1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:15,890 Speaker 1: Pushkin. 2 00:00:27,890 --> 00:00:32,250 Speaker 2: The nineteen sixties are mythologized as a decade of peace 3 00:00:32,290 --> 00:00:36,770 Speaker 2: and love. But peace and love definitely wasn't the vibe 4 00:00:36,930 --> 00:00:42,370 Speaker 2: outside the beatles London offices. The genteel calm of savile 5 00:00:42,530 --> 00:00:47,570 Speaker 2: row was shattered by the unfamiliar rumble of powerful motorcycle 6 00:00:47,730 --> 00:00:53,730 Speaker 2: engines and sitting astride. These souped up Hardy Davidson's are 7 00:00:53,770 --> 00:00:57,970 Speaker 2: a dozen American Hells Angels pulling up at the Apple 8 00:00:58,010 --> 00:01:01,970 Speaker 2: Records Building well in time for the beatles nineteen sixty 9 00:01:02,010 --> 00:01:09,290 Speaker 2: eight Christmas party. George Harrison had met the bikers in 10 00:01:09,530 --> 00:01:14,410 Speaker 2: la Despite their fearsome reputation for violence, these angels seemed 11 00:01:14,530 --> 00:01:18,170 Speaker 2: cordial enough, and since they were planning a European jaunt, 12 00:01:18,730 --> 00:01:21,530 Speaker 2: Harrison offered to put them up in the Beatles' offices. 13 00:01:22,210 --> 00:01:26,210 Speaker 2: In a stern memo to staff, the Beatles said, they 14 00:01:26,250 --> 00:01:26,890 Speaker 2: may look. 15 00:01:26,730 --> 00:01:28,450 Speaker 3: As though they are going to do you in, but 16 00:01:29,130 --> 00:01:32,530 Speaker 3: don't fear them or uptight them. Try to assist them 17 00:01:32,530 --> 00:01:36,130 Speaker 3: without neglecting your Apple business and without letting them take control. 18 00:01:41,770 --> 00:01:44,890 Speaker 2: By the time the guests assembled for the Christmas party, 19 00:01:45,490 --> 00:01:48,330 Speaker 2: the bikers were fully ensconced in the building and very 20 00:01:48,370 --> 00:01:52,530 Speaker 2: much in control. George Harrison wasn't there, but the other 21 00:01:52,570 --> 00:01:56,050 Speaker 2: Beatles had brought their children along to enjoy magic shows 22 00:01:56,090 --> 00:02:01,170 Speaker 2: and a ventriloquist act. What they got were Hell's angels, 23 00:02:01,610 --> 00:02:05,650 Speaker 2: said to be drunk and stoned and high out of 24 00:02:05,730 --> 00:02:11,330 Speaker 2: their minds. One guest lost his three year old son 25 00:02:11,410 --> 00:02:15,130 Speaker 2: and the confusion. The child was located not on the 26 00:02:15,250 --> 00:02:18,010 Speaker 2: knee of Santa Claus, but in the lap of an 27 00:02:18,050 --> 00:02:23,050 Speaker 2: angel who was giving him gulps of beer. The bikers 28 00:02:23,050 --> 00:02:26,730 Speaker 2: were less agreeable with the adult party goers and quite 29 00:02:26,730 --> 00:02:28,170 Speaker 2: prepared to do them in. 30 00:02:29,570 --> 00:02:31,810 Speaker 1: What the fuck is going on in this place? 31 00:02:32,010 --> 00:02:35,690 Speaker 2: Screamed an angel called Frisco Pete at John Lennon, we 32 00:02:35,770 --> 00:02:40,450 Speaker 2: want to eat. Aggrieved by a delay in serving food, 33 00:02:40,730 --> 00:02:45,330 Speaker 2: the bikers became surly and aggressive, souring the holiday mood. 34 00:02:46,890 --> 00:02:50,850 Speaker 2: The guest com pleaded for calm was punched. Luckily for 35 00:02:50,930 --> 00:02:55,970 Speaker 2: John Lennon, a forty three pound turkey, reputedly the largest 36 00:02:55,970 --> 00:03:03,210 Speaker 2: available in all of Britain, was suddenly carried into the room. 37 00:03:03,450 --> 00:03:07,930 Speaker 2: They ripped the turkey to pieces, said a witness, trampling 38 00:03:08,010 --> 00:03:09,970 Speaker 2: young children under to get to it. 39 00:03:10,410 --> 00:03:11,770 Speaker 1: I've never seen anything like it. 40 00:03:15,090 --> 00:03:18,450 Speaker 2: The Beatles had had their fill of these greasy guests 41 00:03:18,650 --> 00:03:23,290 Speaker 2: and summoned George Harrison to evict them. His initial attempts 42 00:03:23,330 --> 00:03:27,330 Speaker 2: to encourage their departure were perhaps too subtle. 43 00:03:28,570 --> 00:03:30,810 Speaker 3: Do you dig us, but don't you? 44 00:03:31,450 --> 00:03:37,730 Speaker 2: They asked Harrison, Confused, the so called quiet Beetle again 45 00:03:38,050 --> 00:03:43,490 Speaker 2: couched his request that they depart in soothing, spiritual terms, 46 00:03:44,130 --> 00:03:50,490 Speaker 2: to the continued bafflement of the bikers. Exasperated, Harrison changed tack. 47 00:03:51,930 --> 00:03:53,930 Speaker 1: You know, booger off. 48 00:03:57,450 --> 00:04:01,370 Speaker 2: The Apple employees in the room drew breath and waited 49 00:04:01,450 --> 00:04:10,010 Speaker 2: for the fists to fly. I'm Tim, Hart offered, and 50 00:04:10,050 --> 00:04:36,490 Speaker 2: you're listening to another cautionary tale. Just to be clear, 51 00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:41,650 Speaker 2: in Britain, bugger off isn't the politest way to ask 52 00:04:41,890 --> 00:04:45,930 Speaker 2: guests to leave. But perhaps the quaintness of this Britishism, 53 00:04:46,130 --> 00:04:51,010 Speaker 2: or George Harrison's soft liver publician accent disarmed the Hell's Angels. 54 00:04:51,650 --> 00:04:54,530 Speaker 3: Well, if you put it that way, George. 55 00:04:54,370 --> 00:04:58,370 Speaker 2: Said the angels, and away they roared up, savle row. 56 00:05:04,250 --> 00:05:07,330 Speaker 2: The Beatles had gotten off lightly, but they weren't alone 57 00:05:07,450 --> 00:05:11,810 Speaker 2: in mistaking the Hell's a Angels for harmless, lovable rogues. 58 00:05:12,890 --> 00:05:18,890 Speaker 2: Many leading figures in the sixties counterculture writers, actors, rock stars, 59 00:05:19,570 --> 00:05:24,930 Speaker 2: courted the Angels, thinking them allies in the war against. 60 00:05:24,490 --> 00:05:25,810 Speaker 1: The square world. 61 00:05:27,170 --> 00:05:29,850 Speaker 2: Of all the cheerleaders in the music community for the 62 00:05:29,890 --> 00:05:34,290 Speaker 2: Hell's Angels, none were more influential than the Grateful Dead, 63 00:05:34,770 --> 00:05:41,010 Speaker 2: those demigods of the San Francisco hippie scene. The Dead 64 00:05:41,330 --> 00:05:44,890 Speaker 2: had played at a Hell's Angels party back in sixty seven, 65 00:05:45,370 --> 00:05:49,210 Speaker 2: and the Bikers somewhat adopted the band, and the power 66 00:05:49,330 --> 00:05:54,050 Speaker 2: mysteriously failed at a subsequent gig, the Angels stepped in 67 00:05:54,210 --> 00:05:59,450 Speaker 2: to guard the generators and cabling, so on a trip 68 00:05:59,490 --> 00:06:03,290 Speaker 2: to London, the Grateful Dead's manager waxed lyrical about the 69 00:06:03,330 --> 00:06:07,490 Speaker 2: Angels to none other than the Rolling Stones. How the 70 00:06:07,570 --> 00:06:12,650 Speaker 2: bikers were a cost of and crucially cool alternative for 71 00:06:12,690 --> 00:06:13,810 Speaker 2: policing concerts. 72 00:06:14,730 --> 00:06:17,290 Speaker 3: He trusted those cats, man. 73 00:06:18,010 --> 00:06:23,210 Speaker 2: Remarked the Stones guitarist Keith Richards. It certainly planted an 74 00:06:23,250 --> 00:06:28,970 Speaker 2: idea with the self styled bad boys of rock. The 75 00:06:29,010 --> 00:06:33,330 Speaker 2: Beatles and the Stones were firm friends. The two bands 76 00:06:33,370 --> 00:06:37,290 Speaker 2: socialized together, appeared on each other's records, and were even 77 00:06:37,370 --> 00:06:42,450 Speaker 2: considering merging their back office operations. It's rather odd than 78 00:06:42,450 --> 00:06:46,370 Speaker 2: that the debarcle of the Beatles Christmas Party hadn't made 79 00:06:46,370 --> 00:06:50,690 Speaker 2: a bigger impression on Mick Jagger and his bandmates, warning 80 00:06:50,730 --> 00:06:57,250 Speaker 2: them to steer well clear of the likes of Frisco Pete. 81 00:06:58,690 --> 00:07:00,450 Speaker 3: You never saw a police force like. 82 00:07:00,450 --> 00:07:03,210 Speaker 2: It, said The Stones bass player Bill Wyman. 83 00:07:03,450 --> 00:07:08,930 Speaker 3: Black leather suits studded to the eyeballs, Nazi helmets, swastikas 84 00:07:08,930 --> 00:07:11,290 Speaker 3: and crosses everywhere. 85 00:07:15,650 --> 00:07:20,890 Speaker 2: It's a sweltering July day in London's Leafy Hyde Park. Indeed, 86 00:07:20,890 --> 00:07:23,730 Speaker 2: it's so hot that the roads can't keep the band's 87 00:07:23,730 --> 00:07:28,130 Speaker 2: guitars in tune, and fans gathering for that afternoon's free 88 00:07:28,170 --> 00:07:32,250 Speaker 2: giga diving into the park's lake a Serpentine. 89 00:07:31,970 --> 00:07:32,770 Speaker 1: To cool off. 90 00:07:35,490 --> 00:07:38,450 Speaker 2: At least a quarter of a million young people are 91 00:07:38,490 --> 00:07:43,530 Speaker 2: expected to swarm the venue, so fifty British Hell's Angels 92 00:07:43,530 --> 00:07:46,850 Speaker 2: have been recruited to act as what Wyman described as 93 00:07:47,210 --> 00:07:52,650 Speaker 2: heavy men. They arrive dressed like some greasy contingent of 94 00:07:52,850 --> 00:07:54,170 Speaker 2: Himmler's SS. 95 00:07:54,970 --> 00:07:57,810 Speaker 3: The swastiku is out before the Nazis was even. 96 00:07:57,650 --> 00:08:01,730 Speaker 2: Four of, said ron biker, defending his choice of attire, 97 00:08:02,770 --> 00:08:06,250 Speaker 2: and it was a sign a piece. No one is 98 00:08:06,450 --> 00:08:10,370 Speaker 2: truly buying the peaceful intentions of these toughs, though, and 99 00:08:10,410 --> 00:08:14,170 Speaker 2: the Stones head of security reads them the ry attacked. 100 00:08:14,810 --> 00:08:17,250 Speaker 2: If any of the bikers have come for a brawl, 101 00:08:17,770 --> 00:08:20,930 Speaker 2: he'll see them after the concert, and he'll be armed 102 00:08:21,130 --> 00:08:26,850 Speaker 2: with a shotgun. Despite the menacing appearance of this so 103 00:08:27,130 --> 00:08:32,010 Speaker 2: called leather militia, the event begins without a hitch. The 104 00:08:32,090 --> 00:08:37,290 Speaker 2: bikers content themselves with guarding the stones many girlfriends and groupes, 105 00:08:37,690 --> 00:08:42,210 Speaker 2: and occasionally aiding fans who've wilted in the heat. There 106 00:08:42,250 --> 00:08:46,130 Speaker 2: are some hiccups, of course, but the Stones plan to 107 00:08:46,170 --> 00:08:50,490 Speaker 2: release thousands of white butterflies to memorialize the loss of 108 00:08:50,650 --> 00:08:54,770 Speaker 2: Brian Jones, a founder member of the band, who drowned 109 00:08:54,770 --> 00:09:01,730 Speaker 2: in his pool just days earlier. Legend has it that 110 00:09:01,810 --> 00:09:05,010 Speaker 2: a drunken biker fell on a box of these butterflies, 111 00:09:05,330 --> 00:09:10,530 Speaker 2: crushing the poor creatures inside. The Rolling Stones, by their 112 00:09:10,530 --> 00:09:14,690 Speaker 2: own admission, had played badly, out of tune and out 113 00:09:14,690 --> 00:09:18,810 Speaker 2: of tempo, but the gig was still deemed a success. 114 00:09:19,770 --> 00:09:23,690 Speaker 2: Mick Jagger, whose singing had been hobbled both by laryngitis 115 00:09:23,850 --> 00:09:27,730 Speaker 2: and hay fever, said fans weren't that bothered by the 116 00:09:27,810 --> 00:09:29,530 Speaker 2: quality of his performance anyway. 117 00:09:30,250 --> 00:09:33,370 Speaker 3: It's an excuse as well as a groove for them 118 00:09:33,410 --> 00:09:36,330 Speaker 3: to all come together to join hands and embrace each. 119 00:09:36,170 --> 00:09:41,730 Speaker 2: Other, and things had indeed passed off peacefully, very peacefully. 120 00:09:42,250 --> 00:09:47,250 Speaker 2: There were virtually no arrests, and afterwards fans had enthusiastically 121 00:09:47,370 --> 00:09:50,970 Speaker 2: gathered up their trash, having been promised free records for 122 00:09:51,050 --> 00:09:55,530 Speaker 2: every three bags they collected. How much of this serenity 123 00:09:55,730 --> 00:10:00,170 Speaker 2: was down to the Hell's Angels is debatable. London's parks 124 00:10:00,330 --> 00:10:04,090 Speaker 2: have their own police force. These bobbies were monitoring the 125 00:10:04,170 --> 00:10:07,730 Speaker 2: crowd closely, ready to move in at the first sign 126 00:10:07,770 --> 00:10:12,490 Speaker 2: of trouble. The black clad Angels might have been fitting 127 00:10:12,570 --> 00:10:17,130 Speaker 2: stage props to burnish the Rolling Stones bad boy image, 128 00:10:17,690 --> 00:10:23,250 Speaker 2: but they certainly weren't replacing the actual cops. To their credit, 129 00:10:23,570 --> 00:10:26,850 Speaker 2: the bikers hadn't started any trouble of their own, which, 130 00:10:27,010 --> 00:10:31,410 Speaker 2: given the fearsome reputation of this outlaw motorcycle club, might 131 00:10:31,450 --> 00:10:35,890 Speaker 2: surprise you. That's because the heavy men enlisted by the 132 00:10:35,970 --> 00:10:42,170 Speaker 2: Rolling Stones weren't really Hell's Angels. The fifty bikers at 133 00:10:42,250 --> 00:10:47,210 Speaker 2: Hyde Park were ursats Hell's Angels, cose players in leather 134 00:10:47,450 --> 00:10:52,010 Speaker 2: and Nazi style helms, a pale imitation of the Angels 135 00:10:52,010 --> 00:10:56,690 Speaker 2: in America. Indeed, when Frisco Pete and his friends had 136 00:10:56,810 --> 00:11:00,370 Speaker 2: ridden through London the previous winter. They'd been shocked to 137 00:11:00,410 --> 00:11:04,930 Speaker 2: see locals with no affiliation to the club sporting Hell's 138 00:11:05,090 --> 00:11:10,010 Speaker 2: Angels badges. They decided to stamp out these fitters by 139 00:11:10,130 --> 00:11:16,410 Speaker 2: establishing official Angel chapters and recruiting only bikers who met 140 00:11:16,450 --> 00:11:24,130 Speaker 2: their particular standards of deportment. And what were these behavioral norms? 141 00:11:23,810 --> 00:11:30,810 Speaker 2: As the Rolling Stones would soon find out Cautionary tales 142 00:11:31,330 --> 00:11:40,410 Speaker 2: will return in a moment. The origins of the Hell's 143 00:11:40,530 --> 00:11:45,330 Speaker 2: Angels motorcycle club are disputed, but it's broadly accepted the 144 00:11:45,370 --> 00:11:50,530 Speaker 2: seeds were sown in California by returning World War II veterans, 145 00:11:50,650 --> 00:11:56,810 Speaker 2: often riding army surplus. Harley Davidson's groups of riders formed 146 00:11:56,810 --> 00:12:00,770 Speaker 2: and amalgamated, with chapters of the Hell's Angels gradually being 147 00:12:00,890 --> 00:12:05,770 Speaker 2: established across America. By the mid nineteen sixties, the Angels 148 00:12:05,770 --> 00:12:10,210 Speaker 2: were attracting national attention, and for all all the wrong reasons. 149 00:12:11,370 --> 00:12:15,370 Speaker 2: Bill Ray, a photojournalist with the magazine Life, hitched a 150 00:12:15,490 --> 00:12:16,490 Speaker 2: ride with them. 151 00:12:17,010 --> 00:12:19,490 Speaker 3: They always had plenty of money for gas and beer. 152 00:12:20,210 --> 00:12:22,650 Speaker 3: Their money had to come from somewhere, but none of 153 00:12:22,650 --> 00:12:23,410 Speaker 3: them ever worked. 154 00:12:25,290 --> 00:12:28,610 Speaker 2: The FBI was pretty sure these rebels funded their lifestyle 155 00:12:28,730 --> 00:12:33,130 Speaker 2: through drug dealing, extortion, and a raft of other nefarious activities. 156 00:12:33,890 --> 00:12:38,130 Speaker 2: Then there was their propensity for violence. Ray saw the 157 00:12:38,170 --> 00:12:41,930 Speaker 2: Angels he had befriended beat the holy hell out of 158 00:12:41,970 --> 00:12:46,730 Speaker 2: a rival gang. He said, the uncompromising message to outsiders. 159 00:12:46,970 --> 00:12:49,450 Speaker 3: Get out of the way, or got a hell. 160 00:12:51,330 --> 00:12:56,330 Speaker 2: Since the Angels enthusiastically embraced drugs and just as enthusiastically 161 00:12:56,330 --> 00:13:01,090 Speaker 2: rejected middle class morez, the beatnicks, heads and hippies of 162 00:13:01,130 --> 00:13:06,290 Speaker 2: the burgeoning nineteen sixties counterculture assumed these bikers were kindred spirits. 163 00:13:07,970 --> 00:13:11,850 Speaker 2: The celebrities of the Bee world, poet Alan Ginsburg, writer 164 00:13:11,970 --> 00:13:16,690 Speaker 2: Ken Kesey, and LSD advocate Timothy Leary even broke bread 165 00:13:16,690 --> 00:13:21,370 Speaker 2: with the Angels, dropping acid with them, smoking dope, and 166 00:13:21,410 --> 00:13:24,970 Speaker 2: listening to the Stones on a high Fi together. In fact, 167 00:13:25,050 --> 00:13:28,010 Speaker 2: there's a lyric from the Rolling Stones hit Sympathy for 168 00:13:28,050 --> 00:13:33,130 Speaker 2: the Devil, which neatly articulates the belief that such outlaws 169 00:13:33,570 --> 00:13:38,130 Speaker 2: were actually heroes standing up against the corruption and hypocrisy 170 00:13:38,170 --> 00:13:42,890 Speaker 2: of mainstream society. Just as every cop is a criminal 171 00:13:43,450 --> 00:13:53,330 Speaker 2: begins one verse, and all the sinners saints. When fifteen 172 00:13:53,570 --> 00:13:59,090 Speaker 2: thousand anti war demonstrators streamed down Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. They 173 00:13:59,170 --> 00:14:03,970 Speaker 2: reasonably thought the authorities would be their sole adversaries. The 174 00:14:04,050 --> 00:14:07,850 Speaker 2: march was supposed to end at the Oakland Army Terminal, 175 00:14:08,050 --> 00:14:10,810 Speaker 2: where men and materiel were being shipped off to the 176 00:14:10,890 --> 00:14:14,930 Speaker 2: unpopular war in Vietnam, but the activists were halted by 177 00:14:14,970 --> 00:14:19,330 Speaker 2: a phalanx of riot police. The leaders of the march 178 00:14:19,370 --> 00:14:22,850 Speaker 2: went forward to confer with the police chief when out 179 00:14:22,850 --> 00:14:29,330 Speaker 2: of nowhere, a dozen or more Hell's Angels assaulted them. 180 00:14:29,890 --> 00:14:35,090 Speaker 2: Writers communists yelled the bikers, followed by more punches and 181 00:14:35,170 --> 00:14:41,410 Speaker 2: shouts of America, first America, for Americans. The police sprang 182 00:14:41,450 --> 00:14:45,730 Speaker 2: to the defense of the bewildered protesters, arresting several angels 183 00:14:46,450 --> 00:14:50,610 Speaker 2: clicking their wounds. The activists simply couldn't comprehend what had 184 00:14:50,730 --> 00:14:57,330 Speaker 2: just gone down. The writer Hunter S. Thompson was at 185 00:14:57,330 --> 00:15:00,410 Speaker 2: the demo working on a book all about the Angels. 186 00:15:01,050 --> 00:15:05,170 Speaker 2: He witnessed the incredulity of the marchers. Surely the bikers 187 00:15:05,170 --> 00:15:08,890 Speaker 2: should be on our side. The angels had to be 188 00:15:09,290 --> 00:15:14,090 Speaker 2: over went their logic, so Alan Ginsburg was sent to 189 00:15:14,170 --> 00:15:19,610 Speaker 2: open the talks. According to Thompson, the swastikas worn by 190 00:15:19,610 --> 00:15:23,290 Speaker 2: the bikers were a worrying sign of their real allegiance. 191 00:15:24,090 --> 00:15:27,170 Speaker 4: The Angel's collective viewpoint has always been for sistic. They 192 00:15:27,210 --> 00:15:30,210 Speaker 4: had the same kind of retrograde patriotism that motivates the 193 00:15:30,290 --> 00:15:32,890 Speaker 4: klucos Klan and the American Nazi Party. 194 00:15:34,210 --> 00:15:37,690 Speaker 2: The Angels weren't just supportive of the war in Vietnam, 195 00:15:38,010 --> 00:15:41,650 Speaker 2: they were willing to enter the fray. Sonny Barger, the 196 00:15:41,770 --> 00:15:45,490 Speaker 2: deve facto leader of the Bikers, sent a telegram to 197 00:15:45,570 --> 00:15:50,770 Speaker 2: President Johnson suggesting his gang be dropped behind enemy lines 198 00:15:50,890 --> 00:15:56,650 Speaker 2: to terrorize the viet Cong. So Ginsburg's peace mission went 199 00:15:56,690 --> 00:16:00,490 Speaker 2: about as badly as you'd expect. At one point, the 200 00:16:00,570 --> 00:16:04,930 Speaker 2: poet even told the Biker chieftain that he loved him. 201 00:16:05,210 --> 00:16:08,450 Speaker 2: Sonny didn't know what the hell to say after fellow Angel. 202 00:16:09,850 --> 00:16:14,410 Speaker 2: The Angels weren't one over to support the peace protesters, 203 00:16:14,450 --> 00:16:18,410 Speaker 2: but nor did they stage any more violent counter demos. 204 00:16:19,450 --> 00:16:24,290 Speaker 2: Sonny Barger said cracking the skulls of the Unamerican marchers. 205 00:16:24,370 --> 00:16:27,370 Speaker 4: Would only produce sympathy for this mob of traders. 206 00:16:28,970 --> 00:16:32,850 Speaker 2: That's a pretty clear declaration of the Angel's position. 207 00:16:33,650 --> 00:16:34,610 Speaker 1: But Hunter S. 208 00:16:34,690 --> 00:16:38,610 Speaker 2: Thompson said some in the counterculture still saw this as 209 00:16:38,650 --> 00:16:42,850 Speaker 2: a sign that the angels were gradually coming round to 210 00:16:42,890 --> 00:16:49,010 Speaker 2: the hippie point of view. We often find it hard 211 00:16:49,090 --> 00:16:52,890 Speaker 2: to distinguish between what is true and what we wish 212 00:16:53,010 --> 00:16:57,370 Speaker 2: were true, and it can have a decidedly detrimental effect 213 00:16:57,450 --> 00:17:02,610 Speaker 2: on our lives. Colloquially we call it wishful thinking, but 214 00:17:02,810 --> 00:17:06,530 Speaker 2: really it's a bias, the desirability bias, and it's been 215 00:17:06,530 --> 00:17:12,210 Speaker 2: measured in several studies. The behavioral economist Guy Meyraus once 216 00:17:12,250 --> 00:17:15,970 Speaker 2: recruited a bunch of ordinary people and randomly assigned them 217 00:17:16,050 --> 00:17:20,490 Speaker 2: to imagine themselves to be farmers or bakers. They were 218 00:17:20,490 --> 00:17:24,050 Speaker 2: shown a graph and told it was the historical fluctuations 219 00:17:24,090 --> 00:17:27,290 Speaker 2: of wheat prices. Then they were asked to predict the 220 00:17:27,330 --> 00:17:30,450 Speaker 2: future price of wheat, would it go up or would 221 00:17:30,450 --> 00:17:34,290 Speaker 2: it go down. They'd be rewarded if their predictions came true, 222 00:17:34,610 --> 00:17:38,130 Speaker 2: and in addition, the so called farmers would get extra 223 00:17:38,210 --> 00:17:41,690 Speaker 2: payment if wheat prices went up, while the bakers got 224 00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:46,810 Speaker 2: extra cash if wheat prices fell. In this experiment, the 225 00:17:46,890 --> 00:17:49,570 Speaker 2: incentive is to make the most accurate prediction that you 226 00:17:49,730 --> 00:17:53,250 Speaker 2: can and meanwhile hope that the wheat price moves up. 227 00:17:53,290 --> 00:17:56,370 Speaker 2: If you're playing a farmer and down if you're playing 228 00:17:56,370 --> 00:18:01,690 Speaker 2: a baker, and yet from exactly the same data, the 229 00:18:01,810 --> 00:18:05,090 Speaker 2: pretend bakers predicted a dip in the cost of wheat 230 00:18:05,650 --> 00:18:11,210 Speaker 2: and the pretend farmers forecast a rise. Both sides predicted 231 00:18:11,450 --> 00:18:17,290 Speaker 2: what they wanted to happen, wishful thinking in its purest form. 232 00:18:17,730 --> 00:18:22,330 Speaker 2: The desirability bias appears in politics too, of course. In 233 00:18:22,410 --> 00:18:27,450 Speaker 2: twenty sixteen, a team of psychologists studied groups of American voters. 234 00:18:27,490 --> 00:18:31,410 Speaker 2: Some were Trump supporters who doubted their man would actually win, 235 00:18:32,130 --> 00:18:36,410 Speaker 2: while others backed Hillary Clinton but also thought sheered lose. 236 00:18:38,170 --> 00:18:42,170 Speaker 2: These voters were then shown polling data that indeed had 237 00:18:42,290 --> 00:18:46,930 Speaker 2: bad news about their candidate's chances, but also some indications 238 00:18:46,970 --> 00:18:50,570 Speaker 2: that they might win. The psychologists found that the Clinton 239 00:18:50,650 --> 00:18:54,370 Speaker 2: voters suddenly felt Hillary was more likely to take the 240 00:18:54,370 --> 00:18:57,890 Speaker 2: White House. Of course, on the same data, the Trump 241 00:18:57,930 --> 00:19:01,170 Speaker 2: supporters were now convinced that he would claim victory two. 242 00:19:02,090 --> 00:19:05,290 Speaker 2: Both groups had assimilated the good news into their new 243 00:19:05,370 --> 00:19:12,690 Speaker 2: prediction of the election their favored outcome, but ignored the bad. 244 00:19:15,770 --> 00:19:19,210 Speaker 2: In nineteen sixty nine, the stones and the dead were 245 00:19:19,330 --> 00:19:23,850 Speaker 2: also ignoring the bad news about the Hell's angels, and 246 00:19:23,890 --> 00:19:28,010 Speaker 2: there was plenty of it. Perhaps they didn't believe the 247 00:19:28,050 --> 00:19:34,290 Speaker 2: corporate newspapers and their square reporters. Of course, mainstream society 248 00:19:34,410 --> 00:19:39,130 Speaker 2: would demonize the Angels because the Angels, just like the counterculture, 249 00:19:39,410 --> 00:19:43,650 Speaker 2: rejected the mainstream. But what of the violence at the 250 00:19:43,690 --> 00:19:47,730 Speaker 2: Berkeley Walmarch? And Hunter S. Thompson's book setting out the 251 00:19:47,730 --> 00:19:52,850 Speaker 2: biker's troubling politics and behavior. Its publication had made Thompson 252 00:19:52,930 --> 00:19:56,970 Speaker 2: a national celebrity, and he went on numerous TV shows 253 00:19:57,010 --> 00:20:00,570 Speaker 2: to talk frankly about his two years living with the Angels. 254 00:20:01,530 --> 00:20:04,690 Speaker 2: The PostScript to that book alone should have given anyone 255 00:20:04,850 --> 00:20:06,970 Speaker 2: pause for thought about the biker gang. 256 00:20:08,330 --> 00:20:11,210 Speaker 4: I push my luck a little too far and got 257 00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:15,610 Speaker 4: badly stopped by four or five Angels? 258 00:20:16,530 --> 00:20:19,610 Speaker 2: Are these really the sort of people that the Grateful 259 00:20:19,690 --> 00:20:23,770 Speaker 2: Dead and the Rolling Stones wanted doing their concert security? 260 00:20:24,810 --> 00:20:30,770 Speaker 2: Seems a sure fire recipe for indiscriminate violence. The Dead's 261 00:20:31,010 --> 00:20:37,730 Speaker 2: Jerry Garcia was especially fond of the Angels, praising their straightforwardness. 262 00:20:37,530 --> 00:20:42,210 Speaker 3: Their brutal But their brutality is really only honesty. 263 00:20:43,010 --> 00:20:45,930 Speaker 2: I'm reminded of a viral tweet from twenty to fifteen 264 00:20:46,090 --> 00:20:51,250 Speaker 2: by author Adrian Bott. It goes, I never thought leopards 265 00:20:51,290 --> 00:20:54,970 Speaker 2: would eat my face sobs woman who voted for the 266 00:20:55,290 --> 00:21:03,770 Speaker 2: Leopards Eating People's Faces party. The Rolling Stones US tour 267 00:21:03,890 --> 00:21:08,610 Speaker 2: of late nineteen sixty nine was a roaring success, not 268 00:21:08,730 --> 00:21:12,490 Speaker 2: to mention money Spinner. Audiences were pleased to see the band, 269 00:21:12,570 --> 00:21:17,410 Speaker 2: who hadn't played America in years, but reporters repeatedly grumbled 270 00:21:17,410 --> 00:21:22,530 Speaker 2: about the steep ticket prices. Perhaps stung by these insinuations 271 00:21:22,530 --> 00:21:26,250 Speaker 2: of greed, but also motivated by a regret that they 272 00:21:26,290 --> 00:21:30,490 Speaker 2: had not played Woodstock that summer, The Stones were plotting 273 00:21:30,530 --> 00:21:35,130 Speaker 2: a free show a Woodstock of the West to end 274 00:21:35,250 --> 00:21:39,010 Speaker 2: their time in America. The Grateful Dead would be on 275 00:21:39,090 --> 00:21:43,570 Speaker 2: the bill, and they suggested the venue b San Francisco's 276 00:21:43,650 --> 00:21:49,210 Speaker 2: Golden Gate Park. Unfortunately, the Dead announced the concert without 277 00:21:49,290 --> 00:21:53,330 Speaker 2: asking the city authorities nor checking if any other events 278 00:21:53,490 --> 00:21:57,970 Speaker 2: clashed with the proposed gig. They did, a big football 279 00:21:58,010 --> 00:22:02,170 Speaker 2: game was scheduled, so Golden Gate Park, with its amenities, 280 00:22:02,330 --> 00:22:11,610 Speaker 2: police department and transport links, was off the table. With 281 00:22:11,730 --> 00:22:15,370 Speaker 2: time ticking, a racing circuit a few miles north of 282 00:22:15,410 --> 00:22:19,930 Speaker 2: the city was booked and the Stones roadies began hurriedly 283 00:22:19,970 --> 00:22:24,530 Speaker 2: constructing a stage. But even as they hammered away the 284 00:22:24,650 --> 00:22:29,370 Speaker 2: deal with the track's owners was falling apart, with some 285 00:22:29,530 --> 00:22:33,490 Speaker 2: concert goers already en route to the free show. The 286 00:22:33,530 --> 00:22:37,570 Speaker 2: price for using the raceway was suddenly jacked up, so 287 00:22:37,730 --> 00:22:42,690 Speaker 2: a frantic search began for a replacement. Hearing of the 288 00:22:42,730 --> 00:22:46,850 Speaker 2: stone's predicament, the proprietor of another race circuit called with 289 00:22:46,890 --> 00:22:50,890 Speaker 2: an offer. He'd happily host the festival. The publicity would 290 00:22:50,890 --> 00:22:56,050 Speaker 2: benefit his venue, and the Altamont Speedway definitely needed some 291 00:22:56,170 --> 00:23:00,570 Speaker 2: good press. Though only an hour or so inland from 292 00:23:00,610 --> 00:23:04,890 Speaker 2: San Francisco, it was a world away. While San Francisco 293 00:23:05,090 --> 00:23:10,090 Speaker 2: was lush and picturesque, Altamont was dry and barren. While 294 00:23:10,130 --> 00:23:14,650 Speaker 2: the city was humming with hippie good vibes, Altamont was 295 00:23:14,690 --> 00:23:21,770 Speaker 2: a rural and conservative backwater. There were no decent transport links, 296 00:23:22,090 --> 00:23:26,850 Speaker 2: too few parking spaces, and certainly not enough bathrooms for 297 00:23:26,930 --> 00:23:31,690 Speaker 2: three hundred thousand music fans. But still, the road is 298 00:23:31,890 --> 00:23:36,210 Speaker 2: tore up their original stage and trucked it to Altamont. 299 00:23:40,610 --> 00:23:44,050 Speaker 2: As they assembled it again, a new problem presented itself. 300 00:23:44,930 --> 00:23:47,530 Speaker 2: At the first racetrack, this stage had been at the 301 00:23:47,570 --> 00:23:51,130 Speaker 2: top of a slope. At Altamont, they had to build 302 00:23:51,130 --> 00:23:54,570 Speaker 2: it at the foot of an incline. A general rule 303 00:23:54,690 --> 00:23:59,210 Speaker 2: is that this is unwise, since gravity pushes crowds downhill 304 00:23:59,490 --> 00:24:02,770 Speaker 2: and hard up against the stage. If you have no 305 00:24:02,970 --> 00:24:06,930 Speaker 2: other choice, then a high stage helps prevent fans invading 306 00:24:06,970 --> 00:24:10,370 Speaker 2: the performance space. But the age they'd brought with them 307 00:24:10,530 --> 00:24:14,650 Speaker 2: was just three feet high. None of this was ideal, 308 00:24:15,370 --> 00:24:18,850 Speaker 2: but geography was acting against the stones in a farm 309 00:24:19,010 --> 00:24:23,210 Speaker 2: or sinister way. At the suggestion of the Grateful Dead, 310 00:24:23,610 --> 00:24:27,210 Speaker 2: thet agreed to have the Hell's Angels act as security 311 00:24:28,290 --> 00:24:31,610 Speaker 2: at the other proposed venues. These angels would have been 312 00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:35,410 Speaker 2: recruited from chapters well known to the dead and trusted 313 00:24:35,450 --> 00:24:39,810 Speaker 2: by them. That Altamont was in the East Bay, and 314 00:24:39,890 --> 00:24:42,690 Speaker 2: the East Bay was very much the territory of the 315 00:24:42,730 --> 00:24:49,610 Speaker 2: Hell's Angels, ruled by one Sunny Barger Cautionary tales will 316 00:24:49,650 --> 00:24:51,010 Speaker 2: be back in a moment. 317 00:25:00,050 --> 00:25:00,970 Speaker 1: With the aid of. 318 00:25:00,970 --> 00:25:05,530 Speaker 2: Some chemical stimulation, the road is finished. The Altamont stage 319 00:25:05,570 --> 00:25:09,930 Speaker 2: as December sixth dawn a sound s and was also 320 00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:12,970 Speaker 2: rigged together, using bits and bobs from each of the 321 00:25:13,010 --> 00:25:20,690 Speaker 2: acts appearing. It wasn't great, but it worked. Just Volunteers 322 00:25:20,690 --> 00:25:25,850 Speaker 2: had been frantically tied dyeing great banners to decorate the stage, 323 00:25:26,530 --> 00:25:29,290 Speaker 2: but nothing could bring much color or cheer to the 324 00:25:29,370 --> 00:25:34,090 Speaker 2: dismal raceway. If attendees were hoping for a repeat of 325 00:25:34,170 --> 00:25:38,250 Speaker 2: the good vibes and togetherness of that summer's Woodstock, they 326 00:25:38,250 --> 00:25:44,050 Speaker 2: were in for a rude awakening. It was only after 327 00:25:44,330 --> 00:25:48,090 Speaker 2: most of the other concertgoers had assembled that around one 328 00:25:48,250 --> 00:25:52,690 Speaker 2: hundred Hells Angels rode in. They drove through the throng 329 00:25:53,370 --> 00:25:57,370 Speaker 2: and parked their bikes in front of the low stage. 330 00:25:57,530 --> 00:26:02,650 Speaker 2: This crowded real estate would become a flashpoint as fans 331 00:26:02,770 --> 00:26:06,530 Speaker 2: flowed down the slope, jostling to hear and see better. 332 00:26:07,850 --> 00:26:12,250 Speaker 2: They'd swamp this air, banging into and knocking over the 333 00:26:12,370 --> 00:26:18,450 Speaker 2: prized Harley Davidson's of the Angels. There remains much dispute 334 00:26:18,490 --> 00:26:22,570 Speaker 2: about the actual deal broken with Sonny Barger and his bikers. 335 00:26:23,570 --> 00:26:26,650 Speaker 2: The accepted story is that they were offered five hundred 336 00:26:26,730 --> 00:26:29,850 Speaker 2: dollars worth of beer to guard the stage, the equipment, 337 00:26:29,890 --> 00:26:33,690 Speaker 2: and the performers. The bikers said they merely agreed to 338 00:26:33,730 --> 00:26:37,810 Speaker 2: sit on the stage, drink beer and look menacing and 339 00:26:37,850 --> 00:26:40,650 Speaker 2: spat on the idea that they were there to police 340 00:26:40,970 --> 00:26:46,570 Speaker 2: anyone but Grace Slick, whose band Jefferson Airplane were playing 341 00:26:47,290 --> 00:26:49,410 Speaker 2: was clear what she expected of the bikers. 342 00:26:50,530 --> 00:26:53,730 Speaker 4: People get weird and you need people like the Angels 343 00:26:53,770 --> 00:26:54,730 Speaker 4: to keep them in line. 344 00:26:56,330 --> 00:27:01,530 Speaker 2: And people got weird, very weird, almost as soon as 345 00:27:01,570 --> 00:27:05,170 Speaker 2: the music began. Keith Richards had been at the site 346 00:27:05,210 --> 00:27:09,770 Speaker 2: all night, going ahead of his fellow Rolling Stones him 347 00:27:10,210 --> 00:27:13,930 Speaker 2: Altamont resembled Dante's vision of Hell. 348 00:27:14,650 --> 00:27:18,610 Speaker 3: It was a descent to cave men level thanks to 349 00:27:18,770 --> 00:27:23,890 Speaker 3: sunny Barja in his lot and bad red wine and 350 00:27:24,010 --> 00:27:25,130 Speaker 3: bad acid. 351 00:27:29,050 --> 00:27:33,250 Speaker 2: Out of their minds. Some hippies striped naked and clambered 352 00:27:33,290 --> 00:27:38,330 Speaker 2: over the stage the Angels and their bikes. Santana was 353 00:27:38,370 --> 00:27:42,890 Speaker 2: the first band to play, and knives were drawn and 354 00:27:43,010 --> 00:27:50,810 Speaker 2: blood spilled before their opening song was done. Jefferson Airplane followed, 355 00:27:51,330 --> 00:27:54,250 Speaker 2: and now the Hell's Angels flailed up the crowd with 356 00:27:54,330 --> 00:28:01,210 Speaker 2: the fat ends of pool cues cracking skulls. Marty Balin 357 00:28:01,370 --> 00:28:07,170 Speaker 2: of Jefferson Airplane had had enough of the unfolding savagery. 358 00:28:07,330 --> 00:28:12,330 Speaker 2: Seeing Angels assaulting yet another music fan, Bailin threw his 359 00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:18,610 Speaker 2: tambourine at the attackers. A biker known as Animal punched Baby, 360 00:28:19,130 --> 00:28:19,850 Speaker 2: knocking him out. 361 00:28:21,290 --> 00:28:22,010 Speaker 1: Coming to his. 362 00:28:22,010 --> 00:28:26,490 Speaker 2: Senses, Baileen leapt down from the stage to intervene once again. 363 00:28:26,530 --> 00:28:30,890 Speaker 2: In the brawling, fists and pool cues were flying. Grace 364 00:28:30,930 --> 00:28:33,290 Speaker 2: Slick pleaded into her microphone. 365 00:28:33,930 --> 00:28:41,650 Speaker 1: No, now, stop it, Please be kind, Please be kind. 366 00:28:44,170 --> 00:28:47,770 Speaker 2: Grace didn't have her contact lensers in, so to her, 367 00:28:48,330 --> 00:28:51,330 Speaker 2: the violent melee in the front row was just a 368 00:28:51,490 --> 00:28:52,610 Speaker 2: nightmarish blur. 369 00:28:54,290 --> 00:28:58,050 Speaker 1: You've got to keep your bodies on each other unless you. 370 00:28:58,130 --> 00:29:02,410 Speaker 2: Intend love, she told the brawlers, as one by one 371 00:29:02,610 --> 00:29:06,850 Speaker 2: her bandmate stopped playing and took refuge behind the drum kit. 372 00:29:09,370 --> 00:29:15,290 Speaker 2: Animal approached Marty Bayalin, apologizing for punching him but recommending 373 00:29:15,330 --> 00:29:17,250 Speaker 2: his show The Hell's Angels more. 374 00:29:17,050 --> 00:29:18,290 Speaker 1: Respect in future. 375 00:29:19,170 --> 00:29:23,730 Speaker 2: Fuck you, replied the musician, Animal knocked down and out again. 376 00:29:26,890 --> 00:29:31,850 Speaker 2: The Flying Burrito Brothers came next, then Crosby, Stills, Nash 377 00:29:31,850 --> 00:29:36,490 Speaker 2: and Young. During their set, Stephen Stills was stabbed in 378 00:29:36,570 --> 00:29:40,130 Speaker 2: the leg by an angel armed with a sharpened wheelspoke. 379 00:29:40,890 --> 00:29:46,130 Speaker 2: Still's bandmate David Crosby was unsurprised by this turn of events. 380 00:29:46,890 --> 00:29:52,330 Speaker 2: Unlike his fellow musicians, Crosby seemed clear eyed about the bikers. 381 00:29:53,410 --> 00:29:55,850 Speaker 4: If you don't want the tiger to eat your lunch guests, 382 00:29:56,290 --> 00:29:58,210 Speaker 4: don't invite the fucking Tiger to lunch. 383 00:30:03,330 --> 00:30:07,290 Speaker 2: But where were the people who suggested inviting the tiger? 384 00:30:08,050 --> 00:30:13,010 Speaker 2: The Grateful Dead had just helicoptered in and crossing the site, 385 00:30:13,370 --> 00:30:19,170 Speaker 2: they'd noticed many unfamiliar, unfriendly faces among the Hell's angels. 386 00:30:20,010 --> 00:30:24,490 Speaker 2: Hearing of the unfolding violence and noting the sour mood, 387 00:30:25,130 --> 00:30:29,290 Speaker 2: they agreed this isn't a place for us and scurried 388 00:30:29,370 --> 00:30:36,250 Speaker 2: back to the helipad. This left a gap in the schedule. 389 00:30:37,330 --> 00:30:40,850 Speaker 2: Most of the Rolling Stones had flown in, with Mick 390 00:30:40,930 --> 00:30:44,850 Speaker 2: Jagger taking a punch from a drugged up giggoer moments 391 00:30:45,090 --> 00:30:48,770 Speaker 2: after their arrival, but Bill Wyman had missed the flight, 392 00:30:49,570 --> 00:30:54,690 Speaker 2: so Altamont endured an increasingly tense hiatus until he arrived. 393 00:30:55,770 --> 00:30:59,650 Speaker 2: It was cold and inkly black when the Stones is 394 00:30:59,730 --> 00:31:06,570 Speaker 2: set finally began under blood red stage lights. Jumpin Jack 395 00:31:06,650 --> 00:31:11,050 Speaker 2: Flash was followed by Carol, then sympathy for the Devil, 396 00:31:11,730 --> 00:31:17,450 Speaker 2: but scuffles that had started even before their show began intensified. 397 00:31:18,290 --> 00:31:21,930 Speaker 2: Jagger stopped singing, Brothers. 398 00:31:21,490 --> 00:31:23,770 Speaker 3: And Sisters, why. 399 00:31:25,130 --> 00:31:26,170 Speaker 1: We don't want to fight? 400 00:31:26,450 --> 00:31:26,730 Speaker 4: Come on? 401 00:31:28,650 --> 00:31:33,410 Speaker 2: The singer then encouraged the steadily encroaching fans to instead 402 00:31:33,730 --> 00:31:39,010 Speaker 2: sit down, Thinking h had calmed the tensions. The song resumed, 403 00:31:39,890 --> 00:31:44,650 Speaker 2: The stage still bristled with angels who crisscrossed in front 404 00:31:44,690 --> 00:31:48,010 Speaker 2: of Jagger at will, jumping into the crowd as the 405 00:31:48,090 --> 00:31:53,290 Speaker 2: mood took them to dole out more beatings. Then during 406 00:31:53,490 --> 00:31:58,450 Speaker 2: under My Thumb, a disturbance erupted to Jagger's left. In 407 00:31:58,490 --> 00:32:01,690 Speaker 2: a section of the crowd illuminated by the stage lights, 408 00:32:02,490 --> 00:32:07,210 Speaker 2: a thin, rangy teenager in a lime green suit is 409 00:32:07,250 --> 00:32:12,850 Speaker 2: surrounded by bikers. A revolver glints in his hand the 410 00:32:12,890 --> 00:32:16,050 Speaker 2: blade of a large knife in the hand of an angel. 411 00:32:17,370 --> 00:32:21,170 Speaker 2: The eighteen year old Meredith Hunter came off worse in 412 00:32:21,250 --> 00:32:25,370 Speaker 2: the encounter. The knife plunged into his neck and back 413 00:32:25,690 --> 00:32:30,290 Speaker 2: five times before his crumpled body was stomped on by 414 00:32:30,410 --> 00:32:34,770 Speaker 2: more bikers. He died before a chopper taking him to 415 00:32:34,850 --> 00:32:41,530 Speaker 2: hospital could take off. Keith Richards vowed that the Stones 416 00:32:41,570 --> 00:32:43,330 Speaker 2: would split if. 417 00:32:43,250 --> 00:32:46,410 Speaker 3: Those cats don't stop beating everyone in sight. 418 00:32:46,970 --> 00:32:51,530 Speaker 2: But the show went on under the increasingly hostile glares 419 00:32:51,610 --> 00:32:58,210 Speaker 2: of Sunny Bargera and his men. Finally, a helicopter pilot 420 00:32:58,290 --> 00:33:02,490 Speaker 2: approached bassist Bill Wyman. His was the last flight out, 421 00:33:02,890 --> 00:33:06,530 Speaker 2: he explained, and the Stones better get aboard now if 422 00:33:06,570 --> 00:33:11,450 Speaker 2: they wanted to escape. Seen reminiscent of the Vietnam War, 423 00:33:11,850 --> 00:33:14,450 Speaker 2: the Stones and let entourage played. 424 00:33:17,770 --> 00:33:20,610 Speaker 3: We piled in on top of each other. It couldn't 425 00:33:20,650 --> 00:33:31,290 Speaker 3: even lift off, that's how full it was. Back in 426 00:33:31,330 --> 00:33:34,930 Speaker 3: their hotel, the enormity of what had just occurred was 427 00:33:35,050 --> 00:33:38,250 Speaker 3: dawning on the band. Mick Jagger was said to be 428 00:33:38,290 --> 00:33:42,050 Speaker 3: blaming himself and even suggested quitting rock and roll altogether. 429 00:33:42,930 --> 00:33:46,930 Speaker 3: Keith Richards wasn't so sure. The dead should have known, 430 00:33:47,290 --> 00:33:49,730 Speaker 3: the angels shouldn't have been asked to do the job. 431 00:33:50,930 --> 00:33:54,370 Speaker 2: But Richards thought the fans at Altamont shared the blame too. 432 00:33:55,450 --> 00:34:00,170 Speaker 3: People were just asking for it, All those new fat 433 00:34:00,250 --> 00:34:02,490 Speaker 3: people just asking for it. 434 00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:07,210 Speaker 2: But the music press knew who to blame and was 435 00:34:07,250 --> 00:34:13,410 Speaker 2: excoriating Rolling Stone, A magazine named in honor of the band, 436 00:34:13,930 --> 00:34:20,810 Speaker 2: said Altamont had been the product of diabolical egotism, ineptitude, 437 00:34:21,450 --> 00:34:26,810 Speaker 2: and a fundamental lack of concern for humanity. The magazine 438 00:34:26,850 --> 00:34:31,290 Speaker 2: said of the Stones, a man died before their eyes. 439 00:34:32,810 --> 00:34:37,050 Speaker 2: Do they give a shit? But Mick and the boys 440 00:34:37,130 --> 00:34:41,410 Speaker 2: had more to worry about than their reputation. Sonny Barger 441 00:34:41,770 --> 00:34:46,250 Speaker 2: was deeply unhappy with them too. He called a radio 442 00:34:46,250 --> 00:34:48,970 Speaker 2: phone in show, an angrily ranted. 443 00:34:49,010 --> 00:34:52,050 Speaker 4: McJagger put it on on us. He used us for 444 00:34:52,210 --> 00:34:52,890 Speaker 4: dupes men. 445 00:34:54,290 --> 00:34:57,890 Speaker 2: One Angel was arrested for the murder of Meredith Hunter, 446 00:34:58,450 --> 00:35:03,730 Speaker 2: but was controversially cleared by a jury. The White Angel 447 00:35:03,850 --> 00:35:08,170 Speaker 2: had acted in self defense, they decided. When confronted by 448 00:35:08,210 --> 00:35:13,970 Speaker 2: the armed teen Sonny Barger and his bikers felt that, 449 00:35:14,010 --> 00:35:18,650 Speaker 2: what with legal fees and reputational damage, Mick Jagger owed 450 00:35:18,690 --> 00:35:22,570 Speaker 2: them fifty thousand dollars, and rumors. 451 00:35:22,090 --> 00:35:24,290 Speaker 1: Swirled that until this debt. 452 00:35:24,210 --> 00:35:30,730 Speaker 2: Was paid, a contract was out on Jagger's life. Unsurprisingly, 453 00:35:31,290 --> 00:35:37,450 Speaker 2: the Stones began to look over their shoulders. Backstage, Rhodies 454 00:35:37,530 --> 00:35:41,090 Speaker 2: carried their union cards so no assassin could slip in 455 00:35:41,170 --> 00:35:46,090 Speaker 2: amongst them. The band also shunned hotel room service for 456 00:35:46,170 --> 00:35:50,170 Speaker 2: fear of poisoning, and they checked in under assumed names. 457 00:35:51,010 --> 00:35:58,850 Speaker 2: Keith Richards liked the alias Count Ziganpus. Sonny Barger, who 458 00:35:58,970 --> 00:36:03,050 Speaker 2: incidentally spent thirteen years in prison for various crimes but 459 00:36:03,410 --> 00:36:07,170 Speaker 2: beat a murder rap, was more coy about the feud. 460 00:36:07,850 --> 00:36:10,690 Speaker 4: If there was a contract out mc jagger, then he'd 461 00:36:10,690 --> 00:36:14,210 Speaker 4: be dead. It's that simple. He wouldn't still be. 462 00:36:14,210 --> 00:36:23,970 Speaker 2: Singing flying home to London. Keith Richards tried to tamp 463 00:36:24,050 --> 00:36:28,210 Speaker 2: down the criticism over Altamont, telling reporters the gig had 464 00:36:28,250 --> 00:36:29,610 Speaker 2: been well organized, but. 465 00:36:30,170 --> 00:36:32,490 Speaker 3: A few tempers got frayed. 466 00:36:34,570 --> 00:36:37,250 Speaker 2: Coming as it did in the dying days of the 467 00:36:37,330 --> 00:36:42,090 Speaker 2: nineteen sixties, Altamont is often portrayed as the death knell 468 00:36:42,250 --> 00:36:47,050 Speaker 2: of the decade. Altamont was the end of Rock's innocence, 469 00:36:47,570 --> 00:36:52,810 Speaker 2: said one San Francisco paper. It's certainly an argument, and 470 00:36:52,850 --> 00:36:59,170 Speaker 2: one still hotly disputed, but Altamont definitely changed the Stones. 471 00:37:00,530 --> 00:37:03,490 Speaker 2: Mick Jagger and the band had a rocky relationship with 472 00:37:03,530 --> 00:37:07,330 Speaker 2: the police. Prior to Altamont. The singer had even faced 473 00:37:07,370 --> 00:37:11,010 Speaker 2: the prospect of a prison center on trumped up drugs charges. 474 00:37:11,850 --> 00:37:15,330 Speaker 2: This might well explain his interest in having the Angels 475 00:37:15,370 --> 00:37:19,650 Speaker 2: police his gigs, but the killing at Altamont changed that. 476 00:37:20,810 --> 00:37:34,690 Speaker 2: He moodily said, I'd rather have had the cops. Key 477 00:37:34,770 --> 00:37:39,050 Speaker 2: sources for this episode include Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson, 478 00:37:39,410 --> 00:37:42,770 Speaker 2: Keith richards On Keith Richards, edited by Sean Egan, and 479 00:37:42,810 --> 00:37:47,330 Speaker 2: The Stones Memoirs Life by Keith Richards and Stone Alone 480 00:37:47,610 --> 00:37:50,890 Speaker 2: by Bill Wyman. For a fullness of our sources, visit 481 00:37:50,930 --> 00:37:56,210 Speaker 2: Timharford dot com. Cautionary Tales is written by me Tim 482 00:37:56,290 --> 00:38:00,250 Speaker 2: Harford with Andrew Wright, Alice Fines and Ryan Dilly. It's 483 00:38:00,330 --> 00:38:04,290 Speaker 2: produced by Georgia Mills and Marilyn Rust. The sound design 484 00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:07,610 Speaker 2: and original music are the work of Pascal Wise, but 485 00:38:07,690 --> 00:38:12,090 Speaker 2: additional sound design is by Carlos san Juan at Brain Audio. 486 00:38:12,450 --> 00:38:16,530 Speaker 2: Bend A Dafhaffrey edited the scripts. The show features the 487 00:38:16,610 --> 00:38:22,450 Speaker 2: voice talents of Genevieve Gaunt, Melanie Guttridge, Stella Harford, Oliver Hembrough, 488 00:38:22,690 --> 00:38:27,810 Speaker 2: Sarah Jupp, the Saamonroe, Jamal Westman and Rufus Wright. The 489 00:38:27,850 --> 00:38:30,650 Speaker 2: show also wouldn't have been possible without the work of 490 00:38:30,770 --> 00:38:35,450 Speaker 2: Jacob Weisberg, Greta Cohene, Sarah Nix, Eric Sandler, Carrie Brody, 491 00:38:35,730 --> 00:38:40,850 Speaker 2: Christina Sullivan, Kira Posey and Owen Miller. Cautionary Tales is 492 00:38:40,890 --> 00:38:45,370 Speaker 2: a production of Pushkin Industries. It's recorded at Wardall Studios 493 00:38:45,370 --> 00:38:49,130 Speaker 2: in London by Noria Barr and Lucy Rowe. If you 494 00:38:49,290 --> 00:38:52,530 Speaker 2: like the show, please remember to share, rate and review. 495 00:38:52,610 --> 00:38:54,370 Speaker 2: It really makes a difference to us and if you 496 00:38:54,370 --> 00:38:57,090 Speaker 2: want to hear the show ad free, sign up to 497 00:38:57,130 --> 00:39:00,410 Speaker 2: Pushkin Plus on the show page. On Apple Podcasts or 498 00:39:00,450 --> 00:39:16,490 Speaker 2: at pushkin dot Fm, Slash plus, oh