Mick Jagger’s scathing assessment of 10 classic rock bands
In John Mulaney’s stand-up special Comeback Kid, he talks about his experience working with Mick Jagger on Saturday Night Live. “Everyone always wants to know if famous people are nice, like Mick Jagger, he came in to host the show, my friends were all like, ‘Is he nice?’, no, or maybe he is, for his version of life, cos he’s had a very different life. He’s Mick Jagger. That’s his name.”
Mulaney continues, “He’s played to stadiums of 20,000 people, cheering for him like he’s a God, for 50 years. That must change you as a person.” It certainly did. Jagger’s level of persistent fame has contributed massively to the man we see now, someone whom it seems everything he touches turns to gold and who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
In keeping with Mulaney’s assessment of Jagger’s life, the fact he has been proven right so much in his music must (whether directly or indirectly) impact how much weight he gives his own opinion. Where we might second guess our thoughts occasionally, Jagger is likely so set in his ways with everything he does that the idea of him being wrong simply never crosses his mind.
This comes across in the people he has offended, as throughout his life, Jagger has never been worried about calling out the things he doesn’t like, whether that’s people’s opinions, their mindsets, or, in this instance, other bands’ music. He was always more than happy to call a spade a spade and a mediocre album a pile of rubbish. So, with that in mind, here are the scathing assessments of ten classic bands from yours truly, Jagger.
Mick Jagger’s scathing comments on classic rock bands:
The Specials
Mick Jagger seems to be a musician who struggles to move with the times. Many of his complaints surrounding rock bands don’t have anything to do with the music; instead, they come from an inability to embrace the new. As the pioneer of an entire movement, you’d think Jagger would be excited about seeing bands take the reigns and create something new, but he wasn’t, which shows in his attitude towards The Specials.
He said they were a rehash of something old, which is interesting given the combination of punk rock and ska was incredibly new and something that separated the band from that which had come before. “Bands like The Selecter and The Specials, which are good bands, are repeats, too. I mean, I saw bands like that in 1959. It’s the same old thing done slightly differently.”
The Clash
Like the above, The Clash was also on the receiving end, with Jagger unable to accept some new music making its way to the surface in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The Clash turned heads because of their loud and abrasive style, the likes of which people hadn’t experienced, except Jagger, who again said they were a lazy carbon copy of a band that apparently nobody else had ever heard.
“I don’t feel connected with bands like The Clash, the bands that still play every night,” he said, “I can only see them as repeats of everything that happened before.” Jagger’s inability to connect with the band was never a big deal for The Clash or their fans, as the music wasn’t written with billionaire rock stars in mind.
Aerosmith
Though Jagger may have mellowed in recent years and is happy to work with modern artists a bit more, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, he was a tough person to please and was more than happy to offer up scathing indictments of popular bands that he didn’t think hit the mark. One of the worst reviews he gave was to Aerosmith, as he bashed the band for being rubbish. “Oh God, Aerosmith,” he said, “They’re just rubbish – absolute bullshit.”
Like others, Jagger was never happy with the band as he deemed Steven Tyler and co to be a cheap rip off of the Stones, something which got to the Aerosmith frontman. “It hurt for the first couple of years,” he said, “It was constantly Mick Jagger this and Mick Jagger that – that I copied him, and Janis Joplin too. Mick was the cheapest, easiest shot. ‘Well, he looks like him, so let’s write about that’.”
The Stranglers
Always someone who is happy to give his opinion on rival rockstars, when new styles of music were coming to fruition, Jagger was one of the first to try and knock its pioneers down a peg or two. The Stranglers were on the receiving end of some of the frontman’s blows, as he didn’t mince his words when describing his utter disdain towards the band.
“Don’t you think The Stranglers are the worst thing you’ve ever fucking heard?” He asked, rhetoric etched into his cocky cockney voice, “I do. They’re hideous, rubbishy, so bloody stupid. Fucking nauseating, they are.”
Sex Pistols
Another punk band that Jagger had no time for was the Sex Pistols, arguably the biggest name in the genre. Apparently, he didn’t believe the shocking nature of their music, saying, “No matter what Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious do, they can’t be more disgusting than The Rolling Stones are in an orgy of biting.”
Jagger would get so riled by the people in the punk movement that he wasn’t a stranger to making threats. “They’ve stopped short at violence,” he said, “I think even Sid Vicious is basically a nice guy, but Johnny Rotten keeps talking bad about me. He’ll get his rotten teeth kicked in one day.”
The New York Dolls
Many bands that Mick Jagger has criticised have been coming up around the time of the punk movement. Maybe it was a defence mechanism, as Jagger saw the times slipping away from the legends of the British Invasion and became slightly worried. However, his slight jab at the New York Dolls wasn’t because they were punk; it was because they labelled them as punk incorrectly.
When he was asked about the movement, Jagger confessed that many of the bands he had been exposed to come from the American iteration of punk, which he didn’t see as punk at all. “The sort of punk scene in New York, you know, you had the Ramones, and you had the New York Dolls,” he said, “But they didn’t really play that kind of music… it was more of a glam look.”
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger have a fairly decent relationship, in fact, Iggy Pop has gone as far to name some of his favourite Rolling Stones albums, showing not only does he listen to them but he listens enough to have a list of favourites. While Jagger might also have a lot of time for Pop, he hasn’t always had nice things to say.
In a brief but damning indictment, Jagger once referred to Iggy Pop and The Stooges as “ropey”. This is particularly shocking given so much of what Iggy built was done on top of excellent music and a tight stage performance that was both mesmerising and shocking. What he did inspired many, so the fact that Jagger wasn’t too sure about it is shocking.
Oasis
As we move away from the punk era and head further into the modern day, recent legends that Jagger has had some negative words for are none other than Manchester-proud Gallagher brothers, Oasis. They were the biggest band in the country throughout the ‘90s, breaking record sales and selling out arenas easily; however, Jagger wasn’t too sure.
Liam Gallagher didn’t fit the mould that Jagger believed was perfect for a rockstar. He stood still on stage, something that always confused The Rolling Stones frontman, who has made walking around the stage and dancing its very own art form. “Well that’s what they do, they don’t move – that doesn’t mean to say they don’t connect – they connect sometimes, sometimes they’re not always good ways,” he said.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Moving slightly away from the label of “rock” band but still certainly artists that made a splash on the musical world and have a number of songs that people would quickly define as “classics”, Jagger was never a big fan of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. His particular gripe was less with the sound of their music and more to do with their live show.
“I think it’s garbage. Onstage, [they’re] the worst act I’ve seen. I went to see them at the Ritz and they were just terrible, and they know it,” he said. “The guy onstage was just in tears. I don’t blame him… he sang so out of tune. And it’s all pre-recorded; it’s all a backing track. I think it’s a joke.”
Herman’s Hermits
Finally, as The Beatles rose to prominence, many bands emerged with a similar style. It didn’t take long before emerging pop and rock outfits were frequently likened to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, one of which was Herman’s Hermits, which Jagger didn’t have much time for.
“One of the most impossible things was going out to have a hamburger, and some guy would go, ‘Are you Herman’s Hermits?’” Jagger remembers from when the Rolling Stones were initially sharing bills with the band, “It would kill you. So you go, ‘Fuck you. Herman’s Hermits is shit’.”
