Mick Jagger (center), Ronnie Wood (left) and Mick Taylor of British rock band The Rolling Stones perform on the Pyramid main stage at Glastonbury, England, on June 29. (AP-Yonhap News)
LONDON (AFP) ― Mick Jagger turns 70 on Friday ― and though the Rolling Stones frontman isn’t quite the image of rebellious youth he once was, he has lost none of his legendary swagger.
Strutting onstage in a sequined jacket as the Stones headlined Britain’s Glastonbury music festival last month, it was hard to believe this was a man who should be collecting his state pension.
One newspaper cruelly captioned its photos of the wrinkly British rockers “Night of the living dead!” ― but zipping through the hits, the band had the same raw energy that brought them fame half a century ago.
“If this is this first time you’ve seen the band, do come again,” Jagger told the crowd, suggesting that a quiet retirement may be some way off yet.
Between his onstage cavorting, wild bedroom antics and occasional brushes with the law, snake-hipped, rubber-lipped Jagger has been a model for generations of later rock stars.
“We were young, good-looking and stupid,” he once said.
These days, cricket-loving Jagger is more likely to be spotted watching a match at Lord’s than partying hard.
The Stones did prove they could still hit the dance floor at Jagger’s early 70th birthday bash last month, although by 1:30 a.m. it was time for bed.
The music-making hasn’t stopped either ― the band recently wrapped up a tour of North America to mark their half-centenary, and released two new tracks along with their greatest hits album “Grrr!” in November.
Romantically, however, Jagger seems to have settled down ― he has been dating stylist L’Wren Scott, some 25 years his junior, for more than a decade.
His heyday was punctuated by high-profile relationships with models, singers and actresses, and he has seven children with four different women.
He twice married models ― Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall ― while other ex-lovers include singers Marianne Faithfull and Carla Bruni, who is now married to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Jagger has always been a curious mix of sensible and shocking. On one hand he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II; on the other, a rumored sex act involving Jagger and a Mars bar has passed into rock legend.
Michael Phillip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, to middle-class parents in Dartford, south of London.
He started jamming with childhood friend Keith Richards in 1960 after they discovered a mutual love of the blues.
The Stones played their first gig in 1962 ― Jagger dropping out of the prestigious London School of Economics in the pursuit of fame ― and three years later scored their first smash hit with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
Snarling and surly, they were the complete opposite of the family-friendly Beatles.
A string of massive hits across five decades followed including “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Paint It Black.”