The Birth Of The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil

45 years ago THIS WEEK, The Rolling Stones emerged from the psychedelic ruins of 1967's Their Satanic Majesties Request with the earthy Beggars Banquet – a new album housed in a controversial sleeve that would reinvent the sound of the band and usher in a new era of hedonism, violence, hard graft and their most breathtaking music. Sympathy For Devil (still one of the great Side-1-Track-1s of all time) was recorded in June 1968 and began life as a folk song Mick Jagger originally dubbed The Devil Is My Name. As the album sessions progressed the track underwent several transitions, each captured by the elegant, roving camera moves of New Wave cinematic guru Jean Luc-Godard who joined the Stones in London's Olympic Studios with the express purpose of filming "something in construction".

The film also depicts the sidelining of Brian Jones, whose increasing detachment from the group is palpable throughout. But then this is all about Mick and Keith who, with the help of Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and Nicky Hopkins' New Orleans piano, twist the track into the mercurial, rolling samba that was used as the final cut.

We also see the backing vocals being laid down by the Stones and their inner sanctum (Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull and producer Jimmy Miller included) as Jagger delivers his best Beelzebub while losing complete control of his right leg.

Enjoy the footage below, then check out the gargantuan performance of Sympathy Of The Devil from this year's Glastonbury triumph.