Most famous for being the front man of the Rolling Stones, legendary rocker and style icon Mick Jagger is one of the few musicians to have transcended his genre.
Rock ‘n’ rollers will come and go, but there will never be another Mick Jagger, or as Prince Charles called him when he was knighted, Sir Michael Philip Jagger. Growing up in the far western suburbs of London, Jagger was not one of these rags-to-riches musicians, but instead a nice, young lad who grew up in a middle-class home that valued education and frowned upon such “low-class” things (at the time, in the mid-1950s) singing in rock bands.
The longtime Rolling Stones front man “started” his singing and performing career during family gatherings where the tradition was for everyone to contribute. Young Mick chose to sing and soon found himself doing it with his teenage pals in bands that would play at parties in the neighborhood on weekends, usually to groups of 20 or less.
That was around the time that Jagger began to realize that people were digging his style and his antics. His fashion statements would only grow from there—equally able to pull off a masculine red-carpet tuxedo look and a wild 1970s, glam-rock extravaganza of an outfit, complete with a silk fuchsia body-length scarf, skin-tight satin pants and guy-liner.
More than just a good singer in a successful band, he is a full-fledged entertainer, truly a consummate performer that all other performers look up to—even at his current age of 67 (check out the YouTube video of his performance at the 2011 Grammy Awards). As part of being a performer, Jagger has always understood that style and fashion and performing all were parts of a single whole. That is why he became, in many ways, one of the voices and faces of the seminal 1960s and 1970s.
Mick’s Quips
I used to go and do these shows and go on my knees and roll on the ground when I was 15,16 years old. And my parents were extremely disapproving of it all.
I didn’t have any inhibitions. I saw Elvis and Gene Vincent, and I thought, ‘Well, I can do this.’ And I liked doing it. It’s a real buzz.
Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind.
A good thing never ends.
The underlying rhythm of music changes with fashion, and people like to move differently now than they moved 30 years ago.
I thought it was sophisticated to be camp and effeminate. It was a thing you showed some of the time and then put aside. It was very English; guys dressing up in drag is nothing particularly new.
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
It’s all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back
My secrets must be poetic to be believable.
The elusive nature of love… it can be such a fleeting thing. You see it there and it’s just fluttering and it’s gone
All photos courtesy of mickjagger.com
For the full feature, be sure to pick up the April/May 2011 issue of DA MAN by clicking here.
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