The Decca Years: The Rolling Stones 1962 - 1971

This September, Proud Chelsea is pleased to be hosting an exhibition of portraits of the Rolling Stones between 1962 and 1971, when they were signed to Decca Records. Including the work of the greatest music photographers such as Gered Mankowitz, Dominique Tarlé and Michael Cooper, to name a few, this exhibition intimately documents the rise to fame of the most charismatic and controversial band of their day and comprises intimate portraits as well as live shots.
Highlights include Philip Townsend’s earliest known images of the group taken just prior to their signing with Decca records, Gered Mankowitz’s renowned photographs capturing their first flush of commercial success in the US, Michael Cooper’s highly personal shots taken in Tangiers and the California desert, Ethan Russell’s historically important images from the infamous 1969 US tour - culminating in the Altamont debacle - where the Stones were incarnated as ‘the Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the world’ and finally, Dominique Tarlé’s evocative and sensual photographs from Villa Nellecôte in the South of France where Exile on Main Street was recorded. Also included are salacious and amusing shots of Mick and Keith from The Sticky Fingers LP cover session by David Montgomery, Michael Joseph’s Hogarthian portraits from the Beggars Banquet shoot in ‘68 and Jerry Schatzberg’s transgressive images of The Stones in drag.

Proud Galleries has worked closely with Raj Prem to curate and present this extraordinary exhibition. Prem says: ‘I’m delighted to be presenting this historic photographic exhibition at Proud Galleries, comprising iconic images of the Rolling Stones photographed during their most creative and critically acclaimed years. This collection is a visual testament to the cultural ferment between art and music in the 1960’s, capturing the Stones from their seminal period as chart topping attractions to their late 60’s incarnation as leaders of the counter culture, worshipped as much for their bohemian lifestyle as for their music.‘