Sticky Fingers still rocks 50 years after the Rolling Stones rolled it out
Even 50 years after its release, the first few bars of the ninth album by The Rolling Stones still have the power to conjure wicked imagery in the mind of Tim Rogers.
Even 50 years after its release, the first few bars of the ninth album by The Rolling Stones still have the power to conjure wicked imagery in the mind of Tim Rogers.
“Just as soon as the opening chords of Brown Sugar start, it’s like an absolute f..king shot of adrenaline — I remember every sensual, druggie, drunk, lascivious, naughty night out,” the You Am I frontman says with a laugh.
Released on April 23, 1971, Friday marks the 50th anniversary of Sticky Fingers, one of the British rock act’s most acclaimed and successful albums, and its first to reach No 1 on both the US and British charts.
The cover artwork featured a jeans-clad male crotch with visible bulge and a real zipper, while its 10 tracks included saxophone-heavy rocker Bitch and the classic ballad Wild Horses.
“Sticky Fingers has got Sway, which I think is the most underrated of all Stones songs, and Moonlight Mile, which used to be the last song I’d listen to every time I flew back into Australia when we were doing those long You Am I tours,” says Rogers.
“I’d put on Moonlight Mile and just cry,” he says. “I think it’s the greatest song about being on the road I’ve heard: it’s druggie and extraordinarily sexy, and I think it’s got some of the most questionable lyrics of all time.”
Across three shows in Brisbane and the Gold Coast last weekend, Rogers joined Tex Perkins, Magic Dirt frontwoman Adalita Srsen and Grinspoon singer Phil Jamieson to perform Sticky Fingers in full, followed by a set of Stones favourites, all backed by a tight band led by guitarist and musical director Jak Housden.
“I try and play it down sometimes, but I’m a Stones nerd, and Perko is as well,” Rogers says.
“Tex and I have been talking about how it’s in our DNA. It’s not so for Phil and Adalita; they’ve been really having to study the songs. Perko and I just turned up.”
After the opening salvo in Queensland, the tour will take a three-month break before resuming at the Adelaide Guitar Festival on July 15, followed by dates in Melbourne (July 17 and 18), Newcastle (July 27), Thirroul (July 29) and Sydney (July 30).
The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, have not performed live since August 2019 at a stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The end of their 60-date No Filter tour was postponed due to COVID-19, but they used their downtime to release their first single in four years, the pandemic-inspired Living in a Ghost Town.
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