Duncan Raban

My day with the Rolling Stones

A day in the life of the Rolling Stones

I was in a pub at 8:30 having a pint with some friends on a Tuesday evening it was pouring down with rain. My mobile rang and it was a publicist I know for Mick Jagger, from the Rolling Stones. He said Duncan can you go to Ireland tomorrow morning to photograph a few a quick photos of the Rolling Stones. I said are you joking! He said “no”.

If you can go you need to snap them at 12 o’clock tomorrow standing at the gate of Ronnie Woods’s house in cork. You will be picked up at the airport security at 11am and be driven to Ronnie’s house, where you will wait at the gate with security and the band will come down the drive for a couple of photos. It will take you five minutes to do, and then you will be driven back to Cork airport to catch the 1oclock flight back to London Heathrow.

However things didn’t quite go to plan that way. The next 36 hours became one of the most eventful 2 days in my photography career. I arrived at the airport for 11am where there where two chaps where waiting to pick me up, I got into a transit van when they said it’s about a 40 minute drive to Ronnie’s house. When we get near to Ronnie Woods house we will have to blindfold you as the house is a secret location. So 40 minutes later I put a blindfold on, we went up a bumpy track and then we stopped at a gate, a message then came through security that Mick Jagger and Charlie would be late, so would have to wait an hour or so.

The gate was opened and we drove up into a courtyard in front of a beautiful Irish manor house. As I stepped out of the van a gigantic white Great Dane was hurtling towards me, and jumped up on my shoulders licking me and pushed me over. Then Ronnie Wood ran over to help me up, as I got myself straight,Keith Richards wandered an>over to the van holding a pint of Guinness and said oh you must be Duncan “The chosen one! “ You’re going to have to hang out for a while as Mick will be a few hours. Ronnie then apologised about the dog, said he was a rescued dog and very excitable and loves people. Then Keith and Ronnie said do you fancy a pint of Guinness? I said “oh yes ok” he said well come with us then.

We walked over to a barn, and Keith opened the door to an amazing room full of antiques, suits of armour and colour. At one end was a beautiful bar where Ronnie poured me a pint of Guinness, so here I was sitting with Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards drinking Guiness.They made me so welcome, as if I was just an old pal and I was pretty nervous to say the least. We just sat and chatted about normal life for a while they were so cool and interesting. All I could see was amazing photo opportunities in front of me, I told Ronnie my mother was an artist, so Ronnie then showed me round the various barns and his artist studs where he paints. When we got back to Keith he was sitting playing with Grace the Great Dane. It was then I said do you mind if I take a new candid snaps? And Keith said sure go ahead man, “Capture life you have to treasure every moment”. I cannot tell you how weird I felt, sitting chatting to one of the world’s most iconic rock stars in the world! It was as if he was an old pal, I was at school with, he was just “so charming and so bloody intelligent.

Over 2 hours I had several pints of guiness.One funny moment was when I said to Ronnie I like those black jeans, where are they from? And he turned around and said “oh gap great value Duncan” Around 4oclock Mick Jagger arrived with Charlie, Mick said where shall we do this group photo? I said well I was told by the front gate and Keith said oh we can’t be bothered to walk down there, i said how about we walk around the garden, and we find a nice location. So here I was on my own walking around with the legends of all time in Ronnie woods gardens, with the very relax rolling stones and an albino great dane.We walked and chatted for half an hour and I just took a few candid snaps as the group chatted together.

Charlie Watts was such a gentleman, he was so so cool, and I mean ice cool.” It was Micks Birthday so I had a cake made in the shape of the 60’s guitar which I think me giving him this, helped make the meeting pretty chilled. Then later on we went back to the barn and Keith and Ronnie appeared with another Guinness for me. It was 5.00pm and if this day had not been eventful and magical enough. I was sitting in the Ronnie woods kitchen with Keith and their wives, I was telling some jokes over a pot of tea, When Ronnie’s wife Jo said do you want to stay for dinner and go back tomorrow?

At this moment I was perplexed and said are you joking, at that moment my mobile rang. It was a London taxi driver I knew well, who raced go karts. He said Duncan can you talk! As tomorrow morning at 8am Princess Diana will be with Prince William and Harry at go kart racing, I said are you 90% sure’!

So here I was in Ronnie Wood's kitchen being asked to stay for dinner? I had a flight at 7pm to London, should I stay at Ronnie woods house I thought? A once in a lifetime opportunity which never happens to anyone or go home and try to photograph Princess Diana and her children that may not even be happening. Well I have to be honest; I was so nervous at the fact of having dinner with the Rolling Stones that I packed up and went to the airport.

It turned out the next day I was balanced 100 ft up a tree at 5am in Kent with an 800mm lens where I took a huge set of Princess Diana and her children and got 18 pages in all the top magazines and papers. This is a long story for another blog. My photos of “The Rolling Stones “where published all over the world.

A day in the life with the Rolling Stones where two days I will never forget.