Sir Mick Jagger visited Kent today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a performing arts centre named after him.
He was there to open it in the year 2000, and now the Rolling Stones frontman has made a surprise return to help the community arts venue celebrate.
The Rolling Stones frontman returned to Dartford Grammar. Photo: Pete Bresser
Named in his honour, the Mick Jagger Centre is based at the singer’s old school, Dartford Grammar School For Boys in West Hill, Dartford.
An actor and film producer, Sir Mick is, of course, best known as the lead singer with the Rolling Stones, the bad boys of rhythm and blues, and fierce rivals to The Beatles in the 1960s.
Sir Mick grew up in Dartford, living at a modest house in Denver Road and attending first Wentworth Primary School, before going on to Dartford Grammar, where he picked up eight O Levels and two A levels.
Fellow Rolling Stones band member Keith Richards lived just around the corner from Sir Mick in Chastilian Road and also went to Wentworth Primary, though the two parted company for a while when Richards went to the Dartford Technical High School, in Heath Lane, for his secondary education.
A chance reunion on Platform 2 of Dartford Station when they were both 18 led them to discover a shared taste in blues that led them a year later to found the Stones and to one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in history.
Mick Jagger returned to the centre named after him at his old school Dartford Grammar. Photo: Pete Bresser
The Mick Jagger Centre, erected in 2000 at a cost of £2m, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with a series of performances and events covering all aspects of music.
The visit by Sir Mick has been described by the school’s headmaster, Julian Metcalf, as “the icing on the cake.”
Speaking to KentOnline during his visit today (November 19), Sir Mick said it was “really nice” to come back to the town.
He said: “Everyone’s very welcoming, and so it’s really nice to come back. I haven’t been back for a long time.
Mick Jagger opening the centre in 2000. Picture: PA
“There’s lots of new things about the school – there’s a new recording studio, there’s a new music room.
“All these things are great to see, and then I look the other way out the window, and there’s my old playground from when I was 11, so it’s a combination of the new and the old, which is really interesting.
“It really brings back, obviously, lots of memories. Of course, now they’re tinged with the rose glasses of time.”
Mick Jagger’s childhood home in Denver Road, Dartford
He recalled the time he was involved in a school dinner strike as a pupil at the school, explaining: “I was one of the leaders of that.
“The food really was awful, so we got fed up with that, and even some of the staff joined us because they had to eat the same thing!
“We had a lot of support, and to be fair, we expected to get into a lot of trouble, and we were hauled in front of the head and assistant head.
“But in the end, they asked us for our input and if we had any suggestions, so it was quite successful.”
He previously visited the centre in 2010 to mark its 10th anniversary and tour the facilities following a £900k facelift.
Sir Mick funds a weekly music tuition project at the centre, named Red Rooster, after the band’s second number-one hit, Little Red Rooster.
The Rolling Stones playing at the Odeon in Folkestone in 1964. Picture: Richard Taylor / Nik and Trick Services
Founded in 2003, the project gives music and dance tuition to 1,280 children each week. Some of the pupils performed for Sir Mick today.
He said: “It’s more of a dance project based around this ballet called Red Rooster, which is the first ballet that was based on Rolling Stones tunes”.
He added that he is a big supporter of the government pushing music more firmly in the school curriculum, saying: “English education is a bit of a mishmash generally, on a national level, because each county has a different approach and each government has a new approach.
“I think the participation has really gone down in the last 20 years, and the other thing that’s gone down is languages.
“This school is very good at languages; there’s a big take-up on languages, but that’s not true of that many schools generally across Great Britain.
“It’s declining. We’re a monoglot country; you go to other countries and everyone speaks English, and we only speak English.
Mick Jagger visiting the centre on its 10th anniversary. Picture: Simon Hildrew.
“I was lucky enough to get a pretty good French teacher here. I can speak French pretty good, and that is due to this school.”
The Mick Jagger Centre is equipped with recording and video studios as well as rehearsal rooms and gallery spaces.
It’s also a successful venue for community activities, theatre shows, and concerts, in addition to being the home of The Dartford Music School and The Dartford Symphony Orchestra.
Sir Mick chatted to the students alongside the headmaster and teaching staff, before being given a guided tour around the centre.
Sir Mick, who is a big sports fan and played on the basketball team at the school in his youth, was also delighted to present a trophy to the current Dartford Grammar Basketball Team and spent a long time telling them how he played the game when it was only just getting started in the UK.
Mick, dressed in leather jacket and black jeans, said that he sees the venue as an essential facility for the arts as he continues to maintain a connection with his hometown of Dartford.
The Rolling Stones in 1988
When asked about the moment he famously met Keith Richards on the platform in Dartford, and about what would’ve happened if he’d taken a different train that day, he stated: “That’s one of those six degrees of separation questions.
“We probably would have met on another train, how about that? Or we would’ve met in that same club in Ealing where the few blues enthusiasts of London all turned up.
“That’s very fortuitous, and I’m glad that happened.
“Keith was great to me on my last birthday, and he had framed the two records that I had carried on Dartford station. That was very nice.”
Sir Mick’s younger brother, Chris, is also a musician and was due to perform with his band at the centre later today.
The Rolling Stones had their first paid gig at The Marquee in London in July 1962. Their first number-one hit – It’s All Over Now – followed two years later.
Sir Mick, whose net worth has been estimated in excess of £400m, is now 82, but looking as slim and lythe as ever.
Statues of Sir Mick and Keith Richards were unveiled in Dartford High Street back in 2023, and are on display at One Bell Corner.
Created by sculptor Amy Goodman, they capture the pair mid-performance.