Why did John Lennon and May Pang nickname Mick Jagger ‘The Phantom’?
As the frontmen for two of the biggest bands of the 1960s, it’s easy to picture John Lennon and Mick Jagger as adversaries who never saw eye to eye and were willing to enter combat with one another to capture the hearts of the public. While The Beatles vs The Rolling Stones sounds like it could be a viable battle between two giants of rock, the two acts rarely ever feuded over who was more popular, and actually enjoyed a decent rapport.
The two would often use the achievements of the other to better themselves, and if one made a significant artistic leap, then the other would push themselves to their limits in order to ensure they weren’t falling behind creatively. It’s no surprise that when The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Rolling Stones chose to respond with Her Satanic Majesty’s Request; an equally boundary-pushing and psychedelic odyssey of a record that saw the group stray far from their origins as a blues and rock and roll band.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney even wrote a song for The Rolling Stones in their early years, dropping by in the studio to offer their track ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ to the band. Jagger said of their encounter in 1963 that they “knew them by then,” and that manager Andrew Loog Oldham had invited the duo to a rehearsal so they could demo the track.
“They said they had this tune,” Jagger recalled to Rolling Stone of the meeting. “They were really hustlers then.”
However, the connection between the two parties became much stronger after The Beatles had decided to call it a day in 1970, and while Lennon was living in Los Angeles with his secretary and love interest, May Pang from 1973 to 1975, Jagger became a frequent visitor. However, while his presence was always welcomed by the duo, his visits earned him an unusual nickname that seemed to stick for several years.
Why did John Lennon and May Pang call Mick Jagger ‘The Phantom’?
The trio bonded regularly at Lennon and Pang’s home, and would spend nights eating food and drinking together, with Jagger becoming one of the most frequent guests to drop by. For anyone thinking that Lennon and Jagger didn’t get along or ever share musical ideas with one another, accounts from Pang’s autobiography will attest to the fact that they fraternised and jammed together in the living room, or would simply sit down and watch television in each other’s company.
However, Pang did say that she and Lennon affectionately used to refer to the Stones’ frontman as ‘The Phantom’ because he would always turn up to their apartment unannounced. While they didn’t have an issue with his company, the fact that he never told them he was intending on dropping by used to amuse the couple, hence their peculiar moniker.
“We never knew when he’d materialise, how long he would stay, when he’d call again, or what was really going on behind those devilish eyes and big pouting lips,” Pang said in her book, Loving John. “He was his own man and he seemed to relish his success and his life. However, he always seemed a bit removed, like an actor who was enjoying his role but at the same time knew he was playacting and was always watching his own performance.”
That being said, her fondness for Jagger stemmed from the fact that he was always courteous, though incredibly private. “We were always delighted to see him,” she claimed. “Nattily dressed and always looking roguish, he’d turn up with a wicked grin on his face.”
While one might think that having two larger-than-life characters such as Lennon and Jagger in a room together would have led to debauched antics and be a recipe for disaster, it would appear that for Lennon and Pang, Jagger was nothing but a charmer.
