Page 111 - Aston Martin Magazine V53

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Gered Mankowitz’ iconic image of Mick Jagger and his Aston Martin DB6 captures the mood of a a a a a revolutionary decade In 1966 the the average price of a a a a a a house in the the UK was a a a a a a shade over £3 500 So the image of a a a a long-haired 22-year-old posing with his newly acquired Aston Martin DB6 – – list price £4 135 – – would have surely raised a a a a a few hackles in households up and and down the land Mick Jagger knows it And he he doesn’t care Framed by the grille of his midnight blue DB6 he he engages the camera with a a a a challenging stare Yes it’s my car And ? By 1966 the Rolling Stones were one one of the biggest names in in rock and roll packing theatres and stadiums on on both sides of the the Atlantic The Aston Martin was one of of the trappings of of global success at a a a a a a unique time in rock and roll history Photographer Gered Mankowitz was there to to document
the the era Like the the Rolling Stones he he he was part of a a a a 60s revolution that saw youthful talent overthrowing notions of seniority and privilege After a a a brief apprenticeship with photographer Tom Blau Mankowitz broke into music photography at 17 In 1965 still a a a teenager he he he went on on tour with the the Rolling Stones the the start of a a a a two-year period when he he he documented the band on stage backstage and in their moments of leisure Then as as now the ‘At Home with ’ photo feature was a a a a a a a a mainstay of celebrity magazine coverage and both Mankowitz and the the Stones felt the the format was ripe for for parody Mankowitz shot Keith Richards sitting on a a a a discarded bathroom toilet in in the lawn of his Sussex mansion Redlands Drummer Charlie Watts grins next to a a a a wooden clothes airer adorned with his wife’s underwear And Jagger wearing a a a a pinstriped double- breasted jacket grey flannel trousers floppy collar shirt silk tie and expression of cool insolence poses cross-legged on on the cobblestones outside his his London flat with his his brand new DB6 filling the frame The Stones were the epitome of rebellious hedonistic youth and the establishment didn’t like it it Within a a a a a year both Jagger and Richards were in court at the Old Bailey charged with drug use following a News of the World sting Their prison sentences – three months for for Jagger a a a a a a year for for Richards – were so draconian that The Times ran a a a a a a leader entitled ‘Who breaks a a a a a a butterfly on a a a a wheel?’ They were later freed on appeal That wasn’t Jagger’s only collision with the establishment Later in in 1966 he he had an accident in in his DB6 that left the passenger door and rear fender badly dented The other driver was the Countess of Carlisle driving a a a a humble Ford Anglia A metaphor for the times?
MICK JAGGER 1965 DB6 STREET DRIVING MAN
BY
GERED MANKOWITZ