Nick Broomfield’s The Stones & Brian Jones is due out in May

Nick Broomfield’s new documentary The Stones & Brian Jones uncovers the true story and legacy of Brian Jones, the founder and the lost creative genius of the band. The film will premiere on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in mid-May as part of a new series of films for the flagship Arts strand, Arena.

As a schoolboy aged 14, Nick Broomfield met Brian Jones, by chance, on a train. Brian was at the height of his success, with the world at his feet, yet just six years later he would be dead.

THE STONES & BRIAN JONES looks at the relationships and rivalries within The Rolling Stones in those formative years. It explores the iconoclastic freedom and exuberance of the 60s, a time of intergenerational conflict and sexual turmoil which reflects on where we are today.

Featuring revealing interviews with all the main players and unseen archive released for the first time, THE STONES & BRIAN JONES explores the creative musical genius of Jones, key to the success of the band, and uncovers how the founder of what became the greatest rock & roll band in the world was left behind in the shadows of history.

Nick Broomfield says of his inspiration to make the film, “The Rolling Stones were a major influence in my formative years. Brian and Mick were heroes of the day, their rebellion and breaking of the rules were a great inspiration to us. Making this film was an opportunity for me to look at that formative growing up time until the shock of Brian’s death in 1969, the darkest moment in the history of The Stones, when things changed.”

Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor, BBC Arts said “We’re proud to bring BBC viewers Nick’s powerful and personal film as part of the Arena strand; his new documentary sheds fresh light on a remarkable musician and his tumultuous times.”

For decades among the foremost names in documentary (more recently for My Father and Me, Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, Whitney: Can I Be Me, Tales of The Grim Sleeper), director Nick Broomfield studied at the National Film School under Professor Colin Young who had a great influence on his work, encouraging participant observation, as well as introducing him to filmmaker Joan Churchill. Together Nick and Joan made several films Juvenile Liaison, Tattooed Tears, Soldier Girls, Lily Tomlin as well as Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Nick was originally influenced by the observational style of Fred Wiseman, Robert Leacock and Pennebaker, before moving on largely by accident to the more idiosyncratic style for which he is better known.

Nick Broomfield is the recipient of awards including Sundance First Prize, BAFTA, Prix Italia, Dupont Peabody Award, Grierson Award, Hague Peace Prize, Amnesty International Doen Award.

ARENA: THE STONES & BRIAN JONES will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in mid-May. It is a co-commission between BBC Arts and BBC Music and the commissioning editors are Mark Bell and Jan Younghusband.