The Dirty Mac: When John Lennon recruited Eric Clapton and Keith Richards for blues supergroup

7 July 2025, 11:31

Some supergroups just happen to be more super than others.

Throughout rock history, there have been swathes of groups banded together from rock music's most virtuoso players.

We've surely all conjured our fantasy band line-up, cherry-picking the best members from our favourite bands and putting them together in a dream studio or stage.

Well, those unlikely concoctions of musicians from varying bands have frequently come to fruition - some being more believable than others.

Blues rockers Cream were widely considered one of the first impactful supergroups throughout the '60s, starting somewhat of a trend in the succeeding years.

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Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) were another, as were Led Zeppelin, the Traveling Wilburys, and outlaw troupe of the Highwaymen some years later.

One supergroup, however, became a thing of instant rock legend. Especially as nobody actually saw them perform for nearly 30 years.

So, who was this mythical band? The Dirty Mac, of course. Here's everything you need to know about the unbelievable supergroup.

Who were The Dirty Mac?

The Dirty Mac released no official music, and never appeared on the pop charts. They were seldom seen by anyone for that matter, yet still achieved legendary status.

But why? Because of the supergroup's line-up of illustrious band members, that's why.

Eric Clapton has his fingers in a lot of pies when it came to music-making, forming supergroup Cream and later Blind Faith.

He was also a key member of supergroup The Dirty Mac, though the latter didn't even hang around as long his first two short-lived rock music assemblies.

It certainly helped the two of the group's players were also from two of the era's most influential bands.

The Beatles' John Lennon and The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards banded together, as did Jimi Hendrix's talented drummer Mitch Mitchell.

This unique coming together between major players – who all altered the musical universe throughout the '60s with their own creative ventures – was very nearly locked away in the vault, left only as a memory for those who saw them in the flesh.

When did The Dirty Mac perform?

The Dirty Mac only came together for one performance publicly, and even then, it was barely seen by anybody outside the room for three decades.

The insanely talented individual band mates were brought together by The Rolling Stones, or their planned TV special, The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus.

If one group had the cachet to pull rock music's glitterati together for one night at Fossett's Big Top (well, a sound stage in Wembley's Intertel Studio) it was Mick Jagger and company.

Marianne Faithfull, Jethro Tull (who appeared alongside Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi), Taj Mahal and The Who all joined the bill curated by The Rolling Stones.

It was a true one-off of a variety show, but was sadly shelved by The Rolling Stones who were dissatisfied by their own performances on the night.

The theatrical concert achieved a fabled reputation – likely because of its fairytale line-up of guests – before its eventual release on VHS in 1996.

The release unveiled what rock music fans had long regaled over and could now see with their own eyes: a band made up of Lennon, Richards, Clapton and Mitchell.

What song did The Dirty Mac play?

The Dirty Mac - Yer Blues (Official Video) [4K]

After a brief (and bizarre) exchange with Mick Jagger, John Lennon introduced himself as "Winston Leg-Thigh" before joining his one-time band mates on stage.

He, Richards, Clapton and Mitchell then rolled through a crackling rendition of The Beatles' track 'Yer Blues', which had featured on The Beatles recently released White Album.

Lennon wrote the song as a jab at the British blues scene which was dominating much of the rock music that came out of the country at the time, whilst The Beatles made a point of experimenting musically.

There's a touch of irony then, that he recruited blues virtuoso Eric Clapton (a close friend of fellow Beatle George Harrison) and Keith Richards who made a career out of imitating America's blues trailblazers.

Still, the four-piece proved they were as incendiary as any band in rock music. It's just a shame they performed just one song together.

What were The Dirty Mac named after?

Continuing the thread of having a dig at the British blues scene's expense, even the name The Dirty Mac was a sly prod.

A play on words on Fleetwood Mac, Lennon was riffing off of the success of Peter Green's group who were leading the way during the late '60s blues boom.

Never to take it too seriously however, the name was only meant as a throwaway, as The Dirty Mac would never play together again.

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On the night at The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus they did step on stage again, accompanied by Yoko Ono and violinist extraordinaire Ivry Gitlis on an improvised 'Whole Lotta Yoko'.

Dreams were made for many fans of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cream and the like, with this one-off star-studded coming together.

How likely was it that they'd ever play again? Well, incredibly unlikely given that Lennon wanted out of The Beatles, Cream broke up months later as did his subsequent supergroup Blind Faith, and Mitch Mitchell was later ousted by Jimi Hendrix in favour of Buddy Miles.

Still, rock music mythology was made on this night. Stuff like this doesn't seem to happen nowadays so it's certainly a moment to savour.