It’s Rock ‘N’ Roll History, It’s A Flashback, It’s A ‘Circus’

It’s a rock ‘n’ roll time capsule, buried in a London closet and an English countryside barn for much of the last 28 years.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here in the center ring is “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus,” a quirky mix of cinema and sideshow concocted in the happy daze of December 1968.

The film, long shelved because the Stones were dissatisfied with their performance, provides a rare window into the ‘60s - an era that ended a year later at Altamont, where a fan was murdered in front of cameras recording the next Stones’ project, “Gimme Shelter.”

The Who, Jethro Tull, John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Taj Majal join the Stones’ circus in a loose performance beneath an actual big top occupied by the clowns, fire-eaters and trapeze artists of Sir Robert Fossett’s troupe.

“There’s a weird innocence to it all, something you never would have ascribed to the Rolling Stones at the time,” says director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. “… It was completely set up within this small world of people doing rock ‘n’ roll in England.

“It represents what the best of rock should be - not these bands on the road with corporate sponsorship and selling beer.”

The 65-minute film, initially planned as a television show, premiered Saturday at the New York Film Festival. On Tuesday, “Rock and Roll Circus” will be released on video and laser disc; a CD of the music will also be released.

At times, “Circus” is a hilariously (if unintentionally) funny period piece. Yoko Ono climbs inside a black bag to writhe onstage while a supergroup headed by her hubby wails. Keith Richards, in a black top hat and eye patch, welcomes another act: “And now, ladies and gentlemen, dig The Who.”

Jagger performs in hip-huggers and Satan tattoos, while Richards sports striped bell-bottoms for the Stones’ set.

Evidence of the burgeoning drug scene - and its ultimately sad results - is provided by an unsteady Brian Jones, appearing in his final gig with the Stones. The guitarist was dead seven months later, found drugged and drowned in his pool.

The untimely deaths of Jones and other rockers - Who drummer Keith Moon, a 1978 drug overdose; Lennon, assassinated in 1980; guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, drug overdose in 1988; Stones keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, dead of heart trouble in 1994 - give the film a certain poignancy.

Moon, his mouth wide open and his head thrown wildly back, provides a propulsive performance as The Who tears up “A Quick One While He’s Away.”

The Stones main concern in withholding “Circus” was the fear that The Who blew them away, Lindsay-Hogg said.

They did. But the Stones’ six songs, including “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and “Sympathy for the Devil,” remain impressive.

Ditto Lennon’s contribution, an all-star band featuring guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Richards and Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell playing the Beatles’ “Yer Blues.”

Mick Jagger and Lindsay-Hogg conjured the circus venue idea, but the film languished for years after its Dec. 11-12, 1968, recording. The Stones had fired Jones and brought in Mick Taylor; Jagger wanted to reshoot the Stones’ set with Taylor playing and the band fresh.

It just never happened.

The film wound up sitting in a closet at the Stones offices in London. When the Stones moved their headquarters in 1973, road manager/keyboardist Ian Stewart took custody of most of the film canisters.

“He put ‘em in a barn at his place in the country,” said Lindsay-Hogg. “After Ian died (in 1985), his widow went out to the barn and found all these cans of film.”

That film became property of ex-Stones manager Alan Klein in 1989. The next seven years were spent looking for missing bits of the movie - some in the Stones archives, some still at the company that originally developed the film, some with The Who (who used footage in “The Kids Are Alright”).