Mick Jagger has spoken out about wanting to leave politics out of The Rolling Stones’ live shows, saying that he sees it as his job to make people “go more apeshit” and escape their worries, rather than “lecture them”.
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The singer shared his insight during a new appearance on the New York Times’ podcast, The Interview, explaining his insight that he has gathered from over six decades playing live. Asked about the relationship between the band and the fans in a live setting, he revealed that he treats each show differently depending on the setting and the response they get.
“First of all, it depends on where you are and what kind of event it is,” he said, adding that festival slots need to be treated differently to their headline tour dates because he realises that not everyone in the crowd is a die-hard fan.
“They’re not necessarily coming to see [you] – they’re not your biggest fans, necessarily,” he shared. “I’m not saying they hate you, otherwise, they probably wouldn’t be there… But there’s different levels of these kinds of people, and you have to treat them in a slightly different way.”
The one common ground between all audiences, he said though, was that they are all there looking to have a good time and switch off from their everyday worries and concerns.
“The bottom line is that my job in the live music world is to [ensure] people that come have the best time they possibly can, and for two hours forget all their problems and the problems of the world. Their mortgages and whatever. Just so they can have the best time,” Jagger explained.
“It’s similar to going to a sports event, really. Everything else is shut out. You’re just watching to see who’s going to win. You’re not worried about everything else. You know? Those things are out of your mind.”
“You don’t want to be trying to churn them up [and get] frustrated that they’re not being demonstrative,” he continued. “Your job is to make them go more apeshit … You don’t want to lecture them.”
Despite not wanting to get into politics when it comes to the live shows, there has been a sense of political and social commentary implemented by The Rolling Stones on their new album ‘Foreign Tongues’.
Addressing how those themes seeped into the songwriting process this time around, Jagger said that he had “gotten into this habit of doing songs that are about personal relationships and then I throw a verse about politics in there.”
That, he said, he sees as a “trick” to get his thoughts and beliefs into the songs, especially when “nobody wants to hear a whole song about politics or social comment of any kind.”
Around the time of ‘Foreign Tongues’ release, the rock icon dispelled rumours that his lyrics about the “mad mogul” on the song ‘Mr Charm’ were meant as a jab against Elon Musk – who is overtly named in the song.
“They hear one word, and they don’t really listen to the line, ‘Mick Jagger has a go at Elon Musk’, you’re not listening to the line. You’re just listening to Musk. That’s all you’re hearing,” he said.
Around that same time, guitarist Keith Richards opened up about his thoughts on America given the current economic and political unrest, saying that, despite living there for decades, he sees the country as “a bit of a disappointment at the moment”.
While the Stones are not being overt in their criticisms across the new album, Mick Jagger has spoken openly about his thoughts on Donald Trump and Boris Johnson in the past – previously hitting out at them for their lack of emphasis on climate change and accusing them of “lying” to the public.
‘Foreign Tongues’ arrived on July 10 and features collaborations with Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Steve Winwood and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, as well as further posthumous appearances from Charlie Watts.
The band have also launched an official podcast series, Speaking In Tongues, to accompany the album. The six-part series is narrated by Norah Jones and features new interviews with Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts.
Meanwhile, Jagger recently told NME that he is a fan of Sam Fender – hailing his album ‘People Watching’ as “excellent” – and also told us about the “very easy” experience of working with Paul McCartney. Read the full interview here or watch in full above.
NME gave ‘Foreign Tongues’ three-and-a-half stars, in a review which called the album: “fresh and refined”, adding: “Mick, Keith and Ronnie have hit a surprising purple patch – and if you believe the eternally energetic entertainer’s claim that he’s already writing the follow-up to ‘Foreign Tongues’, there’s plenty more left in the tank.”
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