The Dirty Mac

A supergroup made up of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell, The Dirty Mac lasted only as long as the 1968 recording of The Rolling Stones Rock'n'Roll Circus. Conceived by Mick Jagger to promote the release of the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet in December 1968, the show took place in a circus ring set up for the occasion, and featured performances by the band and guests Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal and Marianne Faithfull, as well as a band called The Dirty Mac. This somewhat informal line-up included Winston Leg-Thigh aka John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richard and Mitch Mitchell, drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. During the filming, which took place on December 11 and 12, 1968, under the camera of Michael Lindsey-Hogg, The Dirty Mac, introduced by Mick Jagger, played two songs, "Yer Blues" from the Beatles' double white album and "Whole Lotta Yoko", with contributions from Yoko Ono and violinist Ivry Gitlis. Although the show was never broadcast due to its poor quality, according to Mick Jagger and his band, it was the object of a long-lasting cult following through the distribution of a pirate edition, until its official release in October 1996, in the form of a CD and DVD.