Personalities | The Rolling Stones (1983) | Key Events

August

Sign With CBS

With Atlantic disinterested in signing the Stones for the tens of millions they wanted, they signed with CBS for £28 million (allegedly double the amount offered by the next label in line), for four new albums and the rights to their back catalogue up to 1971. Part of the deal was also a guarantee that Jagger would deliver the label a solo album.

November

Undercover

The air was thick with tension during the recording of Undercover, their last original album for Rolling Stones Records. Keith, now looking to reclaim an active role in the group, often turned up in the studio wearing a cape and waving a sword-like stick, but didn’t stick around for all of the final mixing sessions. Image-conscious Jagger wanted the group to stay up with current trends, and Richards was more interested in sticking with their rock’n’roll roots – an argument that would continue into the next decade, and which became an entry point into further fighting between the two. Undercover is viewed by many as the final release before the Stones’ power weakened for good, and the last album to try anything different and progressive.

‘Undercover Of The Night’

‘Undercover Of The Night’ had a violent promotional video that caused controversy. Mick intended for it to keep the group current and introduce them to the MTV generation. Following a sketchy storyline and with partially politicized impressions of inner-city violence in the US, the single reached No. 11 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.

December

Patti Hanson

Keith met Patti Hanson at his birthday party in 1979 and quickly began to date her. Four years later to the day they were married, with Keith saying, ‘I know I couldn’t have beaten heroin without Patti. I ain’t letting that bitch go!’ With Mick as best man, the wedding would see Keith enter a period of domestic bliss.

Personalities | Introducing The Rolling Stones
Personalities | The Rolling Stones (1984) | Key Events

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