They Still Gather No Moss
Sun Herald
Sunday May 18, 2008
The Stones are in amazing shape after half a century, GAYNOR FLYNN discovers.
THE Rolling Stones know how to make an entrance. They were supposed to show up for interviews an hour ago. We're at the Berlin Film Festival, where Shine A Light, Martin Scorsese's film on the Stones, had just had its premiere, and now the iconic rockers are missing in action. You could imagine them getting fed up with all the hoo-ha and they're off carousing in some seedy bar. But you can't help admiring the fact that they still have it in them to play up. Finally, in they bounce. Sir Mick leads the way, a smirk on those impossibly exaggerated lips. "How are we all?" he asks. It's appropriate he uses the royal we - after all, they've reigned supreme for almost half a century. Which is why we're here today. Shot over two nights in New York in 2006, Shine A Light pays tribute to one of the greatest bands of all time. There are 122 minutes of gorgeously shot, state-of-the-art-sounding rock'n'roll. Hard-core fans loved it. Others were less enthusiastic because what Shine A Light doesn't do is shed any new light. "I felt that it was a bit of a cliche doing the backstage and getting ready and all this business," says Jagger dismissively. "Every-one's done that forever."Anyway, you really do not want to see Charlie and me trying to get ourselves together for a show; it's quite boring," Keith Richards laughs. Jagger's caginess is legendary. It irks him that, despite saying so little, we know so much, like his dalliance with Luciana Morad, the Brazilian model he had a fling with while married to Jerry Hall (the mother of four of his seven children); the subsequent paternity suit; other affairs; his reported miserliness.We also know that Jagger turns 65 in July. He officially qualifies as a pensioner. So how is he coping with that particular milestone? "Oh, just wonderfully, thank you," he drawls. Which begs the question, how long can the Stones keep doing what they do? Jagger is an anomaly of nature. It's the only way to explain the amazing shape he's in. The erosion on his face is a testament to just how much fun he's had over six decades but, other than that, he's changed very little. "There's no secret, really, I was born like that." Can he honestly see himself performing at 70, at 80 or, God forbid, 90? "We don't look at the clouds of tomorrow through the sunshine of today," he says. "This is what we do," says Richards, who turns 65 in December. "It's as natural as that. Give us a gig and we'll play it. It's like if I was a plumber I'd come around and fix your toilet." But even plumbers retire.You can't help but like Richards. Where Jagger is guarded, Richards is an open book, or soon will be. He's writing his memoirs and reportedly seeking a $9 million advance. "Ask me anything," he says. OK. What's his attitude towards drugs nowadays? "Wonderful things. I smoke weed all the damn time." Jagger doesn't look happy when I mention the book, but does he really have anything to worry about? After all, as Richards will tell you, "it's not like I can even remember yesterday".Shine The Light premieres on Thursday.
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