Is there a more iconic world figure than Mick Jagger? I’ve been personably close to his Lordship three times. Twice at a label organized Meet-n-Greet with the band (thanks Bill!) and once in a hotel lobby at the Ritz in Cleveland.
Keith Richards describes Jagger as, “a couple of nice guys.” Richards complained that Jagger’s personality changed depending upon who was in the room.
I know a guy whose band opened for the Stones throughout Europe and Asia some forty years ago.
“He was a prick” said Dick. He made it clear he didn’t want us approaching him. “We just gave him his distance; a wave here, a quick hello there, but, really, we just complied.” As the tour wound down things changed.
“One day he came into our dressing room and apologized.” According to Dick, Jagger basically said that everyone he meets wants to be his best friend: “the only way I can protect me is by a wall. “After that, he was the nicest guy in the world.” If you’re just a middle class guy from a village outside of London, being one of the biggest celebrities in the world has to get old, quickly.
Another time, while working backstage at the show of a significant rock star, I met his private pilot. “Yeah, I’ve flown the Stones all over the US. It’s interesting, when Jagger got on the plane, he sat down with five accountants and by the time the plane landed, they’d worked out, to the penny, exactly how much was made at each tee-shirt stand. The Stones were just the opposite of John Denver. While Jagger was all business, when I flew Denver around they smoked so much pot I have to wear an oxygen mask.”
Is it true? It sounds plausible but it’s a hell-of-a-story. As Keith notes snidely in his autobiography, Mick makes a list of things to do the next day, every night before he goes to bed.
After losing their songwriting rights from 1963 – 1970, to the less-than-scrupulous Allen B Klein, and being forced into tax exile in the early 1970s (to the south of France), it sounds to me as though Jagger had to become the defacto band manager while his partner, Keith was a junkie stumbling through the 70s and 80s.
But ya know, I wasn’t there – I don’t know these guys. But I have met them.
The first question would be which time? Over the 26x I’ve seen the Rolling Stones, I’ve been fortunate enough to sit in the first four rows six times. Believe me, having sat in the upper balcony in Kansas City on the band’s 2015 tour, (I took my daughter) it’s a completely different show.
Sitting in the front rows you can see the band interactions, hear their comments to each other, and watch their emotive actions designed to push the band’s presence to the back of the stadium.
While their relationship off stage seems tense, when things go well on stage, the old magic between Mick and Keith is evident. After the band sails through a solo, or some choreographed move, Mick often flashes that world-class smile at Keith who, in turn, will nod or bow back with an equally charismatic schoolboy grin. Whatever drama fills their time off-the-stage, it’s clear the band’s chemistry is still swirling around when they play. They’re clearly not phoning it in.
An interesting aspect is whether on stage, or in person, Mick and Keith are very careful to not make eye contact. I suspect that during their Brian Jones’ pop band days, eye contact with the audience resulted in riots and destruction as some “flounder” took the visual contact as permission to jump on stage.
I dunno, I don’t know these guys.
However, Ronnie Wood is constantly making eye contact. When we saw the band in Ames, Iowa (Voodoo Lounge tour), Wood singled out my Barb and sang the chorus to her. At least that’s the way we saw it. (Tha’ cad, lol) While on-stage Woody is pointing at people, flicking guitar picks here and there, and sharing a smile. The first time I met Ronnie he was immediately your best friend. Wood was jovial, bouncing from one foot to the other and giving out hugs and making engaging and kind comments to everyone.
and Charlie steered clear, the label reps moved in. Woody walked over, put his arm around her and laughed aloud; mini-riot avoided.
Once, while posing for the inevitable photo, I put one arm around Wood and the other around the band’s drummer Charlie Watts. Despite fifty years of adulation and what I imagine has to be a pretty nice income, Watts remains nonplussed about the band. Seemingly he enjoys his relative anonymity and lights up when Mick or Keith get focused on while he, calmly and with proper Englishman demeanor vanishes in the middle of a crowd.
Well, when I put my arm Watts he immediately stiffened-up. As it dawned on me that one does not touch an Englishman, Keith and Mick bent over and exploded in laughter at Charlie’s obvious discomfort. Snap, snap went the pictures. Ouch.
While Keith is, well, Keith – unflappable, well read, and charmingly distant, Mick goes through the motions of shaking hands, saying a quick hello, and getting to the business of taking a picture and then exiting quickly. Watching Mick work his way down the line I focused on the history I knew of Jagger; Jagger in black and red dancing amid chaos and death at Altamont, Jagger acting in the motion picture Performance, Jagger’s post-prison interview on the lawn of some manicured estate, Jagger being “financially unsatisfied, sexually satisfied,” Jagger singing on the Beatles worldwide telecast of ‘All You Need is Love.’
Me: “Hey”
Mick: “Hey.” No eye contact.
Quick eye contact, quizzical look.
Mick: “Thanks man.”
Me: “Yeah.”
I suppose like anyone, Jagger’s attitude is one part self-preservation and a second part dependent upon that apparently ever-present To Do list swirling around endlessly in his mind as he single-handedly manages a multi-billion dollar company dependent upon himself and three now-former junkies. Not exactly the same day-at-the-office experience you and I might have.
One part of Jagger’s busy day is the necessary the strict discipline and focus he needs to keep that massive carnival on track and on time (29 semi loads of equipment according to a Forbes article). Another part of Jagger is holding onto that incredible creativity that allowed him to write some of the most iconic songs of the 20th century.
Another layer of course is, he’ s just a guy doing what we all do – thinking about his call that afternoon with his daughter to discuss a grandchild, getting back to some label executive about approving a promotion budget, and “do I wear black shoes tonight or red shoes.” All the while circumnavigating a world where everyone wants a piece of you, a moment of your time, your undivided focus.
When I met the band in St. Louis, it was a much less distracted Jagger. They were filming a pay-per-view that night but for whatever reason he was more engaging. “You come alone?” he asked. “No, my wife is waiting for me.” “Oh, here” he said as he grabbed and handed me a plastic wine glass and a handful of chocolates, “Tell her I said hello will you?” “Of course” I smiled. While it’s not exactly accurate, my Barb swears they opened that night’s e show with ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ As Barb tells the story, she waited for the line, “A glass of wine in her hand,” raising her cherished Mick Jagger plastic wine glass in the air in tribute. And yes, you can see us in the Bridges to Babylon DVD.
Meeting Mick Jagger was cool. A chance of a lifetime but not cool like, “Hey Rick, please to meet you. Let’s party.” But cool like, he’s just a dude in a luxurious gilded cage that writes great songs and night-after-night sets the bar for a world class concert performance. He seems like a guy, not unlike the rest of us, trying to keep things on-track, showing up on time and being prepared: a professional.
Somehow he finds time to not have to be “on” for someone else, and, today, being a great grandfather. I kinda admire the guy. He re-wrote the rules and got a Lordship in the process.
Not bad for a kid from Richmond.
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