The Dirty Mac

The Dirty Mac

The Dirty Mac were a one-time English supergroup consisting of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell that Lennon put together for The Rolling Stones' TV special entitled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Recorded on 11 December 1968, this was the first time since the formation of The Beatles that Lennon, who was still in the group, had performed in public without them. The Dirty Mac recorded a rendition of the Lennon-penned Beatles track "Yer Blues" and then went on to back up Yoko Ono and violinist Ivry Gitlis on a track called "Whole Lotta Yoko" (essentially an extended blues jam on top of which Ono improvised free-form vocalizations). The name, thought of by Lennon, was a play on "Fleetwood Mac" who at that time were a very popular band in the United Kingdom. When asked what type of guitar amp Lennon would like to use for the performance his answer was "One that plays."

In 1996, The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus album of the event was issued, concurrently with a home video of the event. The DVD issue followed in 2004.

Members

• Eric Clapton - lead guitar (from Cream)
• John Lennon (as "Winston Leg-Thigh") - vocals, rhythm guitar (from The Beatles)
• Mitch Mitchell - drums (from The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
• Keith Richards - bass (from The Rolling Stones)

Also performed with

• Yoko Ono - vocals
• Ivry Gitlis - violin