Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed the Rolling Stones’ 1968 concert movie Rock And Roll Circus, recalled Mick Jagger rallying his bandmates amidst exhaustion.

The TV production was a showcase of British musicians, such as the Who, Eric Clapton, John Lennon. However, the Stones supposedly hated their own performance so much that the footage was unreleased for practically 30 years.

“The Stones didn’t come on until two in the morning,” Lindsay-Hogg told Uncut in a new interview. “They were the hosts; they’d been there all day, and we were now into December 12. The cameramen were weary. We did a couple of takes of each song. Gradually, it started grinding them down. It had been a long day, and they were sapped.”

“Mick then gave as great a rock ’n’ roll performance as I have ever seen,” Lindsay-Hogg said. “That’s him pulling out all the stops at five in the morning, pushing the entire band through. He’s saying, ‘Let my will be your will.’ It’s extraordinary.”

Read the full story on Ultimate Classic Rock.