Mick Jagger: Rock’s original bad boy turns 70

LONDON (AFP) ― Mick Jagger turns 70 on Friday ― and though the Rolling Stones frontman isn’t quite the image of rebellious youth he once was, he has lost none of his legendary swagger.

Strutting onstage in a sequined jacket as the Stones headlined Britain’s Glastonbury music festival last month, it was hard to believe this was a man who should be collecting his state pension.

One newspaper cruelly captioned its photos of the wrinkly British rockers “Night of the living dead!” ― but zipping through the hits, the band had the same raw energy that brought them fame half a century ago.

“If this is this first time you’ve seen the band, do come again,” Jagger told the crowd, suggesting that a quiet retirement may be some way off yet.

Between his onstage cavorting, wild bedroom antics and occasional brushes with the law, snake-hipped, rubber-lipped Jagger has been a model for generations of later rock stars.

“We were young, good-looking and stupid,” he once said.

These days, cricket-loving Jagger is more likely to be spotted watching a match at Lord’s than partying hard.

The Stones did prove they could still hit the dance floor at Jagger’s early 70th birthday bash last month, although by 1:30 a.m. it was time for bed.

The music-making hasn’t stopped either ― the band recently wrapped up a tour of North America to mark their half-centenary, and released two new tracks along with their greatest hits album “Grrr!” in November.

Romantically, however, Jagger seems to have settled down ― he has been dating stylist L’Wren Scott, some 25 years his junior, for more than a decade.

His heyday was punctuated by high-profile relationships with models, singers and actresses, and he has seven children with four different women.

He twice married models ― Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall ― while other ex-lovers include singers Marianne Faithfull and Carla Bruni, who is now married to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Jagger has always been a curious mix of sensible and shocking. On one hand he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II; on the other, a rumored sex act involving Jagger and a Mars bar has passed into rock legend.

Michael Phillip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, to middle-class parents in Dartford, south of London.

He started jamming with childhood friend Keith Richards in 1960 after they discovered a mutual love of the blues.

The Stones played their first gig in 1962 ― Jagger dropping out of the prestigious London School of Economics in the pursuit of fame ― and three years later scored their first smash hit with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

Snarling and surly, they were the complete opposite of the family-friendly Beatles.

A string of massive hits across five decades followed including “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Paint It Black.”