Joe Satriani reveals that Mick Jagger 'got a kick' out of playing secret bar gigs
Joe joined Mick on his 1988 solo tour
The Rolling Stones have played some incredible gigs in their time, performing for huge audiences of tens of thousands of people at a time. But according to guitarist Joe Satriani, the band's frontman Mick Jagger also enjoyed playing small gigs in local bars.
Joe has played with numerous big names in music throughout his career, and was recruited by Mick for his solo tour in 1988. Speaking to UCR, Joe revealed that one of Mick's favourite things to do while on the tour was play unannounced gigs at small, local bars: "It seemed like once a month we would find a bar somewhere and we would make a deal with the local band that we would just walk in and take over their gear. And if we needed to bring an extra guitar, we would. But pretty much we plugged in to whatever they had."
The American guitarist recalled what it was like playing such an intimate gig with Mick: "I stood next to him on the stage at the Tokyo Dome in front of 95,000 people and in front of this little club where people, where there couldn’t have been more than 80 or 100 people totally packed into this teeny thing.
"Doing ‘Little Red Rooster’ in a little club like that, everyone’s drinking and having a great time. It was fun. We’d go in there, play for 45 minutes and run out. Then go have a party back at the hotel.”
According Joe, it didn't matter to The Rolling Stones legend how many people he was playing for, he would always put on the same high-energy performance: "He just loved being with people, he loved performing and to just stand next to him while he exuded this positive rock and roll energy was just, oh man it was worthy every second. It was just amazing.
“It was always great, just to see Mick turn it on when he’s literally 12 inches away from the audience and they can touch him and everything, and he loved playing blues songs and rock and roll favourites and stuff."
Check out The Rolling Stones' decade-spanning career:
1962: Where it all began
The first stable line-up of The Rolling Stones consisted of singer Mick Jagger, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts, and bassist Bill Wyman. In 1962, the band carried out their first UK tour, which helped them gain new fans and learn their craft.
1963: A record deal
Having completed their first tour and signing Andrew Loog Oldham as their manager, the Rolling Stones signed a record deal with Decca Records. The label, who had previously turned down The Beatles, gave the Rolling Stones a deal that, for the time, was unheard of. It consisted of the band getting three times an new act's typical royalty rate, full artistic control of recordings and ownership of the recording master tapes.
1963: Their first single
In the same year, the band released their debut single, a cover version of Chuck Berry's 'Come On.' It landed at Number 21 in the UK charts. They then released their second single 'I Wanna Be Your Man', which peaked at Number 12. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
1964: A debut album
In 1964, the Rolling Stones released their debut, self-titled album, which charted at Number 1 in the UK and Number 11 in the US. The album included the Number 3 single, 'Not Fade Away.'
1965: Number 1 UK single and international success
Following the success of their first album, the Rolling Stones were quick to release another in 1965. The LP, titled 'The Rolling Stones No. 2', debuted at Number 1 in the UK and Number 5 in the US. The single 'The Last Time' from the album reached Number 1 in the UK - their first ever UK chart-topper.
The band also released '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' in 1965, which went to Number 1 in the UK and spent four weeks at the top of the US charts. 'Get Off of My Cloud' was released the same year, which went to Number 1 in both the UK and US.
1968: Back to basics
Following a turbulent three years, involving a newspaper sting on the band for their alleged illegal drug use, the band released 'Beggars Banquet', a mix of country and blues-inspired songs. The music was similar to their first work. The album reached Number 3 in the UK and Number 5 in the US and included the hit singles 'Street Fighting Man' and 'Sympathy for the Devil.'
1969: Brian Jones' death
After leaving the band in 1969 due to his drug addiction, Brian Jones admitted to his band members he was "unable to go on the road again." A month later, Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool at his house in Hartfield, East Sussex.
Guitarist Mick Taylor replaced Brian Jones.
1975: Ronnie Wood joins the band
In 1974, Mick Taylor left the band and in 1975, Ronnie Wood replaced him, joining the band just before they toured America.
1976: Number 1 in the US
After the success of their 1974 album 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll', which went Number 1 in the US, the band released 'Black and Blue' in 1976. The album was straight to the top of the charts in the US and peaked at Number 2 in the UK.
1981: Setting world records
With another Number 1 album under their belt, the Rolling Stones signed a new four-album recording deal with a new label, CBS Records, for a reported $50 million. At the time, this was the biggest record deal in history.
1986: A potential split
In 1986, rifts in the band were rife, predominantly between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Mick Jagger undertook a solo career, releasing several albums, while in 1988, Keith Richards did the same, after it the Rolling Stones stopped recording music.
1994: A comeback
Reuniting after the internal conflict, the Rolling Stones released their 20th studio album 'Voodoo Lounge', which reached Number 1 in the UK and Number 2 in the US. Voodoo Lounge won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 1995 Grammy Awards. The band then went on to carry out a year long tour to support the album called 'Voodoo Lounge Tour', which grossed $320 million, becoming the world's highest-grossing tour at the time.
2002: 40th anniversary
In 2002, the Rolling Stones released 'Forty Licks', a greatest hits double album, marking forty years as a band. It reached Number 2 in the UK and US thanks to their legion of fans and to put the cherry on top of the cake, Q magazine named the Rolling Stones one of the 50 Bands To See Before You Die.
2005: Breaking records
Following various successful tours, in 2005, the 'Bigger Bang' tour set a record of $162 million, breaking the North American mark set by the band in 1994. On 18 February 2006 the band played a free concert to over one million people at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro—one of the largest rock concerts of all time.
2019 - 2020: 'No Filter Tour'
For a massive 14 years, the group toured the world non-stop, raking in the cash and performing to their devoted fans. In that time, they only released one studio album. In 2019, the band toured with 'No Filter Tour' in both the UK and US. In 2020, part of the tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021: Tour after sad death of Charlie Watts
Sadly, on 24th August 2021, the devastating news was announced that drummer Charlie Watts had sadly died. The Rolling Stones are set to continue the 'No Filter Tour' without their late friend, and bandmate of almost 60 years.
The tour was originally scheduled for 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. The band began the rescheduled dates of the 'No Filter Tour' on 26th September 2021 - the first performances since losing Charlie.
2022: The Rolling Stones announce new tour dates
The Rolling Stones announced three epic shows in summer 2022 as part of their 'SIXTY' tour, celebrating their 60th anniversary. The 'Paint it Black' band performed two dates in London and a third in Liverpool.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood gave a show packed full of their classics such as 'Satisfaction', 'Paint It Black', 'Tumbling Dice', 'Sympathy for the Devil' and 'Gimme Shelter', along with some surprises from their half a century of greatest hits.
2022: Mick Jagger creates theme song for Slow Horses
Mick Jagger took on an exciting solo project, when he co-wrote and recorded the track 'Strange Game' for the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses.
Described as being a 'Poignant, moodily strutting theme tune', the song was co-written by Academy Award-nominated film composer Daniel Pemberton, and is due to be released when the series premiered on 1st April.
2022: The Rolling Stones 'SIXTY' shows
The Rolling Stones put on three incredible shows in the UK as part of their 'SIXTY' tour. They played at Liverpool's Anfield Stadium on 9th June and performed at London's BTS Hyde Park on 25th June and 3rd July.
2022 - 2023: The Rolling Stones announce 'GRRR Live' album and concert
In December, The Rolling Stones announced an album called 'GRRR Live', recorded on their '50 & Counting Tour' in 2012.
They followed this up with the announcement of an immersive virtual tour, with one of the shows from their 2012 tour being streamed worldwide, with fans able to interact. It includes performances from Mick Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer and Lady Gaga.
The virtual concert experience took place on 2nd February 2023, with the album being released on 10th February.
2023: The Rolling Stones announce 'Hackney Diamonds'
The Rolling Stones announce their first album with original music in 18 years, called 'Hackney Diamonds'. They also released the first song from their album called 'Angry'.
It seems like Mick still likes to take the road less traveled, as he has been documenting the local places he has visited on The Rolling Stone's 'No Filter' tour. The tour ended in November 2021, and took the band across Europe and North America, where fans were surprised to discover Mick in spots normally only visited by locals.
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