Five artists Mick Jagger hated
Really, Mick Jagger has earned the right to say whatever he wants about whoever he wants. As the ringleader of the greatest rock and roll band in history, The Rolling Stones singer sits at the very top of the musical food chain. But from his position from up high, he’s often found throwing verbal rocks at those below. Or, in his early days, he’d even take jabs at his peers.
In short, Jagger has never been shy about sharing his musical opinions. Not one to keep them to himself either, there are hoards of interviews where the singer spoke less about his own work and more about the careers of those around him. Fueling feuds and critiquing their peers seems to be a pastime that he and Keith Richards share, as the guitar player has delivered some savage judgements, too.
Sure, on the flip side, it’s easy to find praise for the bands Jagger enjoys. He was a vocal fan of Prince, David Bowie, and even modern acts like The Strokes, as he said, “It’s gratifying that people are realizing rock ‘n’ roll is still vibrant.” That’s about as close to any real compliment anyone could hope to get from the singer.
However, for the artists he dislikes, Jagger never minced his words. He made his thoughts and feelings on a cast of his least favourite acts obvious and widely known. From major bands who gave the Stones a run for their money, to the titans of opposing musical scenes, here are five acts that Jagger especially hated.
Five artists Mick Jagger hated:
Aerosmith
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Jagger didn’t see it that way. Instead, he saw the band’s leader, Steven Tyler, as nothing but a copycat, desperately trying to steal his style. Maybe worse than outright hate, the Stones singer delivered Tyler a bitter dose of pity as he said in 1977, “The singer is quite a nice guy, mind you. He’s almost too bloody sweet.”
Suggesting that he was nothing more than another fan, staring at Jagger all starry-eyed, the Stones’ leader laughed in his face. He continued, “He’s such a little sweetheart, really – what can you do with him? Punch ‘im in the mouth? Here, what are you playing at, fuckin’ impersonating me?”
But as for the band as a whole and the music they made, he cut the niceties. “Oh God, Aerosmith!” he spat, “They’re just rubbish – absolute bullshit.”
New York Dolls
It seems to be a well-established fact that Mick Jagger had a complex relationship with punk. In comparison to Keith Richards, who completely hated the whole thing, stating, “What’s the point of listening to that shit?” Jagger seemed to pick and choose the bands he liked.
However, one band that definitely fell into the hate category was the New York Dolls, one of the earliest groups to blossom in the punk scene in NYC. “Ugh, the New York Dolls! What a load of rubbish!” Jagger said of the group.
However, it wasn’t that Jagger simply hated that whole crowd. When he was in the city, he’d regularly stop in at CBGB to check out the bands. If anything, he seemed to hate the New York Dolls for not being punk enough as he once said, “The sort of punk scene in New York, you know, you had the Ramones and you had the New York Dolls, but they didn’t really play that kind of music … it was more of a glam look.”
Sex Pistols
But then again, the British punk scene didn’t seem to please him much either. However, his hatred for Sex Pistols seems to be less about the music and more a personal spat. As the London punks broke out in the mid-1970s, they seemed desperate to cast Jagger and his generation as dinosaurs, painting themselves as the new, cool crowd and declaring the rest tired oldies. Johnny Rotten dared to say that the Stones should retire and “get out of the way”. Naturally, the band didn’t respond well.
“Well, then he should definitely retire next year,” Jagger said in response. The singer flicked Rotten away like an annoying fly as he continued, “I don’t care what Johnny Rotten says. Everything Johnny Rotten says about me is only ’cause he loves me ’cause I’m so good.” All in all, Sex Pistols only managed to keep their act together for a few short years, like the Stones are going strong decades later. So the punks’ call for the band to call it quits is laughable in hindsight.
The Clash
Jagger’s relationship with The Clash is a complex one. On one hand, he claimed that they were his favourite band of the original punks. “I mean, my favourite band of that period, was The Clash, definitely,” he said once, “They definitely had a dance sensibility, as well as a rock sensibility.”
But as the years wore on and that original scene was outgrown, the band seemed to stale in his mind. Perhaps even worse than being hated, Jagger began to think the band were boring.
“I don’t feel connected with bands like the Clash, the bands that still play every night,” he said. “I can only see them as repeats of everything that happened before. I think it’s a bit unfortunate, too, but I think no one would disagree with me.”
Herman’s Hermits
While Herman’s Hermits might not be very well known in history, they were once bigger than the Stones. In fact, the Stones supported them, leading to Jagger being sick and tired of the constant comparison between the groups.
The 1960s group were one of the hoards of acts that popped up in the wake of The Beatles’ breakout, channelling the same sort of sound and energy. The Stones were often tarnished with that idea as well, all too often compared to the Fab Four and their many clones. Comparison and imitation seem to be the things that boil Jagger’s blood the most, leading to a frustrated hit out at the group.
“I remember one time playing in Philadelphia, and Herman’s Hermits were top of the bill, and we were second, and there was some argument about the dressing rooms,” Jagger told Rolling Stone. “[No one] was complaining because he was top of the bill and his dressing room wasn’t good enough. … And one of the most impossible things was going out to have a hamburger, and some guy would go, ‘Are you Herman’s Hermits?’ It would kill you. So you go, ‘Fuck you. Herman’s Hermits is shit.”