Mick Jagger and David Bowie, The Prince’s Trust, Wembley Arena, 1986

A new exhibition at the Lucy Bell Gallery explores the Rolling Stones’s enigmatic allure, offering fans and admirers an intimate glimpse behind the scenes of one of the most iconic bands of all time, with many previously unseen images. Photographer Brian Aris says: ‘In 1981 I was invited to fly to Boston to photograph the Stones as they prepared for their upcoming world tour with rehearsals in a secret location deep in the New England countryside’. Rare Stones can be seen at the Lucy Bell Gallery, London until 5 May

Mick Jagger, Holborn Studios, 1983

Brian Aris’s unique access to the band during their early 80s era allowed him to reveal candid moments and unseen facets of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman and others

Mick Jagger, USA

Brian Aris: ‘This image of Mick was taken behind the scenes on a video shoot in the States for the single Going to a Go-Go in 1982. The track also appeared on the album Still Life. With Mick dressed casually in a white T-shirt and jeans, while wearing the obligatory western-style boots, it presented a great opportunity for a picture that still remains one of my favourite shots of Mick’

Keith the Flasher, Bains-Douches, Paris, 1983

‘I spent a week at Long View Farm, where a large barn had been converted into a state-of-the-art sound stage, together with live-in accommodation in various outbuildings within the compound, where the band stayed along with family members’

Keith and Ronnie, Paris, 1983

‘I will never forget those nightly rehearsal sessions. They would start every evening at sundown, when the group’s regular accompanying pianist Ian Stewart, known as “the sixth Stone”, would get the proceedings under way by wandering on to the stage alone and playing amplified boogie woogie at full volume, which was like a clarion call to arms for the rest of the band. One by one, they would assemble. Bass guitarist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts would usually be the first to arrive’

Ronnie Wood, Les Bains-Douches, Paris, 1983

‘Keith and Ronnie would then appear, tuning up and joining in. Finally, Mick would stroll on stage and check the microphone. The extraordinary thing was that hardly any words would be exchanged up to this point, and then, once everybody was in place, and ready to roll, there would be a nod from Mick and they would launch into a warm-up session of classic up-tempo numbers’

Charlie Watts, Long View Farm, 1981

‘Despite spending days at Long View Farm, the group’s enigmatic drummer Charlie Watts studiously avoided my camera. I photographed the other band members but Charlie was always absent. Thankfully, he did show up for the group shots when we finally managed to get the band together in one place. And I was able to shoot him behind his drum kit at rehearsals – just that felt like quite an achievement’

Ronnie Wood, Paris, 1983

‘Several other sessions followed – with the group as a whole and also with individual members. Ronnie Wood was also a talented painter’

Mick Jagger, Long View Farm, 1981

‘To be present on these occasions was a rare and uniquely exhilarating experience. I would go out in front of the stage with my camera, working with very fast film as there was very little light in the dimly lit building, all the time thinking how privileged I was to be there with an opportunity to capture the Stones in the raw, as it were’

Group Shot, Long View Farm, 1981

The special chemistry that existed between the band as artists, collaborators and friends is revealed in these photographs. ‘No fancy costumes or makeup; no expensive lighting rig; just an amazing group of musicians really enjoying themselves and making great music’

Keith, Undercover of the Night Still, 1983

One of Brian’s sessions with the Stones included a trip to Paris, where the band filmed the video for Undercover of the Night

Bill Wyman, Holborn Studios, 1983

‘Many of these images have never previously been seen, but with the band going out on tour this year – “maybe for the last time, I don’t know”, to quote a line from one of their greatest hits! – it felt like this was a perfect opportunity to raid my archives and create some new prints to show at the Lucy Bell Gallery, as Rare Stones’