13. April 2023, 21:45
Chris Jagger was 15 when he first saw his brother’s band. The Rolling Stones were still a dance band back then and London wasn’t swinging yet. When the Stones took off and London became the global pop capital, Chris Jagger was right in the middle. They all appear in his autobiography “Talking to Myself”: Keith Richards, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, or Marianne Faithfull.
The Tailor by Jimi Hendrix
“Talking to Myself” is not just the name of the 75-year-old’s autobiography, “Talking to Myself” is also the name of a piece on his last record “Mixing Up The Medicine”. There is a passage in the book that says a lot about Chris Jagger. He writes his lesson from the 1960s: go your own way. But what would be his own way? To this day he doesn’t know. “Well, I’m an artist,” says Jagger in the Ö1 interview. “I’ve performed in the theatre, played concerts, I’ve written songs and a book. These are all pieces of a puzzle. I comment on things.” And that’s not all: Chris Jagger played in films like Kenneth Anger’s “Lucifer Rising”, he designed psychedelic outfits for his friend Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon, built his own guitars or played in the musical “Hair” in Tel Aviv. Again and again, Chris Jagger ripped away from the colorful London rock and roll circus to find himself and hitchhiked through Turkey, Pakistan and Kashmir.
The fixed star Mick and its orbit
Since his youth, Chris Jagger has been a regular correspondent for the Rolling Stones. As a journalist, he worked for the Guardian, among others. In his autobiography “Talking to Myself” he tells the anecdote of a family vacation and a photo of him and Mick with a sombrero. Years later, when the press simply cut Chris out of the picture, he would have been deeply hurt. To this day, brother Mick remains the magnet whose pull Chris Jagger cannot escape, the radiant fixed star in whose orbit he has to position himself.
So while millions are hanging on Mick Jagger’s legendary lips, Chris Jagger calls his autobiography Talking to Myself. They are quiet notes of a versatile talent. In it, Chris Jagger tells of childhood memories with the same sober tone as of an encounter with John Lennon. Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll and the dazzling Technicolor Dream of the Sixties are casually told episodes.
“Trying to be a musician was a stupid idea”
Exactly 50 years ago, Chris Jagger released his debut album. “You Know the Name But Not the Face” – You know the name but not the face, according to the telling title. “Mixing Up The Medicine” is his 13th album. You can hear that he enjoys making music. Songs like “A Love Like This” show Jagger as a talented songwriter who has repeatedly played with the likes of Eric Clapton and David Gilmour. However, the album generates attention through the points of contact with brother Mick. Without him as a duet partner in the song “Anyone Seen My Heart?” (including appearance in the accompanying video) and a song about their relationship, the reporting would be different. “Trying to be a musician was a stupid idea. It’s too late to do anything about it now. So I’ll keep going,” says Chris Jagger candidly.
Having a famous brother can get you into trouble, writes Chris Jagger in Talking To Myself. His answer: it’s ok to be normal. You have to work to be proud of yourself. A lifelong task. “It wasn’t always easy to be who I am. But c’est la vie.”
tour dates
13. April, Posthof, Linz
14. April, Art&Culture Center, Öblarn
April 15th, Kulturverein, Ebensee
April 16th, bluegarage, Frauental
17. April, Porgy&Bess, Wien
April 19, Impule, Neusiedl am See
20. April, Bluesiana, Velden