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Mick Jagger’s 80 Wildest, Coolest, Most Outrageous Moments

Happy 80th birthday to a man of wealth and taste

Mick Jagger

PHOTOGRAPHS USED IN ILLUSTRATION BY KMAZUR/WIREIMAGE; MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; HULTON-DEUTSCH COLLECTION/CORBIS/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES; GAB ARCHIVE/REDFERNS; ADOBE STOCK

WHEN ASKED TO describe Mick Jagger, Keith Richards famously replied, “He’s a nice bunch of guys.” On this birthday, let’s celebrate all of them. There have been so many Mick Jaggers over the years, with their different highs and lows. Here’s a salute to the 80 Coolest Mick Jagger moments: a mere 80 of the countless moments when Mick reminded us all why he’s the ultimate rock star. He’s always been the most visible of rock stars — but also the most mysterious, the most slippery, the one you’ll never figure out no matter how hard you try. This is Mick at his most seductive. Mick at his most decadent. Mick at his most comical. But it’s all Mick defining the outer limits of rock & roll cool. Let it bleed, now and forever.

5

‘Don’t Look Back,’ with Peter Tosh

The Jamaican legend scores a U.S. reggae hit with a Motown remake, dueting with Mick. (It came out on Rolling Stones Records.) It’s some strange chemistry — the most solemn of the Wailers, with Mick in prancing-fop mode? But it works. In the video, when Mick busts out his “Buster Keaton on poppers” shimmy, even Tosh can’t help cracking a smile.

4

Mick meets the press, gives update on satisfaction levels

On the eve of the Stones’ historic U.S. tour, Mick calls a press conference where a reporter asks, four years after “Satisfaction”: “Are you more satisfied now?” Mick has the perfect reply: “Financially dissatisfied. Sexually satisfied. Philosophically trying.” Now that’s a rock star.

3

Mick redefines the words ‘Oh, Yeah’ in ‘Rocks Off’

Countless singers over the years have done things to the sacred rock & roll mantra “oh yeah,” but nobody’s ever made it sound filthier than Mick. In just two syllables, he welcomes you into the decadent nightmare that is Exile on Main Street, the most rock & roll of all rock & roll albums and a complete tour of the Mick universe at its most morally depraved. He makes “oh, yeah” sound like a warning — but also an invitation you can’t resist.

2

Mick gets out of jail, celebrates with a cocktail party while wearing a button that says ‘Mick Is Sex’

How does Mick Jagger celebrate leaving Brixton Prison on bail, after his drug bust? He goes straight from jail to a bash where he sips an iced vodka and lime, while announcing to the press, “There’s not much difference between a cell and a hotel room in Minnesota. And I do my best thinking in places without distractions.”

1

Mick redefines evil in ‘Sympathy for the Devil’

Please allow him to introduce himself. He’s a man of wealth and taste. The essence of Mick Jagger is all here in this six-minute epic. His madman bravado. His seductive sneer. His androgynous glimmer. His satanic majesty. The way he cackles, “Mmmmmean it!” That conga beat. That “hoo-hoo” chant. The way he whoops along with Keith’s out-of-nowhere guitar solo. But most of all, the way he keeps daring you to chase him through that funhouse of mirrors he has for a soul, trying to figure him out, trying to hang a name on him, trying to guess the nature of his game. This song sums up why he’s the most elusive and unknowable of rock stars. But it also sums up why he’s the one who’s kept the whole world obsessed for all these years. Pleased to meet you. Hope you guessed his name.