Chennai, late summer of 1980. I’m visiting my uncle who’s the GM of a hotel there. Having a ball – learning how to swim, having my first taste of Chettinad food…and listening to Radio Australia. One lazy afternoon after lunch, I went to the guest bedroom and switched on the radio. The Aussie RJ was in a tizzy about the Stones’ latest single – Miss You…. I remember I had the radio on loud and suddenly this crazy groove kicks in. It is undoubtedly one of the best bassline in rock history! Charlie Watt’s legendary drums are setting a furious pace. Keith Richard and Ronnie Wood on guitars are building a crazygroove. Bill Wyman on the electric piano. Whoa!!! And, then – Mick Jagger starts singing in a falsetto!!. Bloody hell!! I don’t quite catch the words right away but that refrain “Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, Ooh ooh ooh ooh” is like a punch to the guts. By the time the second chorus comes on, I’m belting out “Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, Ooh ooh ooh ooh” in my best falsetto at the top of my voice. I really thought I had moves like Jagger. And then… the door opens with a huge thud, and my Aunt is standing there with a very worried look on her face. She thinks I’ve hurt myself and am screaming in pain! 🙈 I sheepishly explain why I’m howling and turn the music down. But since that warm June day, this has been one of my favourite Stones tracks! It rightfully went to #1 in double quick time. It isn’t pure disco, like the songs Bee Gees were doing at the time, but this was the Stones-version of disco – absolutely brilliant!! Rod Stewart heard it and decided he wanted to make something like it so he could be relevant in the disco age as well – he ended up with “If You Think I’m Sexy..”. I really like that song, but it’s not a patch on “Miss You”, I’m afraid

Now, I realise that for us that grew up in 70s-80s India, the Stones are an acquired taste – reinforced for me by the fact that I didn’t really get much comments and likes from you guys on Part I. But I’m going to soldier on in the hope that I can get you to listen to them and realise just how awesome they are. Not only is their music brilliant, but what I love about them is that this group of friends has been together for over 60 years – yup 60 years – and they’re still making great music, enjoying each other’s company, growing old disgracefully! Kinda like C22 and all my other groups of friends from school and college and Citi…..

“Angie” was one of the few Stones ballads I ever heard on the radio. It’s so unlike their usual stuff that I really couldn’t believe it was the Rolling Stones when I heard it ( another ballad that absolutely sparkles is the Stones’ version on The Drifter’s “Under The Boardwalk” – heard that one afternoon on Philip Neelam’s show and fell in love with that song!). Angie is a song about the ending of what was once a beautiful relationship – it’s that point in time when you can’t live with each other and you can’t live without each other either. When you really feel the misery of being in love.

Where will it lead us from here?
With no loving in our souls
And no money in our coats
You can’t say we’re satisfied
But Angie, Angie
You can’t say we never tried
Angie, you’re beautiful, yeah
But ain’t it time we said goodbye?

The scandalous urban legend is that the song was about Angela Bowie, David Bowie’s first wife – the legend goes that apparently Angela caught Bowie and Jagger in bed together and one night and this song was the equivalent of “hush-money” for Angela. Of course, denied strongly by all parties!

“Start Me Up” – Cracker of a song, with an instantly recognisable Richard’s riff, a fabulous baseline and lyrics that are unmistakably lascivious, it’s a Stones song from the first chords! But you just have to see the video – at about 2:25, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman exchange a wry smile and a look while Jagger, Wood and Richard are cavorting at the front – it’s like ” man, when are these guys going to grow up!”😁. And for those of you wondering why the song sounds so familiar – it’s because Bill Gates chose it as the intro music for the Windows 95 launch! You have to find that clip on YouTube and see Gates dancing so awkwardly to Start Me Up !

I’ll leave you with a classic blues rock song – this one’s from 1971 – and is a perfect example of the Stones sound.  Unfortunately “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is a song I found very late in life – wish I’d heard it much earlier! The riff that comes on in the first two seconds of the song is mind blowing! And then the baseline and the drums that echo it are just so tigh!!. But the best part of the sing is the last four and half minutes of it – when the Stones out-Santana-ed, Santana! It’s all a jam – with Booby Keys guesting on the sax. His solo wasn;t meant to be that long, but once he got going, he just kept going…and the rest of the band got into it with trumpets, the organ, percussion, drums….you could cut the last four minutes and release it as a stand along single and it would go to #1!  And in the ultimate compliment – Santana has recently covered this song!