The Rolling Stones onstage at Altamont, 1969 by Ethan Russell

We went in with high hopes. We left jammed into an overloaded helicopter, lucky to be alive. Some say it was the end of the 60s, and I agree. Some disagree but can't dispute that the feeling of devastation was total, then and later, as if everything had collapsed. Call it what you will.

There were 400,000 people packed behind the ones you see here. Suddenly there would be a ruckus and a 150 foot hole would open up and you could see beatings and hear screams. I wondered where all the people had gone that were just standing packed like sardines. Meredith Hunter would be standing just out of frame to the left.