1971. Jack Nitzsche quotes from his interview with Crawdaddy. Damian Korner quotes from Harry Shapiro’s Alexis Korner. Quotes from Janet Lawson, and timings, are all taken from their witness statements.

  Coda

  Sources for the various conspiracy theories around Brian’s death are all cited in the text (the Laura Jackson book mentioned is Golden Stone, Smith Gryphon, 1992). My own quotes come from Bobbie Korner, Nick South, John Mayall, Dick Hattrell, James Phelge and Stash, all interviewed in 2013 and 2014.

  Acknowledgements

  As ever, I owe endless thanks to my agent Julian Alexander, a vital, inexhaustible source of wisdom and insight, as is my American agent, Sarah Lazin. Michelle Signore, my editor at Transworld, and Julie Miesionczek of Viking were likewise crucial in helping me see the wood for the trees. Any errors or shortcomings in this book are mine.

  The many breakthroughs and new information in this story are due to the help and assistance of countless people. Music writers are sometimes thought of as a competitive bunch, yet Sean Egan, Richie Unterberger, Mark Paytress and Simon Spence in particular were invariably helpful in assisting me to delve into areas they’ve investigated already, and sharing their knowledge and contacts. I owe a debt to all of my interviewees, many of whom went to huge trouble to help me with further contacts, and submitted gracefully to request after request. I should particularly single out Robin Pike, who helped me when this idea was in germination; John Keen, who has been a good friend and a (much-needed) voice of sanity throughout; and Stash Klossowski, whose cordless phone often gave up the ghost in the face of relentless interviews. Thanks also to Linda and Donovan Leitch for their wonderful hospitality. A brief list of others who provided vital assistance: Todd Allen, Mark Blake, Joep Bremmers, Julian Carr, Jeff Dexter, Ben Edmonds, Caesar Glebbeek, Carl Glover, Marcus Gray, Giorgio Guernier, David Holzer, Ken Hunt, Nicola Joss, Harvey Kubernik, Tony Leppard, Pen Lister, Barry Miles, Kris Needs, Shirley Park, Pip Price, Robert Rimell, Frank Rynne, Harry Shapiro, Mat Snow, Phil Sutcliffe, Barbara Temsamani, Harriet Vyner, Val Wilmer, John Wurr, Alistair Young. Thanks also to Rob Chapman, always one of our favourite writers in my time at MOJO, who wrote a cover story on Brian – the Nicky Wright quotes used in this book are mainly from an interview I added to Rob’s story. And thanks to Nicola Joss for permission to use Pete Townshend’s appreciation of Brian, written for the same issue.

  My thanks once again to my interviewees: Robert Almond, Keith Altham, Ken Ames, Pat Andrews, Fery Asgari, Mick Avory, Ginger Baker, Trudy Baldwin, Chris Barber, Toni Basil, Tosh Berman, Dave Berry, June Biggar, Ken Boss, Geoff Bradford, Harry Brampton, Tony Bramwell, Rick Brown, Dennis Bruce, Eric Burdon, Norrie Burnette, Tony Calder, George Chkiantz, Caroline Coon, Janet Couzens, Sam Cutler, Roger Dagley, Billie Davis, Colin Dellar, Jeff Dexter, Jess Down, Marianne Faithfull, Penny Farmer, Jane Filby, Kim Fowley, Christopher Gibbs, Dana Gillespie, Peter Guralnick, Buddy Guy, Blanca Hamri, Bouallem Hamri, David A. Hardy, Dick Hattrell, Tony Holbrook, Andy Hoogenboom, John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, Chris Hutchins, Roger Jessop, Glyn Johns, Buck Jones, Dave Jones, Kenney Jones, Paul Jones, Graham Keen, John Keen, Adam Kinn, Stash Klossowski, Al Kooper, Bobbie Korner, Eddie Kramer, Sonja Kristina, Jeffrey Kruger, Harvey Kubernik, Ken Kubernik, Linda Leitch, Donovan Leitch, Joolz Leitch, Roger Limb, Anna Livia, Taj Mahal, Gered Mankowitz, Hamish Maxwell, Phil May, John Mayall, Roger Mayer, Barry Miles, Dawn Molloy, Rod Morris, Roy Moseley, Dave Myers, Laurence Myers, Andrew Oldham, Carl Palmer, Colin Partridge, Linda Partridge, Barbara Pendleton, Harold Pendleton, Mike Peters, James Phelge, Tony Pickering, Robin Pike, Ken Pitt, Richard Pond, Pip Price, Michael Rainey, Keith Richards, Graham Ride, Scott Ross, Mim Scala, Keith Scott, Volker Schlöndorff, Ron Schneider, Nick South, Ian Standing, Graham Stodart, Pete Sumner, Cleo Sylvestre, Nedra Talley, Dick Taylor, Hilton Valentine, Harriet Vyner, Dick Waterman, Ben Waters, Nigel Waymouth, Guy Webster, Chris Welch, Peter Whitehead, David Widdows, Val Wilmer, Carole Woodcroft, Nicky Wright, Patrick Wright, Bill Wyman, Zouzou. Stan Blackbourne interview transcript courtesy of Simon Spence. Tom Keylock interview transcript courtesy of Pat Gilbert. This book also draws on the transcript of an interview with Brion Gysin, conducted by Genesis P. Orridge.

  Further Reading

  All written sources used in the book are cited in the notes. The following books made for invaluable background reading on Brian Jones.

  Aeppli, Felix, Rolling Stones: The Ultimate Guide (Record Information Services, 1996)

  Aftel, Mandy, Death of a Rolling Stone (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1982)

  Bockris, Victor, Keith Richards (Hutchinson, 1992)

  —— The Life and Death of Andy Warhol (Bantam, 1989)

  Booth, Stanley, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones (Abacus, 1985)

  Cutler, Sam, You Can’t Always Get What You Want (ECW, 2010)

  Dawson, Julian, And on Piano . . . Nicky Hopkins (Backstage, 2011)

  Donovan, Hurdy Gurdy Man (Arrow, 2005)

  Dylan, Bob, Chronicles (Simon & Schuster, 2004)

  Faithfull, Marianne & David Dalton, Faithfull (Cooper Square, 1994)