Rare Rolling Stones photographs uncovered

Fourteen unseen photographs of fresh faced Rolling Stones on their way to a gig in Dublin in 1965 have been uncovered by archivists.

The images capture the band's arrival in Ireland before hitting the stage and mingling with fans just a few weeks after (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction hit No 1.

They were discovered when the Irish Photo Archive, which contains about two million images, including many unpublished celebrity shots, was being catalogued and went online.

The two photographers who captured the visit, Padraig MacBrian and Andy Farren, owned the Lensmen Photographic Agency. Now aged in their 90s they still live in Dublin.

Susan Kennedy, current owner of Lensmen, said the negatives had been among millions of negatives orderly filed away in boxes over four storeys of office space.

"It's been a long tortuous process to get these photographs," she said.

"But they are a great find. It's the painstaking way that Padraig and Andy kept their information that helped. Before, during the Celtic Tiger, we were too busy to be rooting around in the negatives."

The images feature the band at Dublin Airport, performing at the Adelphi Theatre on Middle Abbey Street, backstage and at Connolly Station.

After being developed and digitised, they were posted online on the Irish Photo Archive and a researcher working on a film to mark the 50th anniversary of the band spotted their significance.

The photographs will feature in a 42-page collector's edition hardback book which is being published to coincide with the release of the movie The Rolling Stones Charlie is My Darling - Ireland 1965 which tells the story of the band's two day tour of the country.

Described by Billboard magazine as "arguably the most exciting document of the Stones' early years", Charlie Is My Darling was shot in Dublin and Belfast in September 1965.

Shot by director Peter Whitehead but never officially released, it has been remastered and lengthened and will be released as part of the band's 50th anniversary celebrations.

They will also go on public display in Dublin Airport from November.

irishphotoarchive.ie

PA