Some images from Brian's impromptu "press conference" in Courtfield Road in June, 1967,

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I don't rate Brian's chances.

It was a desperate attempt to stop Norman Pilcher's mob from harassing him - which was occurring all the time. The guy was on the edge - and from these photographs - he clearly was!

Those pics are insane, especially the far shot of him standing on the balcony - that one almost looks photoshopped (even though it's obviously not). Just bizarre.

I've often wondered if a film exists of it- poor Brian

The balcony shot is almost surreal. Like a scene from Performance.

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CousinC
The balcony shot is almost surreal. Like a scene from Performance.

Good call, CousinC.
Coincidence. This morning I got the Performance DVD from Amazon.
I already had it on VHS but have'nt watched it for years. Will do tonight.

I don't get the "versus the London Police" part.

What exactly were the circumstances of the photos? Had the cops already done the raid? Or was this the bust where the press was tipped off and actually showed up before the police? Or was this photo taken after the bust - that afternoon or even a day or so later?

I don't have any books handy and can't find much online. Thanks!

Poor Brian.

Bust 1967

THE GENERALIST was so fired up by watching the documentary ‘Crosstown Hurricane’ and Peter Whitehead’s film ‘Charlie is My Darlin’ on the Stones brief Irish tour in 1964 released for the first time – part of the mass media hoopla surrounding the Stones 50th Anniversary gigs – that I have decided to raid my own Archives and bring you some strange delights.

1967 began with Keef and Mick’s bust at Redland, subsequent trial and brief imprisonment. Less remembered is the fact that Brian Jones was busted with Stash in May that year and came to court on 30th Oct. This is the earliest Stones clipping I can find dated June 28th, published in the London Evening News. Copy reads: ‘Rolling Stone Brian Jones in his fur-collared dressing gown goes out on to the balcony of his South Kensington flat after police had broken in. Earlier the police had a dramatic message that the guitarist had been taken ill and an ambulance was called. The message was hoax. Now Brian is looking for another flat because of similar annoyances recently.’

Brian was busted again on 29th May 1968 and came to court on the 26th of that year.

1969: June ‘Brian Jones quits Stones’ is an undated, unattributed clipping. Bill Wyman dates the meeting described below as taking place on June 8th. Story by Douglas Marlborough.

‘BRIAN JONES, 26, lead guitarist with the Rolling Stones, has quit.

He said last night: ‘The music Mick Jagger and Keith Richard have been writing has progressed at a tangent as far as my own taste is.concerned.

'I have a desire to play my own brand of music rather than that of others, no matter how much I appreciate their musical concepts.'

Jones's decision came after a meeting between him and lead singer Jagger, 24, at Jones's home, Cotchford Farmhouse, at Hartfield, Sussex, former home of A. A. Milne, who wrote Winnie the Pooh there.

Jones, who recently bought the house for £3.1,000, said there had been the normal friendly meeting among the group and that they had agreed that an 'amicable termination of their music relationship, temporary or permanent, is the only answer.'

Friends

A few hours earlier Jones had denied a report that he had been sacked from the group or that he had quit.

He said: 'There is no row— everything is all right between us. It seems as though some­one is spreading a rumour around.'

But after meeting Jones, Jagger said: 'Brian wants to play music which is more his own rather than play ours. We have parted on the best of terms and I am sure we will continue to be the best of friends.'

Jones has been replaced by 5ft. 11 in. Mick Taylor, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, who for he past two years has been lead guitarist with the John Mayall rhythm and blues group.

British audiences are expected to see the new-look Stones, who’re the country's top pop draw after the Beatles, at a concert next month.

July 2nd: BRIAN JONES FOUND DEAD AT THE BOTTOM OF HIS SWIMMING POOL

(Left) Tie-in magazine accompanying release of ‘Stones In The Park’ documentary.

July 5th: Stones reorganise their pre-planned free Hyde Park concert in memory of Brian. Half a million people attend – including me

JULY 6th: The News of the World with their usual tact reported Brian Jones death the day after the concert. Article features this controversial photo of Brian captioned as follows: ‘Brian Jones in a mood of protest. He bought this S.S. uniform from a Munich costume dealer. Brian was a pacifist. The pose, jackbooted on a crumpled doll, was a symbolic gesture against war-time German atrocities.’

According to Brian Wyman, it was one of a set of pictures taken in 1966 in Munich in a photo session for ‘A Degree of Murder’, a film directed by Walter Schlondorff and starring Anita Pallenberg which Brian wrote and produced the soundtrack for. Jones said of these pictures at the time: ‘These are going to be realistic pictures. The meaning is there is no sense in it.’

Footage fom first Courtfield Road bust. That's Stash being led in to the car, Brian seems to already be in the back of the car.

As difficult as he could be, I do feel Brian didn't get a fair shake in life. Now people know that grass is less lethal than booze, or the legal stuff Brian got. Had he not been in fear to do grass as opposed to the other stuff I think he wouldn't have had such a fearsome decline. I think he could have continued being a productive Rolling Stone, despite Anita and Keith. Maybe the situation would have led to him leaving more by choice, but I don't see him getting so untogether. If you think about it, it wasn't until Mick and Keith got busted that he started acting really self destructive. Sure there were incidents before 1967 where he acted badly, but he didn't seem to be as out of control.

It was either June 26 or 27 1967 - depending on whether the Evening News was referring to something that had happened on the day of publication - a Wednesday. If it was the 27th it was the day that Mick and Robert Fraser were taken to Lewes prison to await sentencing for the Redlands bust. Methinks it was a dose of paranoia for Brian that prompted the display.

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sizey
It was either June 26 or 27 1967 - depending on whether the Evening News was referring to something that had happened on the day of publication - a Wednesday. If it was the 27th it was the day that Mick and Robert Fraser were taken to Lewes prison to await sentencing for the Redlands bust. Methinks it was a dose of paranoia for Brian that prompted the display.

The police claimed to have been given a tip off that Brian had collapsed in his flat.

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Phil Good

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CousinC
The balcony shot is almost surreal. Like a scene from Performance.

Good call, CousinC.
Coincidence. This morning I got the Performance DVD from Amazon.
I already had it on VHS but have'nt watched it for years. Will do tonight.

Phil, if you had a look by now - how is the quality of that Performance DVD? Just like the old videos or has there been some work on it? Any bonus? I was thinking of getting it as well.

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Redhotcarpet
Bust 1967

But after meeting Jones, Jagger said: 'Brian wants to play music which is more his own rather than play ours. We have parted on the best of terms and I am sure we will continue to be the best of friends.'

What a load of crap. Jagger said later that he didn't really know Brian and that they weren't close. I guess he means the royal 'we' as in the Stones themselves, you know, with Mick, his 'best friend', Keith who stole his girlfriend, Charlie who didn't care for him. Let's see, there's Stu, no, wait, Brian agreed that he should no longer be a Rolling Stone, and Stu hated him. How about good 'ol Bill? Brian tried to learn the bass early on so they could get rid of 'the Ernie' and be a quartet like the Beatles. What a lovely bunch.

nice guys, huh?

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mikeeder
As difficult as he could be, I do feel Brian didn't get a fair shake in life. Now people know that grass is less lethal than booze, or the legal stuff Brian got. Had he not been in fear to do grass as opposed to the other stuff I think he wouldn't have had such a fearsome decline. I think he could have continued being a productive Rolling Stone, despite Anita and Keith. Maybe the situation would have led to him leaving more by choice, but I don't see him getting so untogether. If you think about it, it wasn't until Mick and Keith got busted that he started acting really self destructive. Sure there were incidents before 1967 where he acted badly, but he didn't seem to be as out of control.

Hi, was searching for your quote to answer. Back in the 70s an aquaintance took off with a friend's wife, obliterating that marriage, The jilted husband really tried to carry on life but wound up parking his car alongside a road Halloween night and blew his brains out with a shotgun. None of that love triangle worked together career-wise. I do believe to continue working alongside Keith and Anita would've been intolerable for Brian, and I also believe his death was foul play. Different circumstances but still parallels. And neither the ex-wife or her new flame showed at this funeral. Must be a trait among those types. The aquaintance's ex-girlfriend, a friend of mine, said she'd 'spit in their faces' had either shown up.

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CousinC
The balcony shot is almost surreal. Like a scene from Performance.

Indeed. Poor Michael Jackson, he must have been in a bad state of mind for long years. With one idiotic action (holding the child over the balcony) he nearly messed up his child's and his own life. He must have had completely irresponsible advisors around him.

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GravityBoy
I don't rate Brian's chances.

That guy won't make it to thirty.

The London Police...worst tribute act ever.

i fought the law and the law one

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The GR
The London Police...worst tribute act ever.

They can't be much wore than the group calling itself the Police that ran around the world grabbing cash a few summers back.

If I am not mistaken- that is Sgt Norman Pilcher leading Stash to the car. The only film I have seen of him. Thanks for sharing.

Simon

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sizey
If I am not mistaken- that is Sgt Norman Pilcher leading Stash to the car. The only film I have seen of him. Thanks for sharing.

Simon

I'd never actually seen an image of Pilcher, so I've always envisioned him as some nasty, uptight, bitter old man, the way he targeted musicians in their 20s living the lives of little Caesars.

The really ironic fact about Pilcher is that he is the same age as Bill Wyman. Young enough to have been a Rolling Stone himself, could Pilcher have just been a jealous young man who let the power of his position go to his fevered head?

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CousinC

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Phil Good

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CousinC
The balcony shot is almost surreal. Like a scene from Performance.

Good call, CousinC.
Coincidence. This morning I got the Performance DVD from Amazon.
I already had it on VHS but have'nt watched it for years. Will do tonight.

Phil, if you had a look by now - how is the quality of that Performance DVD? Just like the old videos or has there been some work on it? Any bonus? I was thinking of getting it as well.

Just got the Performance CD on Amazon...

I love looking up old haunts for the stones and other bands in google street maps. can't match this doorway to anywhere on courtfield road on street view nothing mathces with a balcony above the doorway and a window on the left that comes out to the same width of the balcony. Anyone else have any luck?

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robertfraser
I love looking up old haunts for the stones and other bands in google street maps. can't match this doorway to anywhere on courtfield road on street view nothing mathces with a balcony above the doorway and a window on the left that comes out to the same width of the balcony. Anyone else have any luck?

The flats from No.1 - 13 were demolished in 1971 to make way for the modern looking hotel building which still stands there to this day.

1967




2009




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-03-16 14:55 by His Majesty.