The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 in pictures and videos

Following its premiere at the New York Film Festival, and timed to coincide with The Rolling Stones' 50 Anniversary, comes the release of the legendary documentary Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965 on DVD, Blu-ray and a Super Deluxe box set edition.

The original 35-minute film, shot on the fast and cheap by English director Peter Whitehead, was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, the Stones' first manager and producer. It was lensed during a frenetic weekend tour of Ireland in September 1965, just weeks after (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction topped the charts.

The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 in pictures and videos

Whitehead's film was never released and sat on a shelf for years. Sometime in the 1980s, Oldham assembled a 50-minute producer's cut that was screened occasionally. The newly reconstructed version is produced by the Grammy-winning team of producer Robert Klein and director Mick Gochanour. Both the original director's and producer's cuts are part of the DVD, Blu-ray and Super Deluxe releases.

The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 in pictures and videos

Klein and Gochanour painstakingly restored the footage to come up with a new film that offers a cohesive narrative and gives the viewer unprecedented access to the Stones’ original line-up – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman – on stage and off.

The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 in pictures and videos

Particularly fascinating is the never-before-seen footage of the band’s early songwriting sessions. Motel room boredom gives way to creativity, as Jagger and Richards shoot out raw riffs and lyrics for what are now familiar classics.

The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 in pictures and videos

Charlie Is My Darling showcases lovingly restored concert footage, including striking, super-charged performances of The Last Time, Time Is On My Side and the first-ever concert reading of Satisfaction. As you might expect, the full-throated, frenzied reactions from the fans are endemic of the era.

The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 in pictures and videos

The Super Deluxe box set includes both DVD and Blu-ray discs that incorporate the new 2012 version of the film, as well as the director’s cut and producer’s cut, plus additional performance and other footage shot in Dublin and Belfast in September of 1965.

Two CDs are included, one containing the film's soundtrack and the other a compilation of 13 live recordings the band made over the course of their 1965 UK tour. A 10” vinyl record of the live material is also part of the package, as well as a replica poster promoting the Belfast show (seen above); and if that weren't enough, the box also has a 42-page hardcover book including key artwork and photos, vintage press reprints and contemporary essays from Rolling Stone's David Fricke and Academy Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter/actor Glen Hansard.

You can order The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 at Amazon.

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.