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Mick Jagger names the artists he thinks are bringing ‘life’ to new generation of rock music

The Rolling Stones frontman also ruled out any rumours of his retirement

Peony Hirwani
Friday 22 April 2022 09:09 BST
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The Rolling Stones perform surprise show in Los Angeles
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Mick Jagger has praised Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly for bringing “life” to a new generation of rock music.

During a recent appearance on Swedish radio station P4, the 78-year-old singer said: “In rock music you need energy and there have not been a lot of new rock singers around. Now there are a few.

“You have Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. That kid of post-punk vibe makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll,” Jagger said.

The Rolling Stones frontman also ruled out any rumours of his retirement, and that forthcoming shows by his band won’t be his last.

“I am not planning it to be the last tour. I love being on tour. I don’t think I would do it if I did not enjoy it,” he said.

“I enjoy going out there on stage and doing my stuff. That is what I do. I want everyone to enjoy themselves and forget the troubles in their lives for a couple of hours and just chill out and have a great afternoon and evening.”

During the interview, Jagger likewise admitted that The Rolling Stones “provoked” many people when asked about the decision to axe their hit 1970s song “Brown Sugar” from their setlist.

Last year, Jagger and his band member Keith Richards told fans that they won’t be playing “Brown Sugar” on tour any longer.

(Getty Images)

Concerns had been raised about the 50-year-old song’s reference to the “horrors of slavery” and other controversial topics.

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He said that The Rolling Stones were good at causing “shock and awe” before, but he accepts that things needed to “change”.

“The early days were the days of shock and awe, things can’t stay like that forever,” he said. “When you start out, I mean popular music is always in need of shaking up. We were quite good at that.

“We had our own style and our own way of approaching things and we had a different way of behaving. And it provoked a lot of people,” he added. “I thought a lot of it was super over-reaction but it became a bit of a cliché.

“It served us well in some ways... we got noticed.”

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