AceShowbiz - Mick Jagger and his band, The Rolling Stones, are known today as rock legends, but their younger years were filled with wild and scandalous moments. One such event is detailed in Bob Spitz’s new book, The Rolling Stones: The Biography, which sheds light on a notorious incident involving Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ longtime girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, during the filming of a movie in the late 1960s.

In 1968, Mick Jagger starred in the film Performance, playing a character named Turner. His co-star was Anita Pallenberg, who was romantically involved with fellow band member Keith Richards from 1967 to 1980. The movie’s plot involved a complex three-way relationship between Jagger’s character and the characters played by Pallenberg and Michèle Breton.

Bob Spitz’s biography reveals that the film’s production was heavily influenced by drug use, leading to an atmosphere of debauchery on set. One of the most infamous moments was a communal bathtub scene featuring Mick Jagger, Pallenberg, and Breton, which added to the film’s controversial reputation. According to Spitz, Rolling Stones co-founder Ian Stewart recounted that the chemistry between Jagger and Pallenberg went beyond acting.

Stewart claimed that during the filming of a sex scene, Mick Jagger and Pallenberg did not simply simulate intimacy but engaged in actual intercourse. While the final version of the film included only vague depictions of their bodies intertwined, there was reportedly explicit footage shot by Pallenberg on a handheld camera that showed the couple in a raw and passionate encounter. This footage was later edited into a separate, adult-only feature.

The explicit nature of the scenes shocked Warner Bros. executives, who, after viewing the daily rushes, decided to pause production for a week to consider whether to abandon the project entirely. This delay contributed to the film being shelved until 1970, further complicating its release.

Meanwhile, Keith Richards was reportedly unhappy with the situation. Spitz notes tension growing between Richards and Pallenberg following the incident, with Pallenberg herself admitting that Keith was displeased. Despite Richards’ public claim in his 2010 autobiography, Life, that he was “not that jealous kind of guy,” Spitz suggests that Richards’ emotions were deeply affected and channeled into the song “You Got the Silver,” which appeared on The Rolling Stones’ 1969 album Let It Bleed.

Pallenberg’s journals, which were featured in the 2024 documentary Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg, support Stewart’s account. She described her experience working with Mick Jagger on Performance as a complicated mix of professional collaboration and personal intimacy. In her writing, she noted that despite spending extensive time in close quarters with Jagger, including eight days in bed together for filming, she never truly fancied him but was caught in the whirlwind of drug use and the demands of producing the film.

She also described Keith Richards’ reaction as silence, calling it “the worst reaction of all,” highlighting the emotional strain their relationship endured during this period.

Before the end of Richards and Pallenberg’s turbulent relationship in 1980, the couple had three children: Marlon Sundeep (born 1969), Dandelion Angela (born 1972), and Tara Jo Jo (born 1976). Tragically, Tara Jo Jo died of sudden infant death syndrome at just 10 weeks old. Richards later had two daughters, Theodora and Alexandra, with Patti Hansen.

Today, the story of the on-camera affair remains one of the more provocative tales from the Swinging 60s and the early days of The Rolling Stones. Spitz’s biography and the recent documentary offer a rare glimpse into the complex personal dynamics and creative chaos that shaped the band’s legacy.

As for Mick Jagger, his personal life continues to captivate fans and media alike. Recently, he discussed the future of his portion of The Rolling Stones’ music catalog, expressing plans to possibly leave it to charity rather than passing it on to his eight children. This decision reflects ongoing considerations about his legacy beyond the stage.

Despite the decades that have passed, the story of Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg’s on-set relationship during Performance remains a vivid example of the blurred lines between art and life, and the intense personal dramas that unfolded behind the scenes of rock history.