When Blur’s Alex James called Mick Jagger a “grotesque caricature”
Being a key member in one of his generation’s most influential bands, Blur bassist Alex James has earned his right to comment on the state of the industry. Love or loathe him and his retreat to the heart of Conservative Oxfordshire, no one can doubt the gravity of his group’s greatest records.
Whilst Blur are now back up and running and recently released one of their finest albums to date, The Ballad of Darren, there was a lengthy period between it and its predecessor, 2015’s The Magic Whip. During the bulk of this time away, the group’s four members turned their attention to their respective endeavours. Frontman Damon Albarn continued to release albums with Gorillaz, guitarist Graham Coxon wrote the score for the hit series The End of the F***ing World, and drummer Dave Rowntree penned the music for the Bros documentary After the Screaming Stops alongside Ian Arber.
As for Alex James, he concentrated on his artisan cheesemaking and running his annual food and music bonanza, The Big Feastival. It was also during this period, in 2018, that James sat down with The Mirror and gave a surprising account of classic rock bands continuing to tour, with particular focus on The Rolling Stones. James’ comments were also prompted by rumours of a Led Zeppelin reunion, which never materialised. Using Stones frontman Mick Jagger as an example, he said that pretending to be a teenager makes these artists “grotesque caricatures”.
“I’d rather be on a cheese counter than pretending to be a teenager,” the Blur bassist started. “There are rumours of Led Zeppelin getting back together again, and nobody really wants to hear their new record, do they? They want to listen to ‘Stairway to Heaven’.”
“How old were they when they did ‘Stairway to Heaven’? Like 20 or something? And how old are they now, they are 70,” James continued before somewhat comically noting the well-publicised duality of his career. “It’s insane. At least people want to come in and try my cheese as well as listen to ‘Parklife’.”
Arriving at the highlight of the conversation, he said: “That is really important. I think it’s really good that I’ve got something else to talk about. You have to do it. Otherwise, you become this weird, grotesque caricature of yourself by the time you get old like Mick Jagger.”
“I’ve been listening to the Rolling Stones recently, but I wouldn’t go and listen to them live, hell.” The Britpop star added: “You can’t be Jumping Jack when you are 78.”
