US Tour 72 June 1972 - July 1972

US Tour 72 In Detail

Touring a new album is a standard method for boosting a new record. But in 1972, The Rolling Stones, at the peak of a winning streak and at the time indisputably The Greatest Rock and Roll Band In The World, took the format to a new level.

The tour ran from June 3rd to July 26th - Mick Jagger's 29th birthday - and followed the release of Exile on Main St. in May. Rock and roll had survived the '60s and was making more money than ever - an increasingly sexy attribute as the spirit of 1970s - 'The Me Decade' - began to manifest itself. The Stones were also survivors, the only ones of major status and consequence still in their original formation, more (Mick Taylor) or less (Brian Jones).

As a result, the world, his wife, and his entourage wanted in on it. Some strange camp followers got the trip - Truman Capote and Princess Lee Radziwill were society figures but not necessarily rock royalty - as well as some more usual suspects: Terry Southern and Robert Greenfield.

The fuss that surrounded the appearance of society personalities in the Stones Touring Party was only one of the things that detracted from the music on the 1972 Tour. An interlude in Chicago was spent in 'a four day orgy, with breaks for concerts' at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion. And then there was violence, with injuries to police and fans more common than not at most concerts. Mick and Keith ended up in jail in Rhode Island for scrapping with a photographer. Rumours of internal spats between the ladies of the touring party abounded.

An air of growing decadence surrounds the history of the tour like a haze - an impression probably not helped by the film of the tour - directed by Robert Frank, named Cocksucker Blues and effectively 'banned' by the band for fear of the poor impression it gave - reportedly depicting everyday scenes of drug taking, group sex and random TV/hotel room violence.

But there was, of course, music, however much it seemed to take a back seat to society princesses and groupies. The first part of the tour on the West Cost was by the band's own admission, something of a warm up. Out of practice and still adjusting to life as Exiles, The Rolling Stones needed to get back into it. By all accounts, by the time they reached LA Forum on June 11th, they'd found their thing again, and played a series of storming gigs all across the US south and mid-West.

Given the shenaningans and distractions mentioned above, it's not that surprising that by the end of the tour - ear-witnesses say the turning point for the decline was the Montreal concert on July 17th - The Rolling Stones were tired and sounding like it. The tour concluded with four concerts in three days at Madison Square Garden, the finale coming on July 26th, Mick's 29th birthday.

The Stones would go on to tour again and again, eventually becoming the most successful touring act ever. But they would never behave like this so publicly again. However, the influence of the rumours about tour on the whole Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll myth goes on and on.