“It’s not like riding a bike”
Mick Jagger chats about the struggles of being a father
October 20, 2023, 10:12 p.m
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Mick Jagger’s eighth child was born around seven years ago. The Rolling Stone initially needed some practice before the ball got rolling again as a father. After all, the musician is now 80 years old.
Mick Jagger’s youngest baby was born this Friday – the new Rolling Stones album “Hackney Diamonds”. However, the 80-year-old’s actual fatherly joys are still very fresh in his memory: In 2016, he and girlfriend Melanie Hamrick welcomed their son Deveraux, now six years old. Although this is his eighth child, Jagger was initially overwhelmed, as he revealed in an interview with The Guardian.
So he was “a little out of practice – it’s not like riding a bike,” joked Jagger. No wonder, after all, his second youngest child, son Lucas, is already 24 years old. Ultimately, it is pure joy to have a small child in the house again. Especially since Jagger quickly realized: “The more children you have, the more relaxed you become, to be honest.” With a total of eight children, the world star should now be maximally relaxed. In addition to Deveraux and Lucas, he also has sons Gabriel (25) and James (38). His four daughters are Georgia May (31), Elizabeth (39), Jade (51) and Karis (52).
Corona pandemic was helpful
Of all things, the corona pandemic inevitably meant that he was able to spend a lot of time with his youngest child, as Jagger revealed: “When you work and are always on the go, you can’t really enjoy it.” But when Deveraux was born there wasn’t that much to do “and then the lockdown came – he’s only six and for two of those years I did almost nothing.”
However, Jagger also admits in the conversation that he was often unable to be there with his other seven children to see them grow up. Even his eldest daughter Karis was born at a time (1970) when the Stones had long since achieved worldwide fame and were giving concerts around the globe.
When it comes to dealing with death, Jagger is less able to be as relaxed as he is with his children. “I hate to say this: As you get older, a lot of your friends die.” When the Guardian asked whether the loss would ever get easier, the 80-year-old replied bluntly: “No, it won’t get any easier at all.”