Sir Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the iconic Rolling Stones, has let slip a dark secret: He’s a fan of Margaret Thatcher. He told Q magazine in Britain this week that he met privately with Thatcher a few times in the 1980s and 1990s and admired her as someone “who didn’t change for anyone” and was that rare politician who didn’t need to be liked. After her death in May, he said he was “slightly surprised by all the people who were still so anti her and had all this residual resentment.”
Jagger has let slip his conservative leanings on at least economic issues a few times. He studied at the London School of Economics in the 1960s and was known to have read the works of F.A. Hayek, a former professor there. In the 1970s, he made certain the Stones’ income escaped the rapacious grasp of the British taxman by moving it out of the country. Then there is the Stones’ hit 1987 single “Let’s Work,” which is a clear statement against dependency. Its lyrics include the following: “Ain’t going to sweat for you. Ain’t going to cry for you. If you’re lazy.” Jagger and the Stones, still going strong after 50 years of touring, are anything but lazy.