The Rolling Stones has always been associated with the ‘bad boy’ image in the rock and roll nation. Particularly in their early years as the band, they were notorious for their controversial and rebellious image. The Rolling Stones were also a symbol of youthful rebellion back in the 1960s. However, the band’s frontman, Mick Jagger has his own thing to say about it.
This representation of the band has given them hard times. The whole perception of people towards the band was negative. However, they did what they were best at and carefully cultivated the ‘bad boy’ persona into millions of record-selling groups.
Mick Jagger is the lead vocalist behind the scenes, and his energetic stage performance and powerful vocals helped the band become one of the greatest bands in the world. He is also considered one of the best frontmen in rock music history. The band started out in the 60s alongside their counterpart The Beatles.
Still to this day, the band is compared to the Beatles. Both bands see each other as rivals but they have deep mutual respect for each other. However, at times, they also lash out at each other. They don’t hesitate to say things about their counterparts. Mick particularly doesn’t want The Rolling Stones to be compared to the Fab Four. In his book ‘My Life As A Rolling Stone’, Mick wrote that their manager Andrew Loog wanted them to have an image that was the opposite of the Beatles. This gave rise to the bad boys in the history of rock music.
In an interview with Esquire in 1968, Mick confessed that the Beatles were also rude. But, the Beatles had a different image which is why it didn’t make the headlines. Jagger even said that they were rude to others because they were rude to them too. They had to go through their own sad time. He remembered that he and his bandmates received negative reflections everywhere.
He said, “God, I wish I were that shrewd!” about creating a bad image. He added, “The Beatles used to say very sarcastic, rude things to reporters, but no one ever wrote it because it didn’t fit the image. We were really quite horrible to everyone because they were so horrible to us. We didn’t dig any of it—all the interviews and crap—and we didn’t like talking to them anyway because they were such stupid jerks.”
Mick revealed that no one understood them. People feared them for no reason and they were rude too. Most of them were even rude about their hair and the way the band dressed. He said, “We’re clean; we’re not dirty, and our hair shouldn’t be important.”
Jagger talked about his experience in Wales. Mick said they were hungry and wanted to go to a place to eat. It was a pub, and the guy at the door didn’t want them to go inside because they didn’t have a jacket or a tie. They asked the elderly guy at the bar, ‘Do you agree with him?’. He says the old man answered, “‘I bloody well do. You’ve got no bally, right? I’m still able to give you one right on the nose.’” I didn’t want any fuss there, which is why we left, but if Keith had been with me, he’d have hit him, says Jagger.
They were young back then but it was the other party who always cause the trouble. Others used to insult them. Mick commented that how they looked was why most people tried to pick on them. Even though, they wouldn’t make any comment on how fat or horrible they looked. Mick Jagger said that they didn’t make their ‘bad boy’ persona intentionally, they were just forced.
