Profile of Mick Jagger on Famous Like Me

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger (born 26 July 1943 in Dartford, Kent, England) is a British rock musician, actor, writer, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. He is most famous for being the lead singer and co-founder (with guitarist Brian Jones) of the British rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. He is also the songwriting partner of Stones guitarist Keith Richards, and the pair have composed almost all the Rolling Stones' original material, as well as numerous songs for other artists including "As Tears Go By" (for Marianne Faithfull) and "Out Of Time" (for Chris Farlowe).

Biography

Early years

Jagger was born to Joe and the late Eva Jagger, and he has a younger brother, Christopher Jagger. Mick discovered early rock & roll music during his teenage years and formed the band Little Boy Blue & the Blue Boys.

In his late teens while at Dartford Grammar School for Boys, he met up with future Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who he had first met years before when they both attended the Wentworth County Junior School in Dartford. They started the band shortly thereafter, due to their mutual love of rock & roll and blues.

Jagger then attended the London School of Economics, where he studied History and Literature (and not Economics as widely believed).

During the 1960s he was linked romantically with Chrissie Shrimpton, (the sister of supermodel Jean Shrimpton) and then with singer Marianne Faithfull, for whom Jagger and Richards composed several songs, including her signature tune, As Tears Go By. They remained a couple until late 1969, when Jagger and Faithfull travelled to Australia to star in the Tony Richardson film Ned Kelly. Soon after their arrival in Sydney, Faithfull overdosed on sleeping pills and almost died. The relationship was over by the time she was sent home to England to recuperate. Jagger then embarked on a series of liaisons, including rumoured dalliances with Richards' girlfriend at the time, Anita Pallenberg, and singers Merry Clayton and Marsha Hunt.

Drug controversy

In 1967 Jagger and Richards were arrested and charged with drug possession after a highly publicised raid on Richards' country house, during which it was alleged that Faithfull was found naked except for a fur rug wrapped around her. The raid was later revealed to have been prompted by a tip-off to the London Drug Squad by journalists working for Rupert Murdoch's News Of The World, which at the time was running a series of lurid reports about the alleged use of illegal drugs by British pop stars.

In one of these reports, Jagger was alleged to have spent an evening at a London club in the company of a Murdoch journalist, during which he openly discussed his drug-taking and invited others back to his flat "for a smoke". When the report was published, it became obvious that the hapless journalist had mistaken Brian Jones for Jagger -- who promptly sued News Of The World for defamation.

But this legal action was stymied by his and Richards' subsequent arrest. The trial made front-page news around the world. Despite Jagger claiming that the pills allegedly found in his possession had been prescribed to him, both were found guilty.

The severity of the sentences handed down (imprisonment with hard labour) caused a huge public outcry. It was also the subject of the famous leader by William Rees-Mogg, editor of The Times. Titled "Who Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel," Rees-Mogg asserted that it was Jagger's and Richards' celebrity that made them targets, and that their sentences for first offences were more harsh than what "any purely anonymous young man" would have received. Their convictions were overturned on appeal, and they subsequently were released, though the other person arrested with them, noted London art dealer Robert Fraser, served six months.

Leader of The Rolling Stones

It was during this period that Jagger took over as the effective leader of The Rolling Stones, as founder Brian Jones became more and more incapacitated by his spiralling drug use. Jones left the band in early 1969 and accidentally drowned in his swimming pool only weeks later (though rumours persist that he was murdered).

Children and marriage

Jagger's first child, Karis Jagger (by singer Marsha Hunt), was born in 1970. In May 1971 he married Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, and she gave birth to their daughter, Jade Jagger, later that same year, the same year the band released Sticky Fingers, one of their most popular albums. Between 1990-1999, he was married to model/TV hostess Jerry Hall, and they had four more children, Elizabeth Scarlett, Georgia May Ayeesha, Gabriel Luke Beauegard and James Leroy Augustine Jagger. A brief affair with Brazilian model and TV presenter Luciana Gimenez resulted in the birth of Lucas Jagger (1999). L'Wren Scott, born Luann Bambrough, is a former model and now a fashion stylist who lives in Hollywood. She is Mick's current "main person of interest" for the past few years. Pictures of the various wives and children (as well as Mick Jagger arriving at the Grammy Awards on January 16, 2005 with L'Wren Scott) can be seen at this link

Today

After the band's acrimonious split with their second manager, Allen B. Klein, Jagger took control of the band's business affairs and has managed them ever since, in collaboration with his friend and colleague, Prince Rupert von Löwenstein.

He also has appeared in the following movies:

1. Mayor of the Sunset Strip, 2003
2. The Man from Elysian Fields, 2001
3. Enigma, 2001
4. Mein liebster Feind (aka My Best Fiend) - with Klaus Kinski 1999
5. Bent, 1997
6. Freejack, 1992
7. D Wings of Ash: Pilot for a dramatisation of the life of Antonin Artaud 1978
8. Umano non umano 1972
9. Ned Kelly 1970
10. Performance - by Nicholas Roeg 1970

In 1995, Mick Jagger founded "Jagged Films" with a mission to develop and produce feature films that encompassed a wide spectrum of topics and genres. Jagged Films was primarily directed towards the broader international markets. Mick Jagger was knighted on 12 December 2003, for his "services to popular music" . His fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards was critical as usual. "I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment...it's not what the Stones is about, is it? I don't want to step out on stage with someone wearing a fucking coronet and sporting the old ermine. I told Mick, 'It's a fucking paltry honour.'"

Solo discography

• She's the Boss (25 February 1985) UK #6; US #13
• Primitive Cool (14 September 1987) UK #26; US #41
• Wandering Spirit (8 February 1993) UK #12; US #11
• Goddess in the Doorway (19 November 2001) UK #44; US #39

Soundtrack work

• Alfie (18 October 2004) US #171

Solo hit singles

• "Memo from Turner" (1970) #32 UK
• "Just Another Night" (1985) #32 UK; #12 US
• "Dancing in the Street" (with David Bowie) (1985) #1 UK; #7 US
• "Lucky in Love" (1985) #38 US
• "Let's Work" (1987) #31 UK; #39 US
• "Sweet Thing" (1993) #24 UK
• "God Gave Me Everything I Want" (2001) #1 CAN

New 2005 Rolling Stones Album

On 6 September 2005 in conjunction with a major stadium tour was released the newest Rolling Stones album called A Bigger Bang, the commercial pull of Mick Jagger as a promoter is shown by the sponsorship of the tour by Mercedes Benz who are auctioning an R-class Mercedes signed by the Rolling Stones.

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