Mick Jagger Adventures That Are Hard To Believe To Be True
For decades, it’s been obvious why no one will ever truly replace Mick Jagger. As the magnetic frontman of The Rolling Stones, Jagger has led the charge in rock music for over 60 years—and he’s still going strong. He turned 80 in 2023, the same year the band released Hackney Diamonds, their most critically praised album in ages. Then, in 2024, they hit the road for a sold-out North American tour, where Jagger showed no signs of slowing down. He danced and strutted across the stage just like he did decades ago. One Associated Press review even said the Stones “played with the energy of a band that was on tour for the first time.”
Offstage, Jagger’s personal life has been just as headline-worthy. He’s been divorced twice—both marriages ended due to infidelity—and has fathered eight children with five different women. His oldest was born in 1970; his youngest arrived in 2016.
Whether it’s chart-topping hits or jaw-dropping tabloid stories, Jagger continues to be a larger-than-life figure. Keep reading for some of the most unbelievable stories from his wild ride through pop culture.
Mick Jagger Pulled a Wild Prank on a Van Halen Roadie
Kevin “Dugie” Dugan, longtime bass tech for Van Halen’s Michael Anthony, had an unforgettable encounter with Mick Jagger back in 1981. During a show where Van Halen shared the bill with The Rolling Stones, Dugan rushed backstage to grab a replacement bass after Anthony smashed one on stage. In his hurry, he burst through a door—accidentally sending someone flying and landing flat on their backside. Later, when Dugan circled back to apologize, he realized he had knocked over none other than Mick Jagger himself.
Years later, Dugan found himself unexpectedly pushed into a limo—alone with Jagger. “I understand we’ve met before,” Jagger said, according to Dugan’s story in Ultimate Guitar. After passing along a message to Anthony about possibly playing on his solo album and inviting Dugan to dinner, Jagger suddenly switched gears. “All of the sudden, his facial expression changed and he lunged at me, grabbed me by my shirt and pulls me towards him and says, ‘If you ever knock me on my ass again, I’ll have you killed!’”
Dugan was terrified—until Jagger burst out laughing. The window rolled down, revealing a group outside laughing hysterically. “We got you!” they told him.
He’s Said to Have Slept With Over 4,000 Women (and Maybe a Few Men)
Mick Jagger’s legendary love life has been a hot topic for decades—but the rumored number of partners still manages to shock. While digging into the rocker’s past for his 2012 book Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Mick Jagger, author Christopher Anderson offered a jaw-dropping estimate. “By one estimate, Mick Jagger has slept with 4,000 women,” Anderson said in an interview with Extra.
Even Jagger himself probably couldn’t name them all, but Ultimate Classic Rock put together a list of 64 women rumored to have had a fling with the Rolling Stones frontman. The list includes some surprising names, like Linda McCartney (before she met Paul), Princess Margaret, Carla Bruni, Estelle Bennett of The Ronettes, Janice Dickinson, Linda Ronstadt, Daryl Hannah, and Mackenzie Phillips. Rae Dawn Chong also claimed she was just 15 when she slept with Jagger. There’s even a long-standing—though unconfirmed—rumor that he was involved with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Anderson added another twist, too, saying the number might actually be higher. “Mick himself said at one point, ‘Everyone is basically bisexual,’” he noted.
He Ditched Angelina Jolie Mid-Date to Chase Farrah Fawcett
Mick Jagger’s dating history reads like a Hollywood who’s who, and yes, that even includes Angelina Jolie. The two met when Jolie starred in the Rolling Stones’ video for “Anybody Seen My Baby?” According to Christopher Anderson’s book Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Mick Jagger, the rock icon quickly became infatuated. “She scares me a little,” Jagger reportedly said. “I like that.”
Obsessed, Jagger began calling her nonstop—even when she ignored him. Eventually, Jolie gave in, and the two started a fiery, off-and-on relationship that reportedly lasted two years. Anderson claims Jolie enjoyed the upper hand in their dynamic, relishing the control she had over someone as famous and powerful as Jagger.
But in true Jagger fashion, things took a dramatic turn. In 1999, Jolie attended a party with him hosted by record producer Richard Perry, supposedly to watch the Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield fight. But instead of sticking with Jolie, Jagger disappeared for most of the night—with none other than Farrah Fawcett. The book doesn’t say exactly what happened next, but let’s be honest—knowing Jagger, it probably wasn’t just small talk and snacks.
Did Mick Jagger and David Bowie Hook Up? The Rumor Lives On
One of the juiciest rumors in rock history comes straight from Christopher Anderson’s Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Mick Jagger—the claim that Mick Jagger and David Bowie had an affair. According to Anderson, Bowie’s bisexuality and massive popularity in the ’70s sparked something in Jagger, partly driven by competition. “Mick was very conscious of doing whatever it takes to stay hot, and David was the hottest thing around at the time,” said Leee Black Childers, a former exec with Bowie’s management team.
Soon, Jagger embraced a more androgynous style, rocking blue eyeshadow and frequenting London discos with Bowie. They were often seen together, even ringside at a major boxing match. At the time, Bowie was married to Angie, and their open marriage allowed relationships with both men and women. Angie once claimed she walked in on Bowie and Jagger naked in bed together—sleeping, not caught in the act—but the implication was clear.
Still, Jagger called the story “complete rubbish,” and Bowie’s lawyer dismissed it as “an absolute fabrication.” Truth or myth? No one knows for sure, but the story has definitely kept fans guessing for decades.
Mick Jagger and Rudolf Nureyev Once Tried to Seduce Geraldo Rivera
In the wild, anything-goes world of 1970s New York nightlife, journalist Geraldo Rivera found himself rubbing elbows with the biggest names in entertainment—including Mick Jagger and ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev. One evening, after a club shut down, Rivera invited about 15 people back to his place to keep the party going. Among the guests: Jagger and Nureyev.
In his memoir Exposing Myself, Rivera described how things took an unexpected turn. While he was mixing drinks in the kitchen, Nureyev came up from behind and pressed himself against him. “He was being playfully suggestive, overtly sexual,” Rivera wrote. Then Jagger joined in from the front, mimicking Nureyev’s actions. At first, Rivera thought they were just messing around—until Nureyev said to Jagger, “He’s a virgin, you know,” to which Jagger joked, “Oh, well, we can break him in,” all while Nureyev ran his fingers through Rivera’s hair.
“I squirmed out from between this odd sandwich and laughed the whole thing off,” Rivera said. But looking back, he believed they were serious—and even admitted feeling a bit of attraction to both the rock star and the ballet icon.
Jerry Hall Made Mick Jagger Choose: Her or Heroin
When Mick Jagger set his sights on model Jerry Hall, she was engaged to Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry—but that didn’t stop him. According to Hall, Jagger chased her around a ping pong table, demanding a kiss until Ferry kicked him out. Still, Jagger kept pursuing her, and Hall found herself intrigued. But everything changed when Jagger admitted he’d been using heroin. That, Hall wrote in her memoir (via the Daily Mail), was a deal-breaker: “I was disgusted. I told him I couldn’t see him if he took drugs, saying: ‘Go away and don’t come back until you’re straight.’”
Jagger quit heroin cold turkey, relying solely on willpower. Hall eventually ended things with Ferry and married Jagger in 1990. But while she believed she could help him kick his drug habit, she also thought she could cure his womanizing. “I had got him to quit heroin — I could get him to give up girls as well,” she reasoned.
That confidence didn’t hold. Jagger’s affairs continued, and Hall finally had enough when he confessed to fathering a child with a 25-year-old model. “It was the final straw,” she wrote. “I told him I wanted a divorce.”
Mick Jagger Wasn’t Happy About Rolling Stone Magazine’s Name
The Rolling Stones took their name from Muddy Waters’ classic blues tune “Rollin’ Stone.” So when Jann Wenner launched a rock magazine in 1967 and called it Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger wasn’t exactly flattered. In fact, he felt a bit robbed. Wenner explained in the first issue that the name came from the phrase, “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” while also nodding to the Stones and Bob Dylan’s hit “Like a Rolling Stone.”
But for Jagger, that reasoning didn’t cut it. According to Joe Hagan’s book Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine, Jagger was irritated the magazine borrowed the band’s name—and didn’t even put them on the first cover. “Why did Jann call it that, when there was a band called that?” Jagger asked, as quoted in Vulture. “You could have thought something else, to be honest. I mean, I know it arised from a song name, but that’s not really the point.”
Keith Richards didn’t hold back either. His take? “We thought, ‘What a thief!’”
Mick Jagger Helped Make the Tequila Sunrise a Global Favorite
The next time you order a Tequila Sunrise, you can thank Mick Jagger for making it famous. While the drink’s origins date back to Prohibition-era Tijuana, it was the Trident Bar in Sausalito, California, where the cocktail really took off in the early ’70s. Bobby Lozoff, a bartender at the Trident, claims to have perfected the recipe by swapping tequila for gin in a Singapore Sling.
The Trident Bar was a popular hangout for rock stars, including Jagger’s band. “Mick came up to the bar and asked for a margarita,” Lozoff said in an interview with National Geographic’s Assignment blog. “I asked him if he’d ever tried a Tequila Sunrise. He said no, so I made him one, and they started drinking them right up.” According to spirits historian Dave Wondrich, the band loved the drink so much, they took it on their famous 1972 tour that helped them break into America.
Keith Richards confirmed the drink’s popularity in his 2010 memoir Life, calling the tour the “Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise Tour.” The drink became even more iconic when the Eagles released their 1973 hit “Tequila Sunrise.”
Jagger Reportedly Missed Out on Some Iconic Movie Roles
Mick Jagger didn’t just want to rule the rock world—he had his sights set on Hollywood too. While his acting career never quite reached the heights of his music fame, he still took on a handful of film roles over the years. His credits include the 1970 films Ned Kelly and Performance, the 1992 sci-fi flick Freejack, and the 2019 drama The Burnt Orange Heresy, among others.
But what really sparks curiosity are the roles Jagger reportedly almost landed—and didn’t. One long-standing rumor claims Jagger wanted to star in a movie version of A Clockwork Orange. Malcolm McDowell, who ultimately played the role, confirmed the buzz. “Before [director Stanley] Kubrick got hold of the property, Mick Jagger and the Stones wanted to do it!” he told Variety. “Well, I’d like to see that!”
Another part he was rumored to be up for? Dr. Frank-n-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Producer Lou Adler told Rolling Stone he couldn’t confirm the rumor, but added, “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know if he ever seriously would have played it.”
He Tried to Woo Ronnie Wood’s Wife
Mick Jagger’s love life has always been front-page material, with infidelity cited in both of his divorces. But according to Jo Wood, ex-wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Jagger’s romantic pursuits crossed more than a few lines—including trying to charm his own bandmate’s wife.
During an appearance on the Loving and Living podcast, Jo revealed that Jagger made a move on her while he was still with Jerry Hall and she was married to Ronnie. “[Mick Jagger] certainly did try it on and I did get really mad at him. I said, ‘In your wildest dreams, Mick Jagger,’” she shared. She made it clear that she had zero interest in him, and his flirtation didn’t get him anywhere.
Still, Jo wasn’t entirely surprised by his behavior. “[Mick] loves women, he does,” she said. “Doesn’t make him a bad person,” she added, “I just didn’t fancy him at all.”
It’s just one more story in the long and complicated history of Jagger’s love life—and a reminder that not even bandmate boundaries seemed to slow him down.
Charlie Watts Once Allegedly Punched Mick Jagger Over a 5 a.m. Call
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have had their fair share of feuds, but Jagger also knew how to push the buttons of other bandmates—most notably, drummer Charlie Watts. In his memoir Life, Richards tells a wild story about a time on tour when Jagger rang up Watts at 5 a.m. and casually asked, “Where’s my drummer?”
Big mistake. About 20 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. “There was Charlie Watts, Savile Row suit, perfectly dressed, tie, shaved, the whole f***ing bit,” Richards wrote. “He walked straight past me, got hold of Mick and said, ‘Never call me your drummer again.’ Then he hauled him up by the lapels and gave him a right hook.” According to Richards, it wasn’t just a punch—it was a “lethal” drummer’s blow, sending Jagger crashing into a tray of smoked salmon.
But Jagger says that version’s not quite true. “Didn’t happen,” he told Mojo, though he admitted Watts was “annoyed.” As for the punch? “There were so many people in the room… but if that’s what Keith wants to believe,” Jagger shrugged.
