The Secret Supergroup Mick Jagger Formed To Break Ties With Keith Richards

It would be hard to find a person denying The Rolling Stones’ success and popularity worldwide, especially after watching their groundbreaking stage shows and listening to their iconic albums. However, it doesn’t mean that it was always easy to be a Rolling Stones member despite their commercially successful and critically acclaimed career spanning five decades.

Shortly after their formation, the band’s singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards became the band’s leaders and determined The Rolling Stones’ musical direction. Thus, Jagger-Richards’ collaboration specifically for the songwriting process drew great attention and was considered the secret behind their tremendous success. Along with their musical partnership, Jagger and Richards have also pursued a complicated friendship.

The Relationship Between Mick Jagger And Keith Richards

Jagger and Richards’ friendship is generally defined as a love/hate relationship that has been very unstable and turbulent for years because of creative and personal differences. The biggest crisis occurred during the ’80s after Jagger signed a solo record deal with CBS Records without thinking about The Rolling Stones’ next project back then. Thus, the singer was often absent while the band was in the studio for their 18th British and 20th American studio album ‘Dirty Work.’

Those times felt like ‘World War III’ for the other band members and their fans. Hence, it can be said that Jagger focusing on his solo career almost ended the band. The vocalist released ‘She’s the Boss’ and ‘Primitive Cool,’ and Keith Richards dropped his debut solo album entitled ‘Talk Is Cheap’ on October 3, 1988. Thankfully, the duo solved their problems, and The Rolling Stones got back on the rock stage in the late ’80s.

Mick Jagger’s Supergroup SuperHeavy That Was Kept As A Secret

The problems between the two legendary musicians probably started to arise once again after Richards talked about his longtime friend and bandmate saying that he’s an ‘unbearable person’ in his autobiography ‘Life.’ The memoir was co-written with journalist James Fox and was released on October 26, 2010. Following the guitarist’s words, it was revealed that Mick Jagger attempted to break ties with him by forming a supergroup in 2011.

In the supergroup’s member Dave Stewart’s words:

“I went to the top of a hill and when I got there a light was kind of coming through the leaves on the trees and I had this flash of how there could be a fusion of music from different parts of the world… I never actually thought it would happen.”

Richards shared his ideas saying:

“I haven’t heard anything about it. I just wish him luck.

Jagger’s secret supergroup SuperHeavy, including Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, A. R. Rahman, and Damian Marley, was announced. Stewart stated that it was a pleasure to work with these musicians, which would be a new experience. Then, it turned out that Keith Richards didn’t know anything about his bandmate’s next project but only wished him luck without saying anything more. SuperHeavy was described as Jagger’s other attempt to divorce Keith Richards, which is almost impossible.