Rocking Premiere of “Shine a Light”

Hundreds of excited fans of the Rolling Stones gathered in London’s Leicester Square for the UK premiere of Martin Scorsese’s documentary “Shine a Light.”

Scorsese mixed together old backstage moments, TV clips and interviews with live concert fragments to create an emotional history of the world’s biggest rock band.

When the director first told the band about his idea, they wanted a huge concert, filmed with about 50 cameras, with a public of 1 million people on the beach of Rio de Janeiro. But the famous director of “Gimme Shelter” and “The Last Waltz” had something else in mind. He decided to capture the band in a more intimate manner, inside the grand old 2,800-seat Beacon Theater on Broadway, using plenty of close-ups.

The concert was shot on two nights, one of them being the 60th birthday party for Bill Clinton in 2006. That is why the Clintons both feature in the movie.

Guitarist Ronnie Wood, aged 60, said the film only comprised a small part of their life as a rock band.

“It is only a little taster, just scratching the surface of our career, but it was good fun,” he said, according to BBC News.

Scorsese declared himself on several occasions as a big fan of the energetic rock band, associating their music with many aspects of his own life and childhood. That is why it was no surprise when the director used many of the group’s songs in his films.

The documentary includes some of the greatest hits of the Rolling Stones, such as “Brown Sugar,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Start me Up” and features guests like blues singer Buddy Guy or White Stripes vocal and guitarist Jack White, and even pop singer Christina Aguilera, although many fail to see her connection to the rock band.

Among the guests who showed up at the premiere were Liam Gallagher and his wife Nicole, DJ Alex Zane and actor Sean Maguire.

The four Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood – were all pleased about the film and expressed their enjoyment.