Jagger, portrait of a star feeling the strain
HE has been struggling to fight off illness while embroiled in a bitter court battle following his girlfriend’s suicide.
And on stage, Mick Jagger’s gaunt and lined face clearly showed the strain.
Nonetheless, he danced and sang his way through a 90-minute set for a sell-out crowd . . . including 103 of his relatives.
Having recovered from a throat infection, the 71-year-old was keen to put on a show in Sydney on Wednesday. He told fans: ‘Thank you for being so very patient with us, and waiting for us, and it’s great to be here I’ll tell you that. It feels amazing.
‘I had 103 of my Sydney rellies [relatives] for tea the other day, 103, and they are all here tonight, so very welcome all my rellies.’
It is not known how close these relations are to the star, whose mother was born in Australia in 1913. The concert was one of a series of rescheduled dates in Australia and New Zealand.
The Rolling Stones postponed part of their world tour due to the suicide in March of Jagger’s partner of 13 years, fashion designer L’Wren Scott, 49.
Now the band are suing their insurers for refusing to pay out £8million for the costs of the delay.
The Stones say Jagger had acute traumatic stress disorder and was told not to perform for a month. The condition can cause flashbacks, nightmares, feelings of guilt and emotional numbness.
But their insurers claim the policy – taken out in case of any problems with the tour – did not cover suicide. They also suggested that Jagger’s stress was not purely down to Miss Scott’s death.
Despite having cancelled a gig just days earlier due to illness, Jagger raced through the 19-song set list, barely missing a beat.