Exceptionally rare double-sided ‘red elephant’ gold invitation for a live recording of “The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus,” 5 x 3, which took place at Intertel Television Studios in Stonebridge Park in London on December 11, 1968. Text on the reverse reads, "You are invited to the Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus on Wednesday, 11th December 1968 at the studios of Int[ertel Tele]vision, Wycombe Road, W[embley, M]iddlesex. Nearest tube: St[onebridge] Park…15.30-18.00 costumes provided." The reverse is annotated with a start time and signed by “D. Da. Costa.” In very good condition, with a clipped upper right corner, and heavy overall creasing and associated small flecks of surface loss. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks. A very rare souvenir from this legendary event—gold invitations were produced in extremely limited quantities and they were sent to special guests.
Conceived by Mick Jagger as a way to branch out from conventional performances, the show featured performances by The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, The Who, Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull (chosen over a recently formed Led Zeppelin), Taj Mahal, and Marianne Faithfull. During the show, Lennon performed a one-off performance with his temporary supergroup ‘The Dirty Mac,’ which consisted of himself, Ono, Clapton, Keith Richards, and Mitch Mitchell. All of the performances were filmed and recorded under the direction of Michael Lynsey-Hogg, and the sound was recorded on a mobile four-track machine, with Glynn Johns and Jimmy Miller engineering.
