![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/The-Rolling-Stones-Charlie-Watts-Mick-Jagger-Keith-Richards-Bill-Wyman-Mick-Taylor-Bent-Rej-1970-Far.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Credit: Far Out \/ Bent Rej<\/p>\n
Thu 30 July 2026 21:03, UK <\/p>\n
When you\u2019re a band with a catalogue as rich as The Rolling Stones<\/a>, not every song is going to get the appreciation that it may deserve.<\/p>\n In the early 1970s, when The Stones were on a run of classic album after classic album, they had top-tier tracks that could have been singles coming out of their ear. Nevertheless, there wasn\u2019t room on the radio for each to live the life of \u2018Wild Horses\u2019, or even be played live.<\/p>\n Before their albums had room to breathe, The Stones were already back in the studio, and looking ahead to their next record, which meant that some were laid to rest at the wayside.<\/p>\n Few underappreciated gems in their arsenal epitomise this more than \u2018Loving Cup\u2019, which also offers a fascinating insight into how the band works as a unit. The first appearance that the track ever made was at the band\u2019s 1969 free concert at Hyde Park, which doubled as a memorial to late guitarist Brian Jones, who had tragically died just two days before<\/a>. At that point, the song was titled \u2018Gimme a Little Drink\u2019.<\/p>\n Following that performance, it was put on the shelf. Then, three years later, \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 was finally officially recorded on 1972\u2019s Exile on Main St. As a piano-focused gospel track led by sessions ace Nicky Hopkins, \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 was transformed from a folky country track to a soul masterpiece. As the closing track to the album\u2019s second side, \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 is a heartfelt ode to love and carnal knowledge, something that the Stones were experts at.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, while it\u2019s an important part of a seminal album, it never became a live staple. Early concerts on the band\u2019s subsequent 1972 American tour would occasionally feature the track, but after the fourth show on the tour, \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 was dropped from setlists. The middle section of these shows instead featured a softer acoustic\/ballad section that included \u2018Love In Vain\u2019, \u2018Sweet Virginia\u2019 and \u2018You Can\u2019t Always Get What You Want\u2019. Therefore, the inclusion of \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 was deemed unnecessary, and it was thrown in the wastebasket<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Stones didn\u2019t do this because they hated \u2018Loving Cup\u2019; Mick Jagger simply believed that audiences didn\u2019t respond well to the song and never would. They had more than enough songs that would send their crowds into ecstasy, and ultimately, he views himself as an entertainer whose purpose on-stage is to send fans home with a giant smile.<\/p>\n It would take another 30 years for \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 to return to the band\u2019s live repertoire, having been revived for the 2002 Forty Licks tour. The track was revived at the insistence of pianist and musical director Chuck Levell, who had to convince Jagger that the song was worth going back to.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the Forty Licks tour, when we were preparing the set list for a show in Yokohama, Chuck Leavell suggested we play \u2018Loving Cup\u2019, the ballad from Exile On Main St,\u201d Jagger recalled in 2003.<\/p>\n He took some convincing, admitting, \u201cI didn\u2019t want to play the tune and I said, \u2018Chuck, this is going to die a death in Yokohama. I can\u2019t even remember the bloody song, and no one likes it. I\u2019ve done it loads of times in America, it doesn\u2019t go down that well, it\u2019s a very difficult song to sing, and I\u2019m fed up with it!\u2019 Chuck went,\u2019 Stick in the mud!\u2019 So I gave in and put it in the setlist.\u201d<\/p>\n Much to his surprise, it went down a storm, gleefully sharing, \u201cLo and behold, we went out, started the song and they all began applauding\u2026 Which just proves how, over time, some of these songs acquire a certain existence, or value, that they never had when they first came out. People will say,\u00a0\u2018What a wonderful song that was,\u2019 when it was virtually ignored at the time it was released<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n While \u2018Loving Cup\u2019 never became a staple, it was played semi-frequently in the 2000s, before they again retired it from their sets. However, if they ever do tour again<\/a>, like any other track from Exile on Main St, it would be greeted like the classic that it is if it were dusted off, which is a testament to the lasting cultural impact of the album.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Mick](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Mick-Jagger-Marianne-Faithfull-1969-The-Rolling-Stones-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/far-out-magazine\/img\/google-discover.svg\")
<\/a> The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter<\/p>\n