I have a bit of history wit’ CHARLIE IS MY DARLING, which is a great fave, especially in the phenomenally cleaned up & recently completed version now finally available!
I first read about it in 1981, when Dave Marsh published the first edition of THE BOOK OF ROCK LISTS, in which it was listed as the #1 "Best Unreleased Rock Film" of all-time!
Nearly 20 years ago I saw an underground screening of it here in Seattle at the long-gone/much-missed Pike St. Cinema, on a double bill wit’ the immortal, then equally unavailable, TAMI SHOW. Got the Silkworm folks hooked on both!
I later bought a bootleg dvd (lousy picture, but perfectly watchable), just to have it on-hand for interested company.
Then at the 2004 EMP Pop Conference a woman named Buzzy Jackson presented a great paper on COCKSUCKER BLUES & Robert Frank, after which the question came up as to whether CHARLIE IS MY DARLING actually existed?! I of course piped up about seeing it a decade prior, and mentioned that it included a lot of footage of The Stones on trains gazing out at the lovely Irish countryside! LOL
Finally, the Northwest Film Forum hosted a special screening event this fall for the newly-restored film, which was absolutely stunning on the big screen! Just yesterday, my sister gave me a dvd copy fer Xmas, so the story has now come full circle.
Needless to say, I recommend the film with the greatest enthusiasm to Stones devotees such as yourself! Don’t wait another day….
– Tom Kipp
