Mick Jagger discusses mortality and how relationships changed: 'As you get older, a lot of your friends die'

As The Rolling Stones release their latest album, "Hackney Diamonds," frontman Mick Jagger is getting brutally honest about aging.

In an interview with The Guardian, Jagger put it plainly, saying, "I hate to say this: as you get older, a lot of your friends die."

He continued, noting that even with age, "it doesn’t get easier at all. There’s a lot of people around your age, they’re dying all the time. I don’t have any friends older than me, only one. Apart from the band, all my friends are much younger." 

Jagger added, "It’s easier that way!"

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Jagger celebrated his 80th birthday in July, but said he’s long contemplated his mortality.

"You’re aware of your own mortality from quite an early age — it’s not something that occurs to you in your 70s," he said.

The singer-songwriter also told the outlet he began feeling it once he started having kids in his late 20s, saying, "It’s not a new thing, really."

Jagger welcomed his eighth child, son Deveraux, in 2016, with girlfriend Melanie Hamrick.

"You get a bit out of practice — it’s not like riding a bike," he said of parenting at his age.

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"The more children you have, the more laissez-faire you get about them, to be honest. And it depends on the child — they have their own personalities and you can mold them to a certain extent, but you see their likes and dislikes and encourage them to do things they gravitate towards," he continued. 

"It’s fun to have children, at any age. But if you’re working, and always away, you don’t get to enjoy it quite as much."

When Deveraux was born, Jagger told The Guardian, "I wasn’t working so much, so I was able to spend more time. And then we had the lockdown — he’s only 6, and two of those years I did almost nothing [with the band]."

Jagger’s other children include Karis Hunt Jagger, 52, with actress Marsha Hunt; Jade Sheena Jezebel Jagger, 52, with ex-wife Bianca Jagger; Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger, 39, James Leroy Augustin Jagger, 38, Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger, 31, and Gabriel Luke Beauregard Jagger, 25, all with Jerry Hall; and Lucas Maurice Morad Jagger, 24, with Luciana Gimenez Morad.

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Jagger’s reflective mood comes as he continues to mourn the loss of the band’s longtime drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in 2021.

"It’s a couple of years now, and I still think about Charlie a lot," Jagger told the outlet.

"I miss his laconic humor. His taste in music. His elegance. His don’t-care attitude — he didn’t get intense. Keith and I get a bit intense," he continued.

"But Charlie wouldn’t, and it rubs off a bit — I’m not as intense as I used to be. I think about him when I’m playing, and what he would have played; whether he’d have liked this song, because I’d always bounce things off him. I’d be playing him the silly pop songs of the moment, and he’d love all that."

Watts completed two tracks with the band before his death and signed off on his replacement, Steve Jordan.

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There is also a backlog of unreleased songs created for "Hackney Diamonds" that, according to Jagger, have Watts drumming on them and will "probably come out."

"So he’s kind of still there — and I hope he likes the rest of the record," he added.

"Hackney Diamonds" is the band’s first original album since 2005’s "A Bigger Bang," and Jagger previously admitted to putting pressure on the group to complete the album after their 2022 tour.

"What I want to do is write some songs, go into the studio and finish the record by Valentine’s Day," Jagger told Keith Richards, according to WSJ Magazine. "Which was just a day I picked out of the hat — but everyone can remember it. And then we’ll go on tour with it, the way we used to." 

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When Richards responded that it was never going to happen, Jagger recalled doubling down on the idea.

"I said, ‘It may never happen, Keith, but that’s the aim. We’re going to have a f---ing deadline,’" he said.

"Otherwise, we’re just going to go into the studio, for two weeks, and come out again, and then six weeks later, we’re going to go back in there. Like, no. Let’s make a deadline."

Richards eventually agreed, and the album was released last week.

Jagger admitted he wonders about how long they will be creating new music and working as a band.

"How long can you really do it? It’s like asking: how long can someone go on playing for England? Not long, is usually the answer," Jagger told The Guardian.

He continued, noting their attitudes about recording have changed with time. 

"I do think about it. But I write all the time. You’ve just got to keep writing, and now everyone [in the band] can see they can record quite easily," Jagger said.

He added, "It was only three weeks in the studio. It’s not difficult. Too much angst went into recording before. If it’s no good, it’s no good; if that track doesn’t work, another one will. Do it!"