Mick Jagger

by Philip Norman

Author Phillip Norman, whose previous bestseller, John The Life , was praised as a "haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work" ( New York Times Book Review ) and whose classic Shout ! is widely considered to be the definitive biography of the Beatles, now turns his attention to the iconic front man of the Rolling Stones, "the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world." Norman's Mick Jagger is an extraordinarily detailed and vibrantly written in-depth account of the life and half-century-long career of one of the most fascinating and complex superstars of rock music--the most comprehensive biography to date of the famously enigmatic musician. Keith Richards had his say in Life . Now it's time to get to know intimately the other half of the duo responsible for such enduring hits as "Paint It Black," "Sympathy for the Devil," "Gimme Shelter," and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Mick Jagger is a must read for Stones fans, and everyone who can't get enough of the serious memoirs and biographies of popular musicians, like Patti Smith's Just Kids , Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler, and the Warren Zevon story, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead .

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Pop Culture, History, Biography Memoir

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Peebee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like it when biographers have an agenda, and Philip Norman clearly had an agenda when writing this book. This was clearly written as a response to Keith Richards' Life which was released to considerable critical acclaim and a hefty advance. It's not a news flash to anyone that 1) Keith is less responsible than Mick; 2) Keith is more interesting than Mick; and 3) Mick has slept with many more women than Keith. So why it took over 600 pages to convince us of these things, I'm not sure. Keith may have very well have made up some details in Life, but he obviously remembers more than Mick, and that's with a considerable added handicap of all the drugs he was consuming at the time. After all, as Norman constantly reminds us, he had to write this book, instead of Mick penning his own autobiography, because Mick supposedly couldn't remember anything and what he did remember was too boring for words. Norman's book wasn't really that much better...although I grew to find some humor in spotting Norman's own obsessions, like the "Mars Bar Incident," whether Mick is bisexual or has slept with men over the years, and whether his "todger" is as small as Keith claims it is. If you're a hard core Stones fan and want to hear both sides of the Glimmer Twins' drama, then maybe you'll want to read this -- otherwise, just read Life if you're looking for insight and entertainment.

[Carol Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite guilty pleasures from the Nineties is the movie YOUNG GUNS II with Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid and Kiefer Sutherland as Doc Scurlock. At one point Doc tells Billy if they don't stop acting recklessly they're all going to die. Billy's comeback is "you killed half the men I got credit for, Doc." Later on a veteran gunfighter played by James Coburn makes the same point, saying in effect that Billy the Kid is not an individual but the sum of the whole gang. "Don't laugh, Doc. You're Billy the Kid too. You're all . . . Billy Bastards!"

This is an enormously fun, exciting book about Mick Jagger, a character almost as fascinating and enigmatic as Billy the Kid himself. What's striking about Philip Norman's biography of Jagger is that the supporting cast all come to life in much more vivid detail than Jagger himself. The most colorful figures in this book are paradoxically all the people Mick Jagger outlasted on and off the stage -- Brian Jones, Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg, Andrew Oldham -- even shadowy figures like PR man Les Perrin and Stones sidemen Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. The more you read the more you see that the image of Mick Jagger is like a mosaic created by thousands of wild nights and dirty deeds perpetrated by dozens of different men and women. Like the time they broke into a gas station in England to use the restroom and Jagger said, "we piss anywhere, man." Except they didn't actually break in and he didn't actually say that. It was only Bill Wyman who really needed to go and it was only Brian Jones who harassed the garage attendant deliberately. They're all Billy Bastards!

Philip Norman says several times that the Rollings Stones had a class structure much like England itself. Mick and Keith were the officers, and Bill and Charlie were "other ranks" i.e. enlisted men. I thought that was a brilliant point, but then the author kept saying that Charlie Watts was the "only person" Mick really respected in the band and that Charlie was the only one who would talk straight to him about certain basic issues. I wish Norman had explained how that fit in with the traditional English class system!

Another problem with this book is that Philip Norman is an obvious Beatles fan and holds a grudge against the Stones. His books on Lennon and McCartney are reverent and almost obsequious in tone -- this book has a tone that's jeering, mocking, and irreverent. I suppose that's appropriate, for a Rolling Stone, but it gets tiresome when he makes fun of childish things like Mick's southern drawl on all those classic records. And while it's impossible not to feel sorry for Marianne Faithfull, (she lost her looks, her career, and very nearly her sanity just from 1965 to 1969) Norman describes her self-destructive behavior like it's all on Mick when the facts suggest the opposite is true. Mick did everything he could to protect her but she destroyed herself anyway. Jagger's only real sin as far as I can tell is not going to pieces like everyone else around him. Or as Rudyard Kipling might have put it, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you -- then your name must be Mick Jagger!"

[Peter Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every few years a new Jagger biography comes out but pick any book from any decade and the story is the same -
1. Jagger is a self obsessed mysoginist
2. He has only had one real relationship in his life and that is with Keith Richards. Keith claims to no longer know or understand him.
3. Money is Jagger's sole motivator and he will deceive friends and colleagues to ensure he gets more.
4. He has slept with a huge amount of women and a few men.
5. He is not a rebel but rather a middle class boy, well educated and brought up who aspires to live in the upper class with Royalty and the uber powerful and famous.
6. He is a control freak.

So this book really adds nothing we didn't know. Norman points out that for all his faults, Jagger's children from multiple women all love him dearly and treat each other as full siblings. This appears to be his only redeeming point. If you have read no other Jagger book, this is as good as any and Norman's can be at times waspish and entertaining. However, do not expect to understand what makes Jagger tick after reading this lengthy tome.

[John Branney · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, this is a well researched and written book. The amount of detail about Jagger and his friends is amazing. Unfortunately, with all of that detail, it slooooowws the book down to a crawl. Even though I have been a Rolling Stone fan since 1967, it was almost too much detail to absorb or enjoy. This is definitely NOT an edge of your seat, page turner!

Half way through the book, I began feeling sorry for the author. He had picked a rock and roll icon that everyone wants to know more about, but Jagger is pretty conservative. The author had the chore of making a very private, self absorbed rock and roll superstar into someone who was wild enough for people to want to read about. When you look at Jagger, compared to the more wild men of rock such as Keith Richards, Axl Rose, Keith Moon, etc. Jagger is about as exciting as a tax accountant. In fact, the most exciting stories in this book are actually about the supporting cast,such as Keith, Anita, Marianne, Bobby Keys, etc. The only person in the book more uptight and less interesting than Jagger was the humorless Bianca.

For any dyed in the wool Stones fan, this is a good read. For those less interested in Jagger and the Stones and just wanting some juicy stories about Mick Jagger, good luck, Jagger is just not very controversial. Read the Keith Richards's book Life, if you want to read about wild and crazy exploits.

Only one thumb up on this book. The author did a great job with a somewhat boring subject.

[James Hold · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should have been titled 'Mick Jagger's Sex Life' because that seems to be Norman's primary focus. I love the Rolling Stones as a band, just as I do the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and any number of others, but I've yet to read a biography that makes the characters seem interesting or even someone I'd want to be in the same room with. The only redeeming thing here is Norman gives nice although short tributes to Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts and he doesn't buy into the 'poor mistreated Brian Jones' school of thought, but otherwise it's mainly a chronicle of Jagger jumping from one bed to another.

I would love to see an autobiography of a band that concentrates on the music itself -- what inspired the lyrics, how did the riff come about, why that particular chord structure -- rather than just giving us an LP title and mentioning a few songs. My all-time favorite RS song is 'It's All Over Now' and I would so much enjoy a breakdown of how it came about.

I haven't read Keith's book. After this I'm not sure I want to. I did enjoy Wyman's 'Stone Alone' and would definitely read a book if Charlie Watts were to publish one.

Given Norman's past work this could have been much better. As it is, I don't recommend it.

[Charlie Crane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps the most shocking revelation in Philip Norman's new unauthorized biography of the Rolling Stones' frontman, Mick Jagger (Harper Collins, 640 pages) is that Jagger isn't a very interesting subject at all. Norman was rejected back in 1982 as a potential ghostwriter for a Jagger autobiography, and he seems to take great pleasure in relating the story of how the completed manuscript was deemed by its editor "heart-stoppingly dull" and duly rejected. Similarly, a documentary directed by Peter Whitehead about a 1965 tour of Ireland was left unreleased when the director spent most of his time following not Jagger but drummer Charlie Watts, and a mooted article by Truman Capote about the Stones' notoriously decadent 1972 American tour was scrapped, with Capote dismissing Jagger as an uninteresting "businessman."

Clearly, Norman faced an uphill battle in making his subject seem worthy for chronicle, and he succeeds to a point by painting Jagger as both the sensible anchor that kept the debauchery of his band mates in check and as an insatiable Lothario incapable of expressing real emotion or empathy to his many conquests. The most tragic example of the latter tendency is Marianne Faithfull, whose descent into drug addiction and homelessness after breaking up with Mick is contrasted with his effortless climbing of social ladders. Faithfull is quoted as saying Mick's "tyranny of hip...almost killed me," and Norman often uses this phrase (later amended as "the Tyranny of Cool") to explain, if not defend, such behavior as Mick convincing Hair actress and singer Marsha Hunt to have a child with him and subsequently denying his paternity, or claiming his 1990 marriage to Jerry Hall was not legally valid only after she had filed for divorce. His frequent romantic indiscretions and infidelities are at odds with his intelligent and cautious behavior in nearly every other aspect of his life, and Norman's attempts at reconciling this paradox often read like clutching at straws.

As rock's most famous frontman, though, Jagger is a much more sympathetic figure, without whose moderation in intoxicants and financial savvy, it's suggested, the Stones would not have made it to their impending 50 year anniversary. Keith Richards, whose recent autobiography Life is dismissed as mostly-fictional (though it's frankly a much more engaging read than Norman's book), comes off as immature and ungrateful for Jagger's tireless efforts as erstwhile engine of the Stones machine. Mick's talent as a songwriter and musician (particularly his often-underrated skill as a blues harpist) is also given its due, although Norman can't restrain himself from distracting phonetic transcriptions of Jagger's fake American singing accent ("Stupid Girl" is thus referred to as "Stoopid Ge-erl," "Angie" becomes "Ayn-jeh," and on and on).

Norman is at his best when retelling the most familiar stories, particularly his account of the 1967 drug bust, which debunks quite a few rumors (although one gets the impression Norman really wants the Mars bar story to be true) and confirms that the arrest was indeed a conspiracy by both the American and British government to curb the Stones' supposedly corrupting influence on young people. The Altamont tragedy, too, long considered a byproduct of the Stones' hubris, is revealed to have been more the result of poor last-minute planning on the part of the Grateful Dead's management. After writing previous biographies about the Beatles and the Stones, Norman's an old hand at retelling the highs and lows of the Swinging Sixties, and it's not surprising that this decade takes up more space than all the following years put together.

It's a deficiency Norman is aware of, at one point even drawing a parallel with the official biographer of King George V, who ran into "a major narrative problem...after passing sixty, the king did almost nothing but shoot pheasants and stick postage stamps into albums." Although he dutifully gives lip service to more recent accomplishments like the Stones' 2005 album A Bigger Bang or the 2011 self-titled album by Jagger-fronted supergroup SuperHeavy, it's clear that doing so is strictly a formality and gives any reader hoping for real insight about the book's subject (forgive the expression) no satisfaction. Casual Stones fans searching for Christmas gifts would be better served by the forthcoming documentary Crossfire Hurricane (which sidesteps the problem of making the past 30 years narratively interesting by not even mentioning them), the aforementioned previously-unreleased 1965 film Charlie Is My Darling, or the band's umpteenth greatest hits album Grrr! Maybe Truman Capote had it right all those years ago. (This review was previously published on my Examiner page.)

[Mauberley]

What struck me first was Norman's unabashed admiration and, at times, affection for his subject. This is no hatchet job but neither is a hagiography. I am most interested in the time up to the release of 'Exiles' and the 1972 tour and so, it appears, is the author. Over thirty years of Jagger's life are crammed into the final hundred or so pages yet it is all for the most part quite well done. Loog Oldham is/ was a much more fascinating character than I had realised and Norman sketches his relationship with Jagger most vividly. Something is truly lost when Loog Oldham leaves the stage and brutes like Alan Klein and Bill Graham make their appearance. A brief but powerful observation from Bill Wyman (via Chrissie Shrimpton) occurs close to the conclusion. And by the way, I think that the cover photo is fantastic.

[Ben Roper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does not get enough love. It plumbs the depths of all things Jagger and more in fascinating detail. You can tell Phillip Norman is a huge Stones fan building a mystique around the Mick Jagger entity in a way that makes it seem to have an historical importance but does so in the most level-headed way so as your mind is never made up whether to regard him a saint or to curse the ground he walks on.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reviewing Norman's autobiography, We Danced On Our Desks, about his rise in the Sixties to a wild journalistic career and his bio of Eric Clapton, of course called Slowhand, I figured I'd give his one on Mick a try, having liked his trio on John, Paul, and George; he evokes the period with style, aplomb, wit, or cattiness as necessary. He's astute by now about hazards of perpetual faux "youth."

Like Eric, Mick's ascent by a decade-odd on, the early Seventies and the age of thirty, means not a lot of novelty persists into his elder statesman period. Yet Jagger, of course, unlike Clapton, stays at a far higher level of the musical and tabloid realms, although the two share a marked to me disinterest in the actual tunes after a while, seeming to need to top off their bank accounts and stave off creditors. At least the Stone doesn't battle the drug demons, able as in his entire arc to fame to brush off any addiction as he does any intimacy which threatens a drag on his profiteering.

Norman's alert to this contradiction, for he early on asks why Jagger has not pushed himself out of his comfort zone, pretending that he's devoted to the band on one hand, then treating Mick Taylor, Brian Jones, or Bill Wyman with marked indifference, as to crediting their contributions, while Charlie Watts peeps in from the margins, seemingly, as a salaried employee. Ron Wood's content to tag along for the fun, but consider the human costs endured by those who've endured his dalliances.

Marsha Hunt and Marianne Faithfull in particular, and the children of his many couplings don't all appear to have enjoyed much of their father or former partner. His priapic insatiability appears as of this book over a decade ago to have continued unabated. Impressive in a gauche, adolescent, Peter Pan act, but is it becoming of a knight of the realm, a tax exile, a determinedly hard-nosed and very cheapskate fellow who rarely doles out his wealth for good causes, at least on the charity "record."

He did help Bianca's Nicaragua after its 1972 quake, and he's done Live Aid, say, but he could at his age have become a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett figure in terms of disbursing his gains beyond the necessary upkeep of all those sons and daughters he's engendered, methinks. All the same, as this book skimps much on the songs he sings (probably he gives this more coverage in his Stones study separately published?) and doesn't offer much revelations about his concert regimen, it does still entertain as to his faux-Estuary fake Cockney English combined with his mush-mouthed imitations of a "Mammy" parody of the blues which inspired him so many decades ago, and in that, Norman strives continually to portray what by the era when Brian Jones departed, turned into self-parody.

At times I wondered, as with Clapton's parallel plot, why I was persisting in the pages as they added up to a marathon. Jagger, however, remains prominent for more than his chemical intake, and even if he lacks the chops, his persona playing up his features, his stance, his mimicry casts a spell that no "mere" musician, even Keith Richard, can emulate. And his Glimmer Twin gets his own digs in.

Higher than three stars for the quality and the diligence of the writer. But maybe not the reach and range that Norman shows in his Beatles trio and his "Shout" group presentation. Not the fault of the author, but there's missing the intelligence that the Fab Four exhibited, despite Mick's attempts thanks to Marianne in particular to make up for his LSE drop-out stage and his inconsistent mind.

For his acumen at business dominates his cultural savoir-faire, and he resists true self-disclosures. This challenges Norman to dig as deep as he can to undermine Jagger's relentless determination to keep a facade and a fortress around him, from those trying to break through, and the subject that Norman's chosen this go around, as with Clapton's lesser eminence, leaves contents less weighty.

Yet, as in any Norman tome I've encountered, his apt quotes and erudite asides can be devastating. The lack of direct interviews doesn't detract given so many sources--beyond the already voluble amount of ex-girlfriends and former spouses--who provide the backstories. Norman's very eager to discount any misbecoming conduct on Mick's part at Altamont, and this is one instance where his biographer attempts strenuously to correct the image cast by this character, a creation for 65 years.

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to most of this book. There was a lot that I didn’t know about Mick Jagger, and this filled in many of the holes. Mick Jagger comes across as a much nicer, more loyal, generous, thoughtful and upstanding person than I’d ever imagined – but at the same time, more obnoxious, insensitive, egocentric and cruel. His relationships with virtually every woman were riddled with callous infidelity. Though it is nice to see that most of his exes have gone on to better things since they broke up with Mick (though Jerry Hall’s taste in men has not improved). And his children all love him.
The music – as ever – is amazing, and it was great to learn more about the background. Unfortunately, none was included in this audiobook.
The narrator was very good EXCEPT when he attempted accents – all the accents (especially those purported to be Mick impersonations) were atrocious.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5 stars; This was a complete failure and a major disappointment given Jagger’s unreal, eventful rock-God life. The narrative was second rate, pallid, second hand, invariably from-the-outside-looking-in (still don't know anything more about Jagger than I could've cobbled together from available public sources) and straight out boring to boot.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philip Norman wrote a really good biography given that he was trying to write about the Tyranny of cool. Jagger will continue to deny that he remembers anything and will never write his own story. He doesn't want to rummage through the past. This is possibly as close as we will ever get. Although, Keith Richards memoir, Life, also gives some first hand insight into this glimmer twin. Jagger is an egotistical, selfish and greedy man and sometimes reading his exploits made me cringe. Like his charity work: he was involved with charity events like the Nicaraguan earthquake relief and SARS benefit concerts. Are you kidding me? That is it? Compare this to Pete Townshend's life long charity work including the Who recording Stones songs during the Redlands drug bust trials in an effort to keep the Stones music in front of the public with the $$$ going to charity. The Stones and Jagger could have done so much more but never did and never will. Jagger is the Tyranny of Cool (I love that phrase) and he proves it again and again. Jagger's misogyny is legendary and it is amazing that the mothers of his seven children continue to stand by his side. They all supported him when his mother died. His only accomplishment seems to be that his children have all turned out to be respectful and loving towards each other and to him. Although this probably has more to do with the mothers and their work in raising the children. Norman chose a difficult subject to portray but is very thorough in chronicling Jagger's life and times with the Rolling Stones. He did a good job but it is still not a pleasant book to read. I've always been a closeted Stones music fan (I love Exile on Main Street) and this book will not change that for me. Jagger on the other hand totally creeps me out.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointment. Phillip Norman has written in the field of rock and roll journalism and biography for along time and I expected some depth and information not previously revealed. There are bits and pieces of that but nothing of any real consequence and while Jagger has worked hard to remain a mystery the vast majority of this book is drawn from other sources rather then new interviews or journalistic digging. For a reader new to the Jagger life story it's a thorough overview of his life (though not his music) but for anyone who has been following Jagger closely throughout the years it rapidly becomes redundant. Two other issues.....it's a 6000 page book and at page 505 the chapter concludes in the year 1979. Admittedly musically the Stones have not done much since then but, really, covering 30 years in less than 100 pages seems a trifle silly. Also, nothing annoys me more than typos in a high profile, presumably thoroughly edited book. Two in the space of six pages (p. 293, "brown wall" for what should be "brown wool" and p. 296 "The Perfomers" for what should be "The Peformers")is just ridiculous.

[Anthoney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been jealous to the point of hating him for the scores of beautiful women he has been with inspite of his ambiguous looks and not stopping at his age, but have grown to love him, his music sorry their music-definitely better and cooler then the Beatles as far as I am concerned. I was lucky to watch him perform in concert and man for his age, he still had charisma and the energy to sing and prance on stage like that. He simply radiated.... total plutonium. The biggest rockstar for me, the best concert I have been to.
The book was a good enough bio for me, it had all the sexcapade, drugs and rock and roll. It increased my respect for him somewhat by describing him as an intelligent and sharp guy - inspite of the glamour and that hedonistic lifestyle, he seemed to be well aware of his surroundings and the smart business enterprise that the Rolling Stones are, the book makes him out to be the CEO of this mega brand that can rival the coolest brands . It details his musical influences. Since its an unauthorised bio, we will still have to wait for what Sir Mick has to say about his colourful and enviable life, but till that time I guess this should provide 'Satisfaction'

[Vanessa / Little Gold Pixel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really hoping for a better read than this, as I've read Philip Norman's bios on The Beatles and John Lennon and thought they were fantastic.

I'm not sure how anyone could make Mick Jagger's life seem boring, but that's the impression I got from this book. It was a major snoozefest through the first half. I was waiting and waiting for something exciting to happen, but no.

And this could be because, even though Norman can write beautifully, he writes from a distance. I never felt like I was actually in Mick Jagger's brain. It felt like Norman was writing about someone from watching them through binoculars.

My biggest peeve: Norman's persistence at spelling the lyrics phonetically: "Ah was bawn in a crawss-fire hurr'cayne" (among myriad other examples). So agitating.

By the time I got to the second half of the book I was skimming and flipping pages quickly just so I could get to the end.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Norman -- whose biography of John Lennon was brilliant, saying something about a man who had seemed to have everything already said -- takes on the inscrutable Mick Jagger. He doesn't quite crack Mick's shell, but does unearth a more human side to a man who has tried to remain a perpetual teenager since, oh, 1973 (to the detriment of his music). At any rate, he does a better job at interpreting Jagger than pretty much anyone before, including Mick's pal Keef and certainly Sir Mick himself. Highly recommended (but read "Lennon" first, it'll break your heart).

[Oat Soda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an advance copy of this book. I try to base my reviews on the writing and not the subject matter, and Philip Norman did an excellent job. It's a 600-page book that I got through in a week. Very well-written.
As for the subject matter, I'm not the biggest Stones fan (I like The Kinks better), but this is a fascinating story. True Stones fans should love it, I would think.

[Robert H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Kindle version of Mick Jagger and although I found it to be well-researched and teaming with information new to me, I was sometimes uncertain of Philip Norman's sources as there are no, at least not in the Kindle version, footnotes, endnotes or even a bibliography. There is an index but nothing more. Nor is there a proper introduction to the making of the biography. I assume that the author interviewed most of the musicians, friends, family members, band members, and others as after quotations there'd be something like (he remembered or would later recall). There are some in-text citations, to be fair, but it would have been nice to have all of the sources, notes and or references in one place. Again, maybe this exists in the book version.

I don't question the sourcing, and I'm sure it's all been fact-checked, but I wish that there had been more attention on Mick the musician. It sometimes has the feel of tabloid entries and we forget that Mick is the frontman of one of the most celebrated rock-n-roll bands in history. The picture of Mick painted in the pages of Mick Jagger is not very flattering - his womanizing, infidelity, larger than life ego, general disregard for and dismissiveness of other band members (not giving song credits where they might have been due and the like). And while it is shocking to learn that he has 7 children with 4 different women and that they all get along, what I care most about is how Mick became the great musician and songwriter that he is. Part of it may have to do with the bad boy rebellious personality - he is an entertainer like few others (though some of his dance moves were stolen from James Brown). As I observed in my previous update while reading the book, we learn that Mick is an incredible mimic, though his black and southern dialects aren't very convincing nor is his ridiculous faux Irish accent - see Ned Kelly, the film that Mick "stars" in which is truly awful in my opinion. But the mystery still remains of his quick rise to fame with very little if any formal music training. He couldn't even play an instrument when the Stones first started out. How did he and Keith write all of those memorable hit songs without having much of a background in writing or an interest in literature or poetry? How did Mick learn to sing and eventually play guitar and harmonica? These questions are largely left unanswered or little explored. And it's not like there aren't other musicians mentioned that the Stones clearly learned from (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Muddy Waters, Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, et al). What did Mick learn from them - what was his process? And what did these and other musicians think of Mick the artist? What did the bluesmen Mick idolized think of him? Were they resentful and feel coopted by the Rolling Stones? There are some nuggets and clues throughout, but not nearly enough to satisfy me.

[Steve M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most times you read a biography about a person to find out about their life and read about the things you never knew about them. In this case, reading about a man who has been in the spotlight for 60 years, it's really reading about the things you forgot you knew about him and the rest of the band. (A presumptuous statement on my part as I know that not all people were Rolling Stones fans, much less a Mick Jagger fan.) Everything about Mick was news and his life was on display wherever he went, especially when he was with a different woman. However, this is not a 'tell-all' book because Mick has proven to be quite aloof when it comes to having his life in print, always claiming to not remember the things that happened in his life no matter how huge or how small. But if you can't remember all the scandalous events that were reported worldwide, how can you remember the lyrics to all those Stones songs as well as all the cover songs you perform? We'll just call that "selective memory", I suppose.
I think the author did a good job writing about the main people in Mick's life and some of that proved to be quite informative. Reading what other people contributed to the history of Mick's life really was interesting. He tells about Marianne Faithful's involvement and even interviewed her to get her comments on her time with Mick. When reading about Brian Jones, I can't help but wonder how different history would have been had Brian not become so addicted to drugs and alcohol and had remained a driving force in the creation of Stones' music. He was an amazing musician and was the one who actually "formed" the band. You hear him on their early songs, a strong influence on the sound and the style they played. We'll never know, but reading about him does make you wonder how different things may have been. There was a struggle between him and Mick as to who was the "front man" and as the drugs took over his life, so did Mick take over the Stones.
And the women in his life.....you can't help but hear their album "Some Girls" playing all through the book, especially hearing the lyrics "Laughter, joy, and loneliness and sex and sex and sex and SEX" from "Shattered" on that album. And of course, the lyrics to the title song "Some Girls"......he even sang "Some girls give me children I never asked them for" in their Rio concert after his seventh child with Luciana Gimenez was born out of wedlock while he was still married to Jerry Hall. It brought a roaring cheer from the crowd.
I remembered reading about him referring to Charlie Watts as "my drummer" but didn't know that the first time he said it, Charlie smiled but said "No...you are my singer". But when they were on tour in Amsterdam, Charlie wasn't at the party they were having and Mick called him and in front of everyone asked "Where's my drummer?" over the phone with everyone listening. Charlie got dressed, went down to the party and picked Mick up by his jacket and punched him out saying "Don't EVER call me your drummer again. I'm not your drummer....you're my singer!" After that Charlie left. What I didn't know or remember was that Charlie came back down and punched him out again and said "Just so you don't forget." Hilarious!
Then what I also found interesting was that Mick told the author that he should contact Bill Wyman to get accurate information because he knew Bill kept a diary as well as records of dates and events. Apparently Mick thought Bill would be glad to share, but he told the author there was no way he was giving out any information for Mick's book.....he was going to write his own. (He did write "Stone Alone" that came out in 1990. Keith wrote "Life", his biography published in 2010.)
This is a very long read....666 pages on my tablet, even though it says 640 pages for the hardback copy....but I have to say it covers tons of information about Mick and all the people around him and the Stones. It stayed interesting all the way through, though, so it wasn't like I had to struggle to finish reading it. Was it exhausting? Well, I have to admit, I was ready to move on to something different. It may be awhile before I read another biography.

[Robin Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is difficult to write yet another biography about a man when you would think everything that can be said has already been said about him. Particularly when a number of other artist have recent biographies out that share the same story, including both Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Nevertheless I thought it was an interesting book which was both balanced and skillfully told. There are many references to his infidelities and his complex relationships with his long term partners. It also struck me as a miracle he has such a strong bond with all his seven children when he lived his family life so completely on his own terms. The book also focused on his love hate relationship with Keith Richards. The book took up the argument that Keith put forward in his own book ‘Life’ that Jagger has a materialistic attitude and took control of the Rolling Stones in the 1980’s. However, the book also suggests that because of Jagger’s attitude the Stones were no longer ripped off by dishonest managers and promoters and grossed two billion dollars between 1989 to the present day. It also hints that Jagger and Richards are likely to have received the biggest share of this money but it seems all the Stones are worth tens of millions of dollars.
In my view this is a well written book that draws heavily from previous biographies about him and others who share the same story. If you wish to read a book about the life story of Mick Jagger, this one is probably your best bet.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norman gives what appears to be a fairly evenhanded treatment of Jagger's life to date, though he seems obsessed with the "Mars Bar incident" and refers to it way too many times after initially debunking it. This is a really long book that doesn't even begin to be exhaustive- Jagger's life has been so full of women, of song, and of wine (where wine= any mind altering substance) that there's hardly room to cover half of it. My favorite parts were the chapters concerning the Rolling Stones tours that I have attended. I also found reading about Jagger's relationship with his kids purely fascinating. Yeah, I'm a fangirl.

It was interesting that it seemed to me that Norman started off with what seemed to me sort of an attitude that was anti-Mick, pro-Marianne, then in the middle of the book he seemed more or less on Mick's team, but by the end of the book was very pro-Jerry. Um, I sort of sound like E! Weekly, don't I?

If you're a Jagger fan, don't miss this.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

HB -- I never liked the Stones and now I know why. Mick Jagger was pompous and unforgiving. He really thought he was better than other rock n roll groups with his songs depicting women as play toys to be used and tossed. According to the book Mick was always playing Mick. his children's mothers did a fine job since it appears his kids are well grounded even though they have lived in excess. Well I have no one to blame except myself (a former hippie) to raising these average people to super powers. I have been to a Stones concert and I can say that they can entertain but I was not a repeat customer and I do not own a sinlge Stones LP/CD etc.,

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have like this much more had the author not been so disdainful of the subject.

[Tinker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughfully researched and detailed biography is written in very posh and elaborated a manner wich feels bit funny in a rock biography. I read the audiobook version and narrators toff voice fits the book well but is not most plesant to listen. Mick Jagger did not collaborate with author and after reading this Jagger is as distant of a figure as he was before. In its entirety a decent book.

[Matt Kimsal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars mostly for the writing ability of the author. I'd prefer to give 3.5 stars, but since I can't, I'll round up instead of down, giving Philip Norman the benefit of the doubt. Seemed perhaps a bit bland in spots. I dunno. Maybe it's just because I'm not a huge RS fan.

[Jeff Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

That man fucks.

[José Alvear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro regular. Es como una recopilación de muchas fuentes acerca de Mick Jagger. Es una buena recopilación. Correcta.

[Lori Michael Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good dishy read. Takes you inside the world of the Rolling Stones which was a fascinating world to say the least. Mick doesn't come off as a very likeable guy but a fun read just the same. Highly recommend for Stones fans.

[Philippe Hyndrikx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een must voor alle fans, alleen jammer dat zoals bij veel van deze biografieën de laatste 30 jaar veel minder aandacht krijgen dan de eerste 40-50 .

[Ginni · Rating 4 out of 5]

No fool like an old fool - it must be 47 years since I fell under the spell of 'old rubber lips', watching him sing 'Satisfaction' on TOTP. Yet I've still much enjoyed reading his life story, although I know, and Philip Norman knows, that he is 'a supreme extrovert who prefers discretion...a supreme egotist who dislikes talking about himself.' He has treated women badly, written some desperately derogatory lyrics about women, and yet remains a source of fascination and desire to many women. He has undoubtedly treated many band members and others shabbily as far as financial and creative matters go, but is renowned as one half of an amazing song writing duo. He has provided countless inches of scandalous material for gossip columnists and journalists, yet is credited as an attentive and much-loved father to his large brood of children, and a dutiful son to his parents.
Norman is quite even-handed in his treatment, and makes sure that he gives credit where credit is due when Mick's better nature displays itself. I think he is right that the 'tyranny of cool' has prevented Jagger from letting his more altruistic side come to the fore very often over the years.
Norman has had to cast about assiduously for copy, as Jagger's own autobiography was scrapped years ago. You can tell that the autobiographies by Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, and Jerry Hall have played a large part in supplementing other sources, given the studied lack of recall displayed by Mick himself.
'The eternal teenager', who has had the question 'Will you still be singing 'Satisfaction' aged 30? 40? 50? 60? and now...70 next year' ringing in his ears for a lifetime, seems strangely unaltered in so many ways. Undoubtedly it all comes down to the music and to the performance on stage in the end, and those amazing rock and blues anthems that still have the power to make the heart beat faster and the adrenalin rush to the head, just as they did all those years ago.