The Rolling Stones' Hells Angels Security

African American teen Meredith Hunter was attacked by Hells Angels.Meredith Hunter attended the show.Meredith Hunter went to the front of the audience with his white girlfriend as the Rolling Stones took the stage. Hunter brought arms for self-protection from the Hells Angels, telling his girlfriend, "They're getting really bad. They're pushing people off the stage, and beating people up." Hunter climbed a speaker box near the stage to get a better view, but a Hells Angel pulled him down and punched him.

Several other Angels approached Hunter, so he ran into the crowd and pulled out his gun to scare the bikers. The Angels struck back, sticking a blade into Hunter. Some bystanders tried to help by moving him to a medical tent, but several Angels blocked the shortest path and would not let them pass. Hunter reached the tent eventually, but he died before the Stones finished their set.

Only people near Altamont knew about the incident because of the crowd size; others heard about it on the news the next day. Months later, a court cleared Hells Angel Alan Passaro, who allegedly caused Hunter's death. Hunter's family stated neither the Rolling Stones nor anyone in Altamont's group sent condolences or apologies.

The tragedy of Meredith Hunter became the most remembered event at Altamont, but it was not the only time someone got hurt.Three other people died at the event. One man died in an irrigation canal he was warned not to enter, and two others suffered from a hit and run in the parking lot. Mick Taylor said, "About five minutes after we arrived, just after we got out of the helicopter, I was with Mick [Jagger] and there were a couple of security guards with us, and a guy broke through and punched [Jagger] in the face."Three other people died at the event. One man died in an irrigation canal he was warned against entering. Two others suffered from a hit and run in the parking lot. Mick Taylor said, "About five minutes after we landed, after exiting the helicopter, Mick [Jagger] and a couple of security guards were with me. A guy broke through and punched [Jagger] in the face."

One Hells Angels member...jabbed Stephen Stills in the leg with a bicycle spoke several times.Denise Jewkes, the Ace of Cups, fractured her skull from a thrown beer bottle hitting her leg with a bicycle. While Jefferson Airplane played, Marty Balin saw Angels attack a man near the stage. Balin tried to stop the fight. An Angel struck him during the scuffle, knocking Balin out and causing him to miss the rest of his band's set.

Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead managers Sam Cutler and Rock Scully claim they never asked...They claimed they never asked.The Hells Angels used their bikes as a barrier and parked them in front of the stage. That is exactly what happened. Hells Angel Sonny Barger recalled, "We come down on our bikes because we were told we were supposed to park in front of the stage." "We come down in low gear and didn't try to run into anybody or do any of that kind of thing. Everybody got up really nice, some people offered us drinks on the way down."

As the crowds pushed forward to get closer to the stage, they...They came into contact.The Angels drove their bikes through the crowd, causing several to fall over and one to short out, starting a small fire. The Angels grew angry protecting their motorcycles. Barger said, "I ain't no cop. I just went there to sit on the front of the stage and drink beer and have a good time, like we was told. But when they started kickin' our bikes, man, that started it. I ain't no peace creep, man, but if a cat don't wanna fight me, I wanna be his friend."

Members of the The Hells Angels began kickingThe Angels punched and hit concertgoers with shortened pool cues. Wine, speed, and acid fueled their behavior. The Angels pursued people who came too close to the stage. They also interfered with bands to reach those they felt broke the rules.

They walked across the stage during sets. They grabbed microphones from people making announcements. They gunned bike engines while bands played, drowning out the music. A photographer took pictures of the Angels, and his film got confiscated, leaving him with a swollen face. Between 100 and 200 Angels stood on the stage all show, leaving little room for the bands to perform.

Angel Sonny Barger stated their behavior matched why they were hired.

The Angels never sought large trouble on purpose. They always showed up at gatherings, but no one asked them to guard a stage. This time they were. Guarding a stage means guarding it. If anyone nears it, you deal with them. In the Angels' style, you deal with them.

The Grateful Dead helped organize the event.The Grateful Dead did not appear.The Grateful Dead did not appear at the Altamont festival.The Grateful Dead took the stage after the Rolling Stones.The Rolling Stones saw the unrest start. They chose not to play. The band moved to their helicopter. They left Altamont while the Stones stayed on stage.

This may have cleared the Grateful Dead of some blame for what happened at the festival. Many people accused the band of abandoning fans by doing nothing to fix things. They argued the Stones played on and tried to calm everyone. The Grateful Dead likely could not stop the violence. However, since they vouched for the Hells Angels and recommended them as security, many felt they shared some responsibility for the bikers at Altamont.

Stories about the tragedy at the venue reached the Rolling Stones.The Rolling Stones reached the hotel several hours before they took the stage.The band considered leaving the event. Their duties to the organizers and fans convinced them to stay. Keith Richards thought Altamont "was basically well-handled, but lots of people were tired and a few tempers got frayed." At least one bandmate disagreed with that view.

Mick Taylor returned home shaken after the event, recalling what he saw.

It was barbaric. So much aggression took the enjoyment out of it. I could not enjoy the music or anything because most of the atrocities happened right in front of the stage, right in front of our eyes.

The Hells Angels had a role. They acted like a security force, using it as an excuse. Perhaps the only security needed was for the Hells Angels.

Performers on the stage tried to keep the peace.Carlos Santana remembered.. Carlos SantanaMick Taylor said:We had to keep stopping in the middle of numbers. Jagger tried to cool the people down. He did everything to cool them. Afterwards, we were speechless. We did not enjoy it. We might have walked off stage at one point, but that would have been a disaster. We just had to keep playing our best.

Altamont organizers paid the Hells Angels $500 worth of beer for their security services.

The Rolling Stones repeatedly stopped their set so Mick Jagger could tell the crowd to "be cool." JaggerThe Dead worked with the Angels, but put them in a situation they did not know. They went to an unknown place, faced an audience 100 times larger, and became the only security leaders for a show that big.Organizers gave the Angels no specific orders for their job. When asked how to handle the crowd, Rolling Stones' road manager Sam Cutler allegedly told the Angels, "We don’t give a f*ck. Just keep these people away." Cutler denies telling the crew they could park bikes in front or stand on stage, but the Angels acted on his words.

Keith Richards spoke to the crowd differently. He added, "Hey, if you don't cool it, you won't hear music!"

Mick Taylor said:

The organizers paid the Angels in beer and gave them no specific instructions.

Altamont organizers paid the Hells Angels for their security work.The organizers gave the Hells Angels $500 worth of beer.. Saul Austerlitz thought about theRemembered.behavior that day, and the environment did too. He explained:

The Dead had worked with the Angels before. Now, they put them in a setup the Angels did not know. They went to a place they did not know. They managed an audience maybe 100 times bigger. They became the only people in charge of security for a show that size.

Organizers gave the Angels no specific orders for their job. When asked how to handle the crowd, the Rolling Stones' road manager Sam Cutler allegedly told the Angels, "We don’t give a f*ck. Just keep these people away." Cutler denies telling the crew they could park bikes in front or stand on the stage, but the Angels took his words to mean they could do what they thought was necessary.

"They were not supposed to get on the stage, but they thought their spot was on the stage, so that is where they went," promoter Ron Schneider recalled.

Just before the Altamont festival, the Rolling Stonesstarted a comeback tour.They hired the Hells Angels as security for a Hyde Park show in London, unaware the groupThe Stones had no affiliation.with the California bikers and shared no temperament. Instead of using pool cues, the English group drank tea and let the police handle security.

Since Mick Jagger, he didn't want to use them.He didn't want to use them.the police as security at their Altamont show, they hired the real Hells Angels because the Grateful Dead suggested they hadHe lacked experience with them.voluntarily watched the stage and helped lost children at a prior show. Jerry Garcia recalled, "We both exist in essentially the same area and we both know each other exists." "But we know that they are Hells Angels and they're capable of doing a lot of pretty amazing things. We just stay out of their way."

As the Angels' actions worsened, the Stones saw their mistake. Others,including David Crosby,thought the result was clear. He said, "I don't know why anyone would expect them to do anything other than exactly what they did." "The mistake was thinking security was needed, and that the Angels should do it... To them an Angel is something in between Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper."

According to, the Angels sent less experienced members to the show for security.author Saul Austerlitz,the Hells Angels did not care what people thought. They had no concern about public reaction to their Altamont actions. Some blamed their actions on the fact that their reputation made audiences challenge them, but they also sent less experienced Angels to the gig.

A conflict with an officers' meeting required the attendance of the top-ranking Angels. Many bikers arriving at the show began as young and inexperienced. Their actions might have gained force from their desire to prove themselves. Several Altamont attendees also reportedly saw themselves asThese were the possible recruits.and committed illegal acts to get the Angels' attention.

Besides lacking water, food, and bathrooms, the Altamont organizersThe aggression caused many people to have bad trips; they failed to set up.proper medical facilities. The medical team had to treat people with skull fractures and deep cuts from Hells Angels, plus expected issues like minor cuts or bad trips. Organizers gave them only four medical tents, no helicopter access for emergencies, no communication system, and refused to turn on backstage lights so workers could see patients.

Doctors at one tent near the stage treated twelve victims with skull lacerations and fractured facial bones. The Altamont incident also worsened bad trips for many people, exhausting the anti-psychotic sedative thorazine. Richard Fine, chairman of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, recalled, "A lot of the bad trips were aggressive because there was so much of that in the air." "There were a lot of beatings. I sewed up a lot of girls."

Everyone involved with Altamont quickly blamed someone else for the outcome.Mick Jagger blamed someone else for the outcome.The Angels tried to take out Mick Jagger because he blamed them.Mick Jagger tried to distance himself from the incident and vowed never to hire the Hells Angels again. His failure to take responsibility angered the Angels, who argued they should not have hired a group prone to barbarism if that was their goal. Sonny Barger remembered, "Mick Jagger used us for dupes, man. We were the biggest suckers for that idiot that I ever can see."He vowed never to hire the Hells Angels again following the incident. His refusal to take responsibility angered the Angels. They argued they should not have hired a group prone to barbarism if that was their goal. Sonny Barger remembered, "Mick Jagger used us for dupes, man. We were the biggest suckers for that idiot that I ever can see."

Years later, the FBI revealed Jagger's reaction angered the Angels enough to plot an attack on the singer. The report states they planned to ambush Jagger at his Long Island vacation home. A group of Angels got a boat, planning to sneak onto his property from the sea to avoid security. A storm ruined their plan; rough waves flipped the boat, forcing the group back to land. The FBI kept the failed attempt secret for years, never telling Jagger how close he came to revenge from the Angels.

Some Hells Angels used fists, boots, and pool cues.They brought side arms.One member named Hawkeye claimed he carried a gun and three blades, weapons he would use happily. He also planned to print fake money, which he would use to buy substances from concertgoers along with some friends.

Seeing the crowd's state, the Angels abandoned their plan and took whatever they wanted. They seized substances and money from anyone who carried it openly. Since the Angels held the highest authority at Altamont, victims had no one to hear their complaints.

Before the festival, the largest crowd at the Altamont Speedway had been...6,500 people.Despite that number, promoter and manager Dick Carter claimed 80,000 cars would fit. Organizers estimated between...50,000and 100,000 people would attend. As huge numbers arrived at 7:30 am on show day, they knew they underestimated the crowd size. By day's end, about 300,000 people showed up.about 300,000 peoplehad shown up.

Tickets were free. Many top bands signed on. Thousands arrived at the venue. Traffic jams stretched eight miles. People left cars to walk. Livermont folks gave rides for five dollars. Thousands who walked alone got lost. They parked in roads. They walked through farmland or along tracks. Some went the wrong way. Many got their cars towed.

San Francisco refused to give the Rolling Stones a permit toplay in Golden Gate ParkThe Sears Point Raceway would not let the band play without handing over filming rights. Organizers picked Altamont Speedway. This happened only 36 hours before the event. The site was remote. It was barren. It was not festival-friendly. It offered no food, water, or bathrooms. Since it was forty-two miles from the Bay Area, thousands drove. This caused miles of traffic jams.miles of traffic jams.

Organizers built a stage only hip height. This made it hard for many audience members to see the performers as crowds grew. The Hells Angels built a barrier with their motorcycles in front of the stage. This was the only thing separating the crowds from the stage: a thin ropea thin rope. Jefferson Airplane began their set, and the rope was down.

"I went right to the front and sat down with the person I'd come with," Greil Marcus recalled. "It felt safe, except for [those on acid], and then the Angels. People were unfriendly, territorial, selfish—a weird flip of Woodstock, just months after I was there."

Alameda County sheriffs agreed. They felt outnumbered by the Hells Angels at Altamont, so they chose not to get involved.

Author Saul Austerlitz states the Hells Angels' actions at Altamontchanged public viewsof them. Many Americans knew the group from Hunter S. Thompson's book, "Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga," and their appearances breaking up Berkeley anti-Vietnam demonstrations. Many people linked the bikers to the versions in movies likeHells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga, and their appearances breaking up Berkeley anti-Vietnam demonstrations, many people associated the bikers with the versions in movies likeThe Wild Ones. Austerlitztheorized:

After Altamont, the Angels moved toward full-on criminality. They showed the underworld they could be loyal to each other and to an organization.

After Altamont, the group split from other counterculture movements sharing a dislike for government systems. They started acting as substance dealers,tough brawlers, and federal authorities called them outlaws.