Mick Jagger once sang “what a drag it is getting old” but the most senior swinger in town shows little sign of slowing down as he turns 80 on Wednesday.
The Rolling Stones frontman is still strutting and gyrating in front of packed-out arenas, most recently touring Europe to mark the band’s 60th anniversary.
The icon of 60s counterculture underwent a heart valve replacement in 2019, but his regime of running, kick-boxing, cycling and yoga has maintained his svelte figure and longevity as an energetic showman.
The band completed its 14-date “Sixty” tour last year, although had to cancel one date when Jagger caught Covid.
It was the first time the band had performed without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021.
The remaining members plan to release a new album in tribute to their late drummer later this year, the first LP of original material since “A Bigger Bang” in 2005.
It will reportedly feature Beatles legend Paul McCartney and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman, 86, more than 30 years after his departure from the band.
Beyond the Stones, Jagger teamed up with Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl in 2021 to record “Eazy Sleazy”, a song about life during the pandemic.
With songs like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Gimme Shelter”, “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Not Fade Away”, Jagger’s band helped detonate the cultural and social explosion of the 1960s.
The charismatic frontman built a reputation for pushing boundaries, taking full advantage of the era’s sexual revolution and recreational drug use.