Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has been
in one of the most successful rock bands in history since 1962. But the singer has trudged through many turmoils
and tragedies, some of which have been of his own making. Without further ado, let's take a look at
the troubled history of Mick Jagger. It's widely known that Mick Jagger is something
of a ladies' man, but as The Irish Independent tells us, pretty much every report of his
lechery is an understatement. From broom closet affairs with Brigitte Bardot
and Tina Turner to opulent backstage parties, the singer's life has been a constant conveyor
belt of women. It's estimated that he has slept with over
4,000 women. Jagger's female therapist, who he ended up
having an affair with, had this to say about the singer, quote, "Being with all these different people makes
him feel young and gives him all this energy. He can't stay faithful. He has to get that satisfaction from bedding
a lot of women at the same time." Unfortunately for Jagger, this attitude has
bled into other walks of his personal life and caused irreparable damage. His long relationship with model Jerry Hall
ultimately ended in her filing for divorce after Jagger tore down the final barriers
of her trust by getting a Brazilian model pregnant. According to The Journal, Jagger's response
was to argue that he and Hall were never actually married because their 1990 wedding ceremony
in Bali was never legally valid, and they hadn't registered the marriage afterwards. The court later voided the marriage. Jagger moved on to other romantic relationships
and continued to live like a true rock star. These days, the Rolling Stones might seem
like a group of forever-touring elder statesmen of rock and roll. But back in the day, they were one of the
most dangerous bands out there, to the point that even a casual Mick Jagger interview could
contain quotes that would destroy almost any other band's career. One of Jagger's most infamous interviews happened
in 1978, while he was promoting the band's newest release, Some Girls. When the 35-year-old singer sat down to discuss
the album with the Today Show, Jagger was asked how he felt about the album being criticized
as sexist and, possibly, racist. Jagger's tongue-in-cheek response raised a
few eyebrows in '78 but today, it would probably require a full apology tour. "The next one's gonna be more racist and more
sexist, and it's gonna be a whole bunch better." Of course, guitarist Keith Richards wasn't
going to let Jagger be the only one making inflammatory statements. Richards said that the album was called Some
Girls because the band simply couldn't remember all of the women's names. Few events in the history of popular music
cast a darker shadow than the Rolling Stones' tragic free concert at the Altamont Speedway
in California. As The Telegraph tells us, Altamont was a
joyless event that was far from the intended Woodstock-style experience, and the vibe among
the audience was hostile. Mick Jagger was punched in the face as soon
as the band's helicopters landed. What's more, the Hells Angels, who were acting
as a security force at the concert, were an imposing presence. Audience members and musicians witnessed the
motorcycle gang become extremely violent many times throughout the day. By the time the Rolling Stones took the stage,
some people were having very bad drug-related experiences and the Hells Angels were readily
handing out beatings. Ultimately, the violence escalated to the
point where one audience member pulled out a gun. The Hells Angels stabbed him to death as the
band, unaware of the situation's magnitude, continued the show. By the time the Rolling Stones escaped the
venue in a helicopter, four audience members had died. Many critics agree that the disastrous Altamont
concert marked the end of the free-love 1960s. According to The Telegraph, the tragic events
of the Altamont concert made Jagger decide against using the services of the Hells Angels
ever again. Some members of the gang felt as if they were
getting the cold shoulder treatment from the singer...so they made a decision to kill him. Their plan was to attack the singer's holiday
residence in Long Island, New York, from the sea, so they could avoid the security at the
front of the building and sneak in through the beachfront garden. Luckily for Jagger, the plan was foiled by
an unexpected storm, which threw all the Hells Angels overboard. Though they all survived, it appears the experience
was enough to deter the bikers from their Jagger-killing ways. Strangely, Jagger himself was apparently never
informed about his would-be killers. The ocean-based plan of attack only came to
light in 2008, when an FBI agent revealed it for a British TV series. Still, if the leather-clad invaders did make
landfall, we'd like to think that Jagger would have been ready for them. "Okay, let's do it." Mick Jagger might have had his share of trysts
and flings, but even he had his hands full with singer Marianne Faithfull. As The Express tells us, Faithfull dated no
less than three Rolling Stones members, along with other music luminaries such as David
Bowie. The four years she spent with Jagger were
turbulent, drug-fueled, and scandalous. Oh, and she cheated on him with Keith Richards,
who was irked by the fact that Jagger had slept with his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg. In recent years, Faithfull has shared some
of her memories from the era, and she doesn't exactly present Jagger in a positive light. According to The Telegraph, she says that
her sultry aura and provocative antics during the 1960s were mostly an act hiding her insecurities
and discomfort in the company of men, and that she needed drugs and alcohol to tolerate
sleeping with them. Despite this, she says her night with Richards
was a memorable experience…while keeping carefully quiet about Jagger, who therefore
presumably falls into the "needing drugs and alcohol" category. "Oh, you know, staying in time's not everything." Mick Jagger and Keith Richards might be among
the most wildly successful songwriting teams in rock history, but it's also widely known
to be a partnership packed with volatility. The first signs of serious trouble came around
1983, when they were recording their Undercover album and utterly refused to be in the studio
at the same time, going as far as telling the producer to remove some of the tracks
that the other one had recorded. Later, Richards allegedly took offense to
Jagger's "indifference" with the band and the frontman's less-than-rocking solo output. Richards made several not-so-subtle references
to the singer's arrogance on his own solo album in 1988. As Ultimate Classic Rock tells us, their rocky
relationship threatened to break up the band numerous times over the years. Richards said that a lot of their problems
stem from the fact that the men have always been a little unsure of where they stand with
each other. According to Richards, another major reason
for the pair's issues comes from Jagger's control freak tendencies and the need to be,
quote, "numero uno" all the time. These days, the two superstars seem to have
reconciled their differences and Richards, especially, has a healthy perspective on their
long and successful career together. "In a 50 year relationship doing this stuff,
course guys have fights, brothers have fights, you know. We're brothers." According to Ultimate Classic Rock, many members
of the Rolling Stones have been arrested at one time or another, and Mick Jagger was no
exception. In fact, he and partner in crime Keith Richards
were the first band members to have troubles with the law, when the police raided a drug-fueled
party at Richards' home in 1967 and arrested the pair. Jagger was originally sentenced to three months
in prison. Richards got a full year. But an appeal managed to dismiss the sentences. In 1968, Jagger was arrested at another drug
bust, this time with girlfriend Marianne Faithfull. In 1972, Jagger and Richards were arrested
in Boston after an altercation with a photographer. This time the mayor of Boston himself bailed
them out so they could make it to a scheduled concert in time. In an interview with The Irish Independent,
Jagger describes the 1967 arrest, trial, and the brief stint he actually spent in jail
as an unpleasant, "kind of nasty" experience...especially because the press mercilessly covered the
case, which became a notorious clash between the powers that be and the youth culture of
the Swinging Sixties. It can be easy to forget that much like many
other English old-school rockers, Mick Jagger has a knighthood. As The Telegraph reports, Sir Mick Jagger
received the honor way back in 2003, but the process was not without its speed bumps. Knighthoods are traditionally given by the
queen, but in Jagger's case, Her Majesty Elizabeth II wanted none of it. The ruler of the United Kingdom reportedly
considered the Rolling Stones frontman an unsuitable candidate for knighthood. She even threw a little shade in the singer's
direction and reportedly stated she didn't have "the stomach" to personally present the
honor. The queen appears to have had some personal
reasons behind her distaste, as she disapproved of Jagger's relationship with her sister,
Princess Margaret. It probably didn't help that the Stones singer
has a history of anti-establishment opinions: He has said that anarchy is the only slight
glimmer of hope, and even called Queen Elizabeth, quote, the "Chief Witch." In the end, however, Jagger got his knighthood…from
Charles, Prince of Wales. It just so happened that the Queen had scheduled
a knee surgery for that exact day, and some say she even commented to a doctor: "I would much rather be here than at Buckingham
Palace knighting a certain party." Never one to hold his tongue, guitarist Keith
Richards has his own opinions about Jagger's knighthood and the royal family. "It's a shoddy award, you know. Anyway, I wouldn't let that family near me with a
sharp stick let alone a sword, you know?" In 2007, Mick Jagger's father, Joe, passed
away. The Telegraph wrote that the rock star and
his dad, a physical education expert, had a lot more in common than you'd initially
assume, and Jagger indeed credits his father as his biggest influence. Joe encouraged his son's interest in singing
and loaned him money to buy the equipment for his first band. In fact, Jagger's father is also responsible
for his most famous aspects as a performer: His tireless, athletic performance style,
thanks to the workout regimen Joe taught him at an early age. Joe Jagger even gave young Mick his first
appearance on television when the two were featured on an episode of the BBC's Seeing
Sport together, demonstrating rock climbing and camping skills. Jagger learned of his father's death just
hours before a Rolling Stones concert. Nevertheless, the shocked singer took to the
stage, allegedly saying that his father would have wanted that. Mick Jagger has been reliably rocking the
world since the mid-1960s. So it makes sense for his age to start showing
in some ways. Even so, it was shocking when the NME reported
in early 2019 that the Rolling Stones had to postpone tour dates because of the singer's
illness. Fortunately, this delay turned out to be a
temporary one. Jagger, who was 75 years old at the time,
was extremely apologetic about letting mere health issues stop him, and promised to get
back on the road as soon as possible. This is actually pretty amazing, considering
that the singer eventually revealed what had been ailing him: A minor inconvenience called
heart valve replacement surgery. Being Mick Jagger, he recovered very quickly
and was on his feet after only a few weeks. Even more impressive, six weeks after the
surgery, he posted a video of himself on Instagram dancing in a studio and preparing to get back
out on the road. It wasn't much longer before he hit the stage
for his comeback show in Chicago. Imagine being an incredibly talented and successful
person who has no shortage of achievements. Unfortunately, your significant other is one
of the most famous people in the world, so no matter what you do, you're doomed by history
to be a footnote. For L'Wren Scott, an extraordinary stylist
and fashion designer, this scenario played out in a particularly tragic manner. As The Guardian tells us, Scott was a wealthy,
successful and popular fashion designer in her own right, but she also happened to be
in a relationship with Mick Jagger. Unfortunately, her luxurious lifestyle and
happy facade evidently hid an internal turmoil, and in 2014, she took her own life. Jagger was on the road with the Rolling Stones
at the time, and stated that he was "...struggling to understand how my lover
and best friend could end her life in this tragic way." If you or anyone you know is having suicidal
thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
