He likes to stay in control...
Scott Colothan

10:53 20th May 2010

Sir Mick Jagger says he doesn't take drugs on stage any more as he likes to stay in control.

Speaking to Larry King, The Rolling Stones legend admitted to being high or drunk on stage in his his younger days but maintains it's something of the past.


"I always think it's better to be not taking drugs or drinking or anything,” the 66-year-old said. “That's not saying I've never done it because I have. But I sort of learned I think after a while there has been - it didn't take me that long to realise that it wasn't a good thing.

"You know, taking drugs on a recreational level is one thing. But taking them while you're working on a stage is, you know, I don't think it was that great.

"It's the control factor. And the thing about being on stage, you really want to feel that you're sort of in control a lot, I think, because I don't think you want - it's not a place where you want to be out of control."

The reissue of the classic 1972 Rolling Stones record  'Exile On Main Street' is currently number one on the official UK midweek album chart.

You can vote for Mick Jagger in our poll to find the greatest rock singer, here.

Rock stars before and after drugs:
  • Elvis Presley before drugs – The strikingly good looking Elvis way back in his heyday in 1957

  • Elvis Presley after taking drugs – A bloated King whilst battling addiction to prescription drugs and junk food in the seventies.

  • Pete Doherty before drugs – A young Pete being interviewed by Eddy Temple-Morris from MTV ahead of the release of the Oasis album 'Be Here Now' in 1997.

  • Pete Doherty after taking drugs – Pale skin, bloodied nose, rolling eyes... Pete looks truly out of it.

  • Courtney Love before drugs – Although she had a heroin addiction in the early nineties, in 1997 she had battled against her demons and was a picture of elegance.

  • Courtney Love after taking drugs - Looking bloated and with bad skin at the height of her prescription drugs addiction in 2004.

  • Ozzy Osbourne – Back in 1970, Ozzy looked a relative picture of health to his current state.

  • Ozzy Osbourne after taking drugs – Decades of cocaine and alcohol abuse have taken their mental toll on Ozzy. He still looks pretty good for his age though...

  • Shane MacGowan – Okay, it's actually impossible to find photos of Shane when he's sober. He was probably drunk as a newt when this was taken back in the eighties, but at least he looks pretty cool.

  • Shane MacGowan – This is what you may end up looking like after decades of being an alcoholic. You have been warned kids.

  • Boy George before drugs – Back in his early 1980's heyday when Top of the Pops viewers didn't even know what gender he was.

  • Boy George after taking drugs – The star was forced to do community service after he wasted police time and cocaine was found at his New York pad in 2006.

  • Whitney Houston – The clean living, girl next door Whitney in 1988

  • Whitney Houston after taking drugs - Years of alleged cocaine addiction have altered Whitney's appearance. Luckily she's now back on teh straight and narrow.

  • Brian Wilson – An untroubled, boyish Brian Wilson in the early 1960's.

  • Brian Wilson – After taking literally buckloads of LSD and cocaine, Brian Wilson spiralled into mental illness. Still looking slightly jaded today, it's amazing that he's come back to planet earth at all.

  • Keith Richards before drugs – In the mid-sixties, Keith was actually a handsome bugger.

  • Keith Richards after taking drugs – Decades of hard living and drug abuse have undoubtedly paid their toll on leathery-faced Keef.

  • Justin Hawkins before drugs – This snap is taken in 2003, the year that Hawkins started a three-year drugs binge which cost him £150,000.

  • Justin Hawkins after taking drugs – Looking very sombre and pasty in the midst of his cocaine addiction.

  • Britney Spears – The pop megastar looking pretty fine in her early noughties prime.

  • Britney Spears – Although nothing has ever been proven, Britney's erratic behaviour over recent years has been speculated to be down to alcohol and possibly drugs abuse.

  • Syd Barrett – The founding member of Pink Floyd was a musical visionary in his time with the band and his solo career.

  • Syd Barrett after drugs – Sadly, his experimentation with narcotics catalysed mental illness, leading him to live his life as a virtual recluse. Amazingly this photo was taken at Abbey Road studios in just 1975.

  • Kurt Cobain – While Kurt had already taken heroin at the time this photograph was taken (he first took the drug in 1986), the sheer pressure of fame which later exacerbated his addictions and mental state were was yet to take its grip.

  • Kurt Cobain in the midst of drug addiction – The solemn, iconic image of the late music legend.

  • Jim Morrison - The enduring, iconic image of The Doors frontman in the 1960s

  • Jim Morrison after drugs – The singer had an almost lifelong battle with alcohol and drug addiction, having started drinking in adolescence. Decamped to Paris in 1971, Morrison (now overweight and with a beard) grew increasingly depressed and died after a night of taking heroin and drinking in July of that year

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Photo: WENN.com