The Rolling Stones' 1975 Secret Show at The Bottom Line — Does a Recording Exist?

There is a recording of that night. A good audience tape circulates among collectors, capturing the Stones playing as “The Blue Jays” at The Bottom Line in New York on February 26, 1975. The show was a warm-up for the upcoming Tour of the Americas, and the band kept it small—capacity was only 400 people.

What makes the tape special: they debuted three songs that night that didn’t make it onto the setlist for the actual tour. “Luxury” from It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll got its only live performance ever. They also played “Cherry Oh Baby,” a reggae cover they’d just recorded but never released until later. And they ran through an early version of “Hand of Fate,” which wouldn’t appear on Black and Blue until 1976. No official release, but the bootleg (often called The Blue Jays at the Bottom Line) is worth hunting down.