Cocksucker Blues
|
Cocksucker Blues is an unreleased film directed by Robert Frank chronicling the Rolling Stones' North American tour in 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main Street.
There was much anticipation for the Stones' arrival. The band had not visited the United States since the 1969 disaster at Altamont, in which a fan was stabbed and beaten to death by Hell's Angels. The tour fulfilled its promise of tremendous rock and roll performances on stage. Behind the scenes, the tour embodied debauchery, lewdness and hedonism.
The film was shot cinema verite, with plenty of film and cameras lying around for anyone in the entourage to pick up and start shooting. This allowed the film's audience to witness backstage parties, drug use, roadie antics, fay artists, and the Stones with their defenses down.
"Cocksucker Blues" was the title of a song Mick Jagger wrote to be the Stones' final single for Decca Records, as per their contract. Its context and language was chosen specifically to anger Decca executives. The track was refused by Decca and only released later on a West German compilation in 1983.
The film itself is under a court order which forbids it from being shown unless the director is physically present, most likely due to the various illegal activities depicted taking place around the band. However, bootleg copies of the film are available.