Mick Jagger is not done yet.
The Rolling Stones legend has made it clear he is itching to get back on the road, even as old fears about his safety are coming back into the spotlight.
Jagger, 82, recently said he “can’t wait” to tour again with The Rolling Stones during an appearance on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years with longtime bandmate Ronnie Wood, 79.
The comments come as the band prepares to release its 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues, on July 10.
But while fans may be thrilled at the idea of seeing the Stones back onstage, insiders say those close to Jagger are worried. The rock icon has survived decades of wild crowds, terrifying threats, riots, violence and the crushing demands of life on the road.
One source close to the band said Jagger’s love of performing has never faded.
“Mick’s passion for performing is as strong as ever, but it inevitably raises concerns among people who care about him,” the insider said. “The extraordinary thing is that after everything he has experienced over the years, including genuine fears for his safety, he still wants to get back out there in front of huge crowds.”
That drive, the source added, is both impressive and worrying.
The renewed concern has brought fresh attention to one of the darkest chapters in Stones history: the band’s infamous 1972 North American tour.
That 53-day run was no ordinary rock tour. It was a chaotic ride through riots, bomb threats, arrests, political unrest and real fears that someone might try to hurt Jagger while he was performing.
The tour came just a few years after the deadly Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969, where 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was fatally stabbed during the Stones’ performance. The Hells Angels had been used as security at the event, and the fallout haunted the band for years.
According to tour manager Peter Rudge, members of the biker gang later sought payment for legal expenses tied to the incident and repeatedly harassed the band.
Keith Richards later revealed just how frightened Jagger was during that period.
In his memoir Life, Richards wrote that Jagger became deeply nervous about people trying to get to him. He said there were threats, obsessed fans, people who would walk up and hit him, and fears that the Hells Angels wanted him dead.
Richards said Jagger wanted a doctor nearby who could keep him alive if he was shot onstage.
A source familiar with the Stones’ history said the danger was not exaggerated.
“People sometimes forget just how serious the security situation became during that period,” the source said. “There were credible threats, there was chaos at certain venues, and there was a real fear that someone might try to harm Mick during a performance.”
The 1972 tour was marked by frightening scenes in city after city.
Riots broke out in Vancouver and San Diego. Police used tear gas to control crowds in Tucson. In Montreal, French-Canadian separatists bombed the band’s equipment truck in an attempt to draw attention to their cause.
Jagger himself once admitted he saw disturbing behavior from the stage.
“I see weird things out front some nights,” he said, recalling one fan begging him to whip him during Midnight Rambler.
More than five decades later, Jagger is still brushing off the danger and the physical toll of touring.
When asked if fans could expect another Rolling Stones tour, he left little doubt.
“I’d love to go on tour. Can’t wait,” Jagger said.
He added that it likely would not happen this year, but he hoped it would be “as soon as possible.”
Another insider said performing is simply part of who Jagger is.
“Being on stage is what drives Mick,” the insider said. “Even after decades of touring, controversy, threats and unimaginable pressure, he still sees performing as the thing that keeps him going.”
For now, Jagger appears determined to prove that age, danger and decades of rock ’n’ roll chaos still have not slowed him down.
