LONDON, Feb 18: The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has penned a 75,000 word memoir but has refused to publish it, according to writer and publisher John Blake.
It is also claimed by Blake that he has the manuscript kept in a “secret hiding place”, reported NME magazine.
Blake said that it was written in late ’70s when Jagger was paid an advance of 1 million pounds, which he eventually gave back.
It offers an “extraordinary insight” into the singer and “shows a quieter, more watchful Mick than the fast-living caricature.”
Jagger initially found it difficult to write the book, Blake claimed, because “all the years of drugs and debauchery had addled his brain so badly that he could not remember anything.”
When the book was finished in the early ’80s, it was rejected by publishers because “it was light on sex and drugs”.
Blake goes on to describe the memoir as “a little masterpiece,” adding that it’s “a perfectly preserved time capsule written when the Stones had produced all their greatest music but still burned with the passion and fire of youth and idealism.”
Describing how the book “needed to be published”, Blake said he approached The Rolling Stones’ management, leading Jagger to claim that he didn’t remember writing it and, upon reading it, that he “never wanted to see it published”.
The Rolling Stones’ manager Joyce Smyth has since released a statement, saying: “John Blake writes to me from time to time seeking permission to publish this manuscript. The answer is always the same: He cannot, because it isn’t his and he accepts this.
“Readers will be able to form a view as regards the matters to which John Blake refers when Sir Mick’s autobiography appears, should he choose to write it.” (PTI)
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