Big picture: Groupies, by Baron Wolman – in pictures

They are a far cry from the “Apple scruffs” – giddy teenage girls who hung around Abbey Road studios and the Beatles’ homes in hope of a glimpse, a swoon and, in one case, a pair of Paul’s trousers. → Photograph: Baron Wolman

These are the exotic, sexually-sophisticated “super-groupies” of 1960s San Francisco, captured by photographer Baron Wolman for an entire issue of Rolling Stone magazine in February 1969. → Photograph: Baron Wolman

Whether they were hanging around Jefferson Airplane or the Grateful Dead was irrelevant; what mattered to these women was to dress up and parade like peacocks, in the hope of attracting the attention of rock stars. → Photograph: Baron Wolman

Sex was the ultimate goal, of course, but they weren’t just looking for guys to take home, Wolman says. “They were artists in their own right.” Several went on to join GTO (Girls Together Outrageously), an all-girl groupie band formed by Frank Zappa. → Photograph: Baron Wolman

Sally Mann (above) married Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane, developed a heroin addiction and is now a lawyer in Texas. → Photograph: Baron Wolman

Pamela des Barres (above), one of the best-known groupies from the period, went on to write a memoir, I’m With The Band. → Photograph: Baron Wolman

The smouldering Sanchez Twins (above) were very young – as soon as they were legal, Wolman took them out for a drink. “But I never got involved with anyone,” he says. “I wanted to maintain my objectivity.” → Photograph: Baron Wolman

During the shoots, the girls opened up to Wolman. The best part of the chase, they said, was calling their friends from the hotel room to say, “You’ll never guess where I am...”

Mach Schau presents Baron Wolman: The Groupies at 46/48 Beak Street, London W1, until 17 November. Reader offer: buy a signed print of Wolman’s Miss Pamela for £100, plus p&p (normally £500) for a limited time only; go to Mach Schau for details. Photograph: Baron Wolman