As he turned 80 on July 26, Michael Philip Jagger, known to the whole world as Mick Jagger, can be said to have created a brand of his own – in and outside the Rolling Stones, thanks to his solo albums, his side projects and, of course, to himself.
This writer saw the rock icon, then 70 or so, perform live as a member of the Rolling Stones in Abu Dhabi, in February 2014, as part of the band’s ’14 On Fire’ tour covering Japan, Macau, China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Writing then, I had said, “In the 19 songs spanning precisely two hours, Mick Jagger remained outstanding and freakishly youthful with his swaggering walk intact, but with a wrinkle-filled face now, showcasing his limited yet valuable talent of playing guitar on numerous occasions, interacting with the audience at every conceivable moment by having them clap or aiding them to complete passages from the chorus and, of course, culminating with his typical sense of humour.”
Today, some ten years after that, nothing appears to have changed. Jagger, remains an integral part of youth culture even after all these years. Leading one of the most iconic and influential rock ‘n’ roll bands, while passing the eight-decade mark, Jagger is still the incarnation of a prediction he made years ago, during an August 1972 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, hosted by the eponymous American comedian and author. Cavett asked a then 29-year-old Jagger if he could picture himself at the age of 60, performing the way he performed as a young man, and Jagger was quick to reply, “Yeah, easily.” Cavett, unable to resist sarcasm, quipped: “Really? Going onstage with a cane and moving the way you do?” Jagger provided Cavett a fitting response: “There’s a lot of people that do it at 60 (and) they seem to still get their rocks off.” Now, he is doing it 20 years after that age. Go figure!
From that fateful day in 1960 Chicago, when former schoolmate Keith Richards spied Jagger carrying two vinyl albums in hand – ‘Rockin’ At The Hops’ by Chuck Berry and ‘The Best Of Muddy Waters’ – on a train platform and started a conversation, leading to the formation of the Rolling Stones, Jagger has singlehandedly invented the idea of not a solo singer, and not merely a band member – but a frontman, and, ever since then, most musicians have been imitating this progenitor.
From make-up to head-wear and his howling – he sang in ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’: “And I howled at the morning drivin’ rain” – to yowling vocals and, needless to say, his attitude-driven lyrics. How often does one begin the chorus of a song with “Rape! Murder! It’s just a shot away…”, which Jagger wrote in ‘Gimme Shelter’ in 1969, which still remains as topical as ever throughout the world.
Then, there is Jagger’s sexuality that can be traced from the lyrics from that same year’s ‘Honky Tonk Women’, in which he writes about meeting “a gin-soaked bar-room queen in Memphis” (for the trivia-minded, there’s a country rendition called “Country Honk” containing slightly different lyrics, which appeared on the ‘Let It Bleed’ album, which is also worthy listening). It has been suggested – most notably in Lesley Ann-Jones’ 2022 book, The Stone Age: Sixty Years Of The Rolling Stones – that the ladies man Jagger has had multiple affairs with men too.
Indeed, alongside contemporaries Elton John and David Bowie, Jagger has proved throughout his career that it is possible to make outré statements of both self and style without undermining artistic integrity or popular appeal. Instead, Jagger used such announcements to bolster his position as a precedent-setter, especially with Jagger’s fashion sense turning a law unto itself with his penchant for striking trousers, fur coats and blousy silk shirts, despite Bowie having once said: “I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realised that, to many people, he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image.” Taking sexual extremes to another level, in 1997, Jagger played the role of a transvestite, Greta, in the film adaptation of Martin Sherman’s play Bent.
Mick Jagger performing in London, 2018. Photo: Raph_PH/CC BY 2.0
Nevertheless, Jagger has always been a rebel. When the Rolling Stones made their 1967 debut on ‘Sunday Night At The London Palladium’, a British TV-based variety programme, Jagger – even when threatened with being thrown off the show – insisted that the Stones be the first act ever not to appear with the rest of the cast on a revolving podium during the finale. Jagger became an actor too, but also honestly and bluntly admitted to his failings; after appearing in the title role of 2003’s Ned Kelly, he admitted: “That was a load of shit!”
Jagger’s best creative moments have always arrived as a collaborator. No better example than the hundreds of songs composed with fellow Rolling Stones member Keith Richards, who are jointly known as ‘The Glimmer Twins’. That description also has an interesting genesis – a name they adopted after the pair went on a cruise at the end of 1968, with Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg, when the wife of an old couple kept demanding to know who they were by requesting the duo to “Just give us a glimmer!”
Then there is a recording of the Lennon-McCartney song ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, which completely shatters the Rolling Stones versus Beatles myth created by media. The song became a Rolling Stones single as a result of a chance meeting on a London street in 1963. Various accounts exist, but the result was that John Lennon and Paul McCartney, on being told that the Stones needed a new song, followed manager Andrew Loog Oldham to the studio where the band was rehearsing, and completed the song they had already started while the Stones looked on. Released in November 1963, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ became the Stones’ second single, reaching No. 12 and becoming their first UK Top 20 hit!
Just in case further validation is required about the ongoing friendship between the two bands, Beatle Paul McCartney will be heard on the upcoming Stones album, rumoured to be released later this year. Nevertheless, as a solo artist, some of the more popular joint ventures include Mick Jagger singing backing vocals on Carly Simon’s 1971 song, ‘You’re So Vain’. In 1985, he featured in a video for Live Aid in duet with David Bowie on a rendition of ‘Dancing In The Street’, which provided the duo their biggest hit of their respective careers: No. 1 in the UK for four weeks.
Closer home, following the Rolling Stones’ performance in Mumbai on April 7, 2003, in 2011, their album ‘SuperHeavy’ was released, featuring Jagger’s collaborating with our very own A.R. Rahman, on which Jagger sang ‘Satyameva Jayate’ in Sanskrit! Jagger’s other passion with India is cricket when, in 1997, Jagger pioneered live-streaming of cricket, buying the rights to the Singer-Akai Champions Trophy being held in Sharjah so he could watch it on the internet. For those interested, England won the tournament.
While it may be Keith Richards’ riff-driven guitar playing that may be the spirit behind the Rolling Stones’ sound along with rhythmic support provided by guitarist Ron Wood and the syncopated beats of late drummer Charlie Watts, who also features on the band’s forthcoming album, there is no denying that it is Jagger’s drive and determination that is leading them – and himself – into the future; all the while as Mick, at the ripe old age of 80, still remains the other name for “cool”.
Parag Kamani is a rock and pop music aficionado.
