The Rolling Stones have released archival footage of the band performing their 1968 track “Sympathy for the Devil” live for the first time ever.
The footage, which was originally uploaded via ABKCO Music & Record’s YouTube channel, comes from the scrapped 1968 concert film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, which was eventually released in 1996. It marks The Rolling Stones’ last performance with their full original lineup: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Brian Jones.
Near the five-minute mark, John Lennon makes an enthusiastic appearance. Lennon also appears in the film in the one-time supergroup The Dirty Mac, alongside Richards, Eric Clapton and Mitch Mitchell. (Yes, the Jimi Hendrix one, not the Guided by Voices one.)
This clip comes from the 2019 remaster of the film, in 4K resolution and remixed with Dolby Atmos Technology and Dolby Vision. So if even if you’ve seen or heard this performance before, you haven’t seen or heard it like this. The full film, of course, also features performances by The Who, Jethro Tull, Yoko Ono, Marianne Faithfull, and Taj Mahal.
Watch The Rollings Stones’ first live performance of “Sympathy for the Devil” below.
