After 43 years of the Glastonbury Music Festival, and after much negotiation, the Rolling Stones have finally played the famous pyramid stage. It happened on Saturday, started with Jumping Jack Flash and ended with (can’t get no) Satisfaction.
What caught my attention though, was the headline that Sir Mick Jagger had spend many hours “intently watching DVDs of previous headline performances.”
I was impressed that despite his experience as a performer, he still saw the need to learn and improve, even after 50 years in the industry and some of the most lucrative and successful live tours of any band in history.
It reminds me of the following quote from L Carte:
Only those who have learned a lot are in a position to admit how little they know.
How many professionals and leaders in your organisation retain that same commitment to continue learning in order to be the best the can be?
Jagger, a former London School of Economics student, still exhibits intellectual curiosity, so I’ll give him the last word:
“Everyone wants to have done more things in their lives. It is a slightly intellectually undemanding thing to do, being a rock singer, but, you know, you make the best of it.”
July 6, 2013 at 10:15 am
From an interview with producer Robin Millar (who was Mick Taylor’s brother in law and saw a lot of the Stones behind the scenes)
“There has never been a magazine ad, a cinema ad or a TV ad for a Ferrari car. And yet it’s the most sought after glamorous vehicle in the world. It’s because what has always driven it and what still drives it is completely and utterly authentic.
“The Rolling Stones, even though they couldn’t be less like Ferraris in appearance, are the equivalent. Right from the word go they had dedication, authenticity of purpose and the willingness to go and take it round the world over and over and over again. They will still now pack more football stadiums than any other band in the world because that authenticity still comes through. Forty years on and still, before every gig, there’s a Moroccan marquee behind the stage where they’ve put the same Indian rug and the same lights, and for forty minutes Ronnie and Keith sit opposite each other on the rug just riffing, so that when they walk on and go ‘1 2 3 4’ they’ve already nailed their groove. That’s REAL, they don’t do that for the money or the tinsel.”
http://strawberryswitchblade.net/interviews/millar_03.php
July 21, 2013 at 11:02 am
Just wondering how did you create the page layout of this post?
Is there a unique website template you bought? Please let me know to see if I’ll consider it for my personal website also, thanks!
July 31, 2013 at 4:32 am
The quest for knowledge never stops, even with more than 50+ years. Great write up!