Rolling Stones film release

Rolling Stones fans will be counting down the days to November 2 when the legendary Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965 film gets its first official release.

Hot Press was enlisted to track down archive material for the accompanying 42-page book – which proved to be a challenge, given that the national newspapers in Dublin were on strike at the time of the band's visit.

"It is fascinating to plunge back in time and see just how different the whole world looked in the '60s," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes says. "But we uncovered some extraordinary stuff – not least successfully tracking down the Reverend Donor Macneice, the pastor, who was famously at their Belfast gig. It turns out that he is now living in Cambodia but we were able to make the connection and confirm his role in the events of the time. He is an amazing character."

Shot on a weekend tour of Ireland just weeks after ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ got to No. 1 in the UK charts, the film mixes off-the-cuff interviews with revealing, comical scenes of the band goofing around with each other.

"It’s also," a Stones representative tells us, "an insider’s glimpse into the band’s developing musical style by blending blues, R&B and rock-n-roll riffs, and the film captures the spark about to combust into the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world.”

Produced by their then manager Andrew Loog Oldham, the film has surfaced from time to time as a bootleg, but never in broadcast quality form. A real peach for collectors, as well as a document of fascinating Irish historical interest, Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965 is accompanied by first generation recordings of their Belfast and Dublin shows and a 13-track 1965 UK tour live CD.