photo – rollingstone.com
“rock and roll’s all-time worst day, December 6th, a day when everything went perfectly wrong.” – Rolling Stone Magazine
With the reputation of a riot causing, trouble making anti-hero of the 1960s – the possible worst thing you could was to hold a free concert with security made of the hells angels.
in the anticipation of a Woodstock of the west coast, the Altamont Speedway free concert in December 1969, was a monumental disaster in the world of rock and roll. 300,000 people attended for what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering for the alt-rock scene, but turned out to be a blood bath. It became so violent that the prime organisers The Grateful Dead refused to perform due to increasing risk to their safety. The concert hosted acts that did perform like Jefferson Airplane, who are credited for the classic “don’t you want somebody to love”, and the Rolling Stones, who had already gained the reputation as a parent’s nightmare in the United Kingdom. The idea behind its creation was to bring the “greatest rock band in the world” to Altamont and show them what Chicago had experienced.
Problems arose when the original destination of San Jose refused to host another large festival so the Altamont Speedway was chosen as a destination out of desperation. The last minute moves had led to a lack of basic facilities like toilets which started to cause issues among the hoards of people that had attended the concert. The stage was just a metre high, so to combat this lack of security and safety from a drug heavy audience, the Hell’s Angels lined the stage. the Stones’ management had hired the Hell’s Angels as security for the event for the exchange of $500 of beer, as they had previously been used at the gigs of Jefferson Airplane. Bill Fritsch, a Hell’s Angel who had negotiated with management quoted
“We don’t police things. We’re not a security force. We go to concerts to enjoy ourselves and have fun.”
Cutler, the manager of the Stones had wanted to use the Angels as he believed they would have been able to stop the chaos and the threat of the low stage. However, they became the root of the problem.
The concert started with Santana who’s act had gone smoothly in comparison to what was to come. As the day progressed, the crowd and the Angels began to become agitated and violent. The beer that was used a payment for their security had led many Angels to have become drunk and disorderly. A woman in the crowd recalled 5 fist fights, all of which happened to include the Angels. By the time the Rolling Stones has taken to the stage, the crowd had started attacking each other, the Angels and the performers. Denise Jewkes who had performed 6 months pregnant was hit in the head by a beer bottle and suffered a skull fracture. The Angels began arming themselves with broken cues and their bike chains to drive back the crowd. Mick Jagger, lead singer of the stones had been punched in the head as he came out of his helicopter before even taking to the stage. He had stated that the crowd and the stage had intimidated him, describing the band as vulnerable. He called multiple times in to show threatening to stop their set unless the crowd calmed down and stopped fighting. During the song “Under My Thumb”, 18 year old Meredith Hunter attempted to climb onto the stage. A Hell’s Angel got into a scuffle with him saying that he looked as if he was under the influence of drugs and with the intent to hurt Mick Jagger. the Angel, Alan Passaro recalls seeing Hunter pull a 22-caliber revolver from his jacket so drew a knife stabbing Hunter twice subsequently killing him. In an autopsy it was revealed that Hunter was high on metamphetamines when he was stabbed to death. Hunter was not the only death, two other accidental deaths took place, one a hit and run car accident, and a drowning as a result of LSD.
It was an attempt to create a counter festival of peace to that of the famous and successful Woodstock. The Altamont Speedway festival was a disaster for the rock and roll community and the reputation of those bands who took part. The Rolling Stone were brandished as dangerous and played little music live. They created a complete antithesis of what was intended.
my brain 