Feather Duster, Inflatable Figures

The Rolling Stones’ early days would not be without trouble, however. In fact, they could be described as “Good Times, Bad Times,” the name of one of the songs on the band’s second album. The good came from the fans-they were buying records and attending concerts. The bad, however, came from the critics and columnists who described them as “five, shaggy as Shetland pony lads,” “long and scruffy.” One critic would go so far as to say “one of them looks as if he had a feather duster in his head.” Although it didn’t inspire a new hair fashion, fans apparently didn’t mind the feather duster look.

Also in the bad column were the newspaper accounts of the mayhem the Stones created everywhere they went-riots, the tearing off of teenage girls’ clothing, enough booing to sometimes drive the Stones from the stage, and police barricades being attacked by thousands of teenagers. There were reports of fire hoses turned on fans at concerts, fines for “insulting behavior,” and questions from the establishment about whether the Stones made music or noise.

Though fraught with controversy, the Rolling Stones concert tours evoked strong emotions and created an experience no fan was likely to forget. There were giant lotus flower shaped stages, a giant, inflatable phallus ridden by Mick Jagger that sometimes would rise from the stage, and unofficial protection from a swarm of Hell’s Angels. Their stages became combinations of futuristic technology blended with ancient superstition and inflatable figures so large that the Federal Aviation Administration required installation of aircraft warning lights.