Rolling Stones: we visited the exhibition in Marseille in preview with Philippe Maneuver

At the Rolling Stones, it's an elevator that leads to paradise.

And at 25 euros, it's worth the detour in Marseille.

We are greeted by a huge red neon "Ladies and gentlemen".

A planisphere shows on a wall the figures of their concerts since 1961. And they make you dizzy.

In 2019, they stop on 42 tours, 53 countries visited and 48.7 million spectators.

In the next piece, 47 screens tell the story of the world's greatest and oldest rock group in four minutes.

Scandals and deaths included.

We instantly dive into the legend.

The beginnings are in black and white.

The first official photo of the group taken in 1962, the small Gretsch drums of the great Charlie Watts, the first guitars of Keith Richards, the tiny notebooks in which he commented on their first concerts and the improvements to be made, the contract signed in 1963 by their first leader, guitarist Brian Jones, who died in 1969… It's moving, like the meticulous reconstruction of their modest London apartment in Edith Grove, where they created their first songs.

The kitchen is a mess of rare dirt, the living room and the bedroom are in a mess, we hear an old record of the bluesman Muddy Waters ...

"We have rarely seen such an ambitious retrospective"

"It's open doors at the Stones", launches Philippe Maneuver, the godfather of the French stopover of this exhibition, created by the group and its team in 2013 in London, under the title "Exhibitionism". We share his enthusiasm. Rarely have we seen such an ambitious and rich retrospective, with such a wealth of detail and staging over 2,000 m2. Like the reconstruction of the legendary London studio Olympic, where the Stones recorded the album "Beggars Banquet". Everything is there, the mixing console, the original amps and instruments, the images from Jean-Luc Godard's film on the recording, and the Stones' explanations of their working methods. Covid requires, no headphones, but visit conditions should be good. Reception is limited to 200 people and by reservation.

Among the 400 objects presented, we counted 21 guitars and 48 costumes, stage and city.

“It's the royal treasure,” Philippe Maneuver summarizes.

I was very moved when the boxes were opened and the items checked one by one by a usher in white gloves.

"

The public will be able to discover no less than 21 guitars used by the Rolling Stones.

LP / Olivier Lejeune

“They arrived from the previous exhibition in the Netherlands by truck and under police escort,” specifies Martin d'Argenlieu, the stadium's general manager. We secure them as we would with valuable jewelry or paintings. We adapted our living rooms to the exhibition, created each piece to measure. Due to the pandemic, the Stones team could not come, but everything was done in constant contact with their artistic director and their lighting designer, with the greatest respect for the myth. "

The space dedicated to the style of the Stones reminds us how much they were fashion icons very early on… The greatest designers, like Tommy Hilfiger, explain in video how they broke the codes and also launched trends in this field.

“We all dressed like them, remembers Philippe Maneuver.

In high school, I put a turtleneck under my shirt, like Brian Jones, and got kicked home.

"

The story of a logo that has become legendary

The language of the Stones, which has become one of the most powerful logos in history, also has its space and its history. Mick Jagger discovers in an Indian grocery store in London a representation of the goddess Kali sticking out her tongue. In 1970, he called the College of Art in London and asked his best student to look into the file to illustrate a European tour. In 1970, John Pasche was paid 50 pounds (58 euros) for his first drawing. The space on the design of their shows is one of the most exciting. The stage that opened like a lotus in 1971, the models of their “Voodoo Lounge”, “Steel Wheels” and “Bridges to Babylon” tours fascinate with their creativity and their visionary power.

The space dedicated to the style of the Stones recalls how they were fashion icons very early on, as here with the stage costumes for "Sympathy For The Devil". LP / Olivier Lejeune

Only small regret, the many links between the Stones and France are not the subject of a specific space.

They are disseminated through the exhibition, like the former Parisian studios Pathé Marconi and the epic recording of the double album “Exile On Main Street” in 1971, at the Villa Nellcôte, in Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes).

Michel Gondry, who directed the clip for "Like A Rolling Stone", is quoted in the small room where videos and film clips are shown, just like the wedding of Mick and Bianca Jagger in Saint-Tropez in 1971, with a handful relatives surrounded by a crowd of journalists and fans.

“The exhibition is designed to travel around the world,” recalls Martin d'Argenlieu.

After Marseille, she will go to Toronto.

It will close on September 5th.

Do not miss it !

EDITOR'S RATING: 5/5

“Unzipped” exhibition,

at the Orange Vélodrome stadium in Marseille until September 5, Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm, at night on Friday until 10 pm; 15 euros (6-11 years), 19 euros (12-25 years) and 25 euros; reservations on

the site www.orange.velodrome.com.