Mick Jagger on Rolling Stones’ Future: ‘Anything Could Happen’
In a new interview, the Rolling Stones took stock of their future ahead of the No Filter Tour and following the death of drummer Charlie Watts. Asked if their next trek could be their last, singer Mick Jagger told writer David Fricke, “I don’t know. I mean, anything could happen.”
Noting, “I've been asked that question since I was 31,” Jagger said the band’s next step depends on the success of No Filter, which will feature newly recruited live drummer Steve Jordan. “You know, if things are good next year and everyone's feeling good about touring, I'm sure we'll do shows,” he said. “I'm just trying to concentrate on this tour now.”
Fricke phrased the question differently to Keith Richards, asking if the tour will be about “finding out what feels right and possible.” The guitarist seemingly confirmed that approach: “It's more that way,” he said. “We hit a very difficult point, to take this thing out. But we're gonna do it. Charlie was prepared for us to go ahead. We were expecting him to pick it up somewhere. Steve was, thankfully, going to be the pickup. But things ain't turned out that way.”
Guitarist Ronnie Wood offered the most optimistic response, saying, “I got a feeling that we're just tickling the surface here. We're seeing another unexploded mine. It's got a lot of time on it.”
Elsewhere in the PR-issued chat, the three members reminisced about Watts’ distinctive playing style, praised Jordan’s approach during tour rehearsals, previewed the possibilities of their set list (“We’ve rehearsed 80 to 90 songs,” Jagger said) and discussed the upcoming 40th-anniversary edition of Tattoo You.
The Rolling Stones played their first show without Watts on Sept. 20 with a warm-up gig in Foxborough, Mass. The No Filter run will officially launch Sept. 26 in St. Louis.