The 1980s icons Mick Jagger said were “nothing new”
The greatest musicians in the world aren’t looking to make the same record every time they get to the studio. It’s important for everyone to try and push music in different directions, but whereas Mick Jagger stuck with the blues, he knew that the biggest pop artists had nothing to bring to the table.
Because while The Rolling Stones did have some major pop hits during their tenure, they were never necessarily a pop group in the traditional sense of the word. The Beatles were the definition of what a pop group was supposed to sound like, and it’s no surprise that a lot of the biggest rock stars of all time would have killed to have jammed with Jagger and Keith Richards if they had the chance back in the day. These were artists that you could hang out with and discuss legends like Chuck Berry with.
But it’s not like The Stones were immune to some pop tendencies every now and again. Andrew Loog Oldham had already forced Jagger and Richards’s hands when writing syrupy ballads like ‘As Tears Go By’, but even when they made their more sentimental songs, you could always hear the heart in them. Whether that was ‘Wild Horses’ or even Richards crooning on ‘Coming Down Again’, there would always be a teardrop in the way that they sang half the time.
That’s all fine when working in the confines of the 1970s, but MTV splattered a neon filter over every single thing on the radio. The early 1980s started things off strong with tracks like ‘Start Me Up’, but by the time Jagger started searching for the next new thing, it would be tricky trying to compete in a world where artists like Duran Duran were the biggest names in music.
There were limits on where The Stones could go, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t try every once in a while, either. Although albums like Dirty Work don’t usually stack up next to their best records, Jagger knew it was better for them to take risks, but he knew that he didn’t want to move forward if it meant taking cues from modern nostalgia acts like Spandau Ballet on the charts.
“I don’t like Spandau Ballet. I don’t consider them anything new. I mean, that was all around years ago.”
Mick Jagger
As far as Jagger was concerned, the new wave icons were nothing but a bunch of dated musicians who were throwing out easy-listening music, saying, “I don’t like Spandau Ballet. I don’t consider them anything new. I mean, that was all around years ago. [They] do nothing for me. I don’t think they’re any good, [but] I think Duran Duran has made one or two good records.” Even if Jagger’s assessment was a bit brutal, the band certainly had their place in music history.
After all, the movement ‘sophistipop’ was already in view at this time, and Spandau Ballet was practically the archetype for it. All of their songs didn’t have anything to do with what modern rock was supposed to be, but when listening to Tony Hadley’s vocals on some of those classic hits, it serves a much different purpose than what Jagger does. Whereas The Stones hit you over the head a lot of the time, Hadley’s voice feels like a warm embrace whenever it comes on.
Sure, there probably wouldn’t be any major collaborations between The Stones and the new-wave icons, but it was simply a difference in how they approached their songs. Everyone hears music from a different perspective, and even if Jagger wasn’t willing to take the grit out of The Stones, there’s no reason to discount someone simply because they are a bit retro.
