The Rolling Stones album “Beggars Banquet” was released in December 1968; the photoshoot took place a few months before the album’s release, in the summer of 1968. During this time, the Rolling Stones were at the height of their fame and creative powers, and “Beggars Banquet” marked a return to their blues and rock roots after experimenting with psychedelia on their previous album, “Their Satanic Majesties Request.”
Photographer Michael Joseph shot the photoshoot for the album cover at Sarum Chase, the country home of Mick Jagger’s then-girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull. The iconic cover features a graffiti-covered bathroom wall with the band’s name scrawled in the background and the band members standing in front of it in semi-formal attire. The cover was initially intended to feature a toilet seat with the album title on it, but the idea was ultimately nixed.
During the shoot, the band members were in good spirits and enjoying themselves, despite some tension between Jagger and Keith Richards over the direction of the band’s music. The resulting images capture the raw energy and rebellious spirit that characterized the Rolling Stones at this pivotal moment in their career. The album itself is now considered a classic of the rock genre.
