Pleased to meet you: behind The Rolling Stones’ Exhibitionism, soon to hit Sydney
“When we started out, the first nine months, the biggest challenge was to narrow it down to 500 items.
“There were thousands to choose from.
“Just in terms of costumes, we had the best part of 5,000 to 6,000 to consider. We narrowed it down to 70 in the end.”
So says Tony Cochrane, co-founder of Australian-based iEC (International Entertainment Consulting) Exhibitions!, who helped The Rolling Stones put together their first project Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones Exhibit, delivered by DHL.
It’s already drawn 600,000 in London. New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and, most recently Nashville.
Now Exhibitionism is about to hit Sydney for four months, courtesy global promoter TEG Live and iEC Exhibitions!.
It is expected that it will draw between 50,000 to 60,000 visitors a month during its stay in Australia.
No wonder, then, that every major Australian city put in a spirited bid to host it.
Sydney got the exclusive, via the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
NSW minister for tourism and major events Adam Marshall says, “We anticipate it will drive $35 million in visitor expenditure to NSW.”
Gary Edstein, CEO/senior vice president, DHL Express Oceania comments, “We’re truly delighted to bring The Rolling Stones Exhibit to fans here in Sydney.
“Delivering more than 500 rare and priceless artefacts on behalf of the band is both an honour and a recognition of DHL’s worldwide expertise.”
Exhibition will be at the International Convention Centre (ICC) from Saturday, November 17 through to February 3.
Cochrane says, “It’s twice the size of a normal exhibition. The one comment we’ve had from all the cities is, people didn’t give themselves enough time
“They thought they could cover everything in two hours. They realised they needed three or four hours.”
The 500 items (insured for US$85 million) include vintage guitars, rare instrument, backstage and touring paraphernalia, a video wall and album art.
These include a guitar that Keith Richards used on Let It Bleed and which disintegrated when he hit the final notes of Gimme Shelter and the small practice pad which Charlie Watts used on the recording of Street Fighting Man.
There’s also the cassette player on which Richards started work on the riff to Satisfaction in a Florida motel room before drifting off to sleep (and woke up the next morning listening to a lot of snoring), the handwritten note identifying the master tape to Wild Horses, and Jagger’s notebook with hand written lyrics to Miss You, Hey Negrita and Worried About You.
The Stones were always at the forefront of fashion, with items from designers as Alexander McQueen, Prada, Dior, Gucci, Hedi Slimane, Ossie Clark, L’Wren Scott and Mr Fish.
There 190 original artworks including Andy Warhol, David Bailey, John Pasche, Walton John, Shepard Fairey, Michael Cooper, Christian Piper and Robert Frank.
The recreation of London’s Olympic Studios includes the console and sound mixing decks.
“There are some interactive elements,” Cochrane says. “The recording section has the original stems.
“You can go in there and have the unique opportunity to mix down and play around with about eight songs.
“The Stones have given unparalleled access for fans to get involved.
“The grand finale is a 3D of them doing Satisfaction, done in London five or six years ago.
“It’s recreated to make you feel you’re standing onstage with them.”
Another favourite is a recreation of the band’s early ‘60s Edith Grove flat in London’s Chelsea.
It’s a filthy place dull of unwashed dishes, ashtrays overflowing with cigarette butts, empty beer bottles and blues records.
In the section’s audio, Richards recalls the “penicillin” growing in milk bottles left outside, and Jagger recalls his reluctance at entering the bathroom.
The first time Richards saw the recreated flat, he quipped to Cochrane, “I don’t remember it being this clean!”
Even from their early days, the five had a feeling the band was destined for great things and everything – including diaries and bills – was kept.
According to Jagger, “We’ve been thinking about this for quite a long time but we wanted it to be just right and on a large scale.
“It’s not going to be like walking into a museum. It’s going to be an event, an experience.
“It’s about a sense of The Rolling Stones – it’s something we want people to go away talking about it.”
Richards, the human riff, points out, “While this is about The Rolling Stones, it’s not necessarily only just about us.
“It’s also about all the paraphernalia and technology associated with a group like us, and it’s this, as well as the instruments that have passed through our hands over the years, that should make the exhibition unforgettable.”
Tickets will be available online.
After Sydney, Exhibit moves to Tokyo,and then does a home run of five or six European cities.