(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Tue 25 November 2025 15:34, UK
The Rolling Stones have created songs through almost every feasible way throughout the course of their career and earned their own luck through hard work in the studio.
Especially throughout the 1960s and ’70s, The Rolling Stones built a reputation on their relentless work ethic in the studio. They would continue recording takes until they were content with what they had made, even if it meant they spent countless hours for no reward.
Additionally, their vision could often change from beginning a song in the studio to the point of completion. One prime example of this is ‘Start Me Up’, which appeared on their classic album, 1981’s Tattoo You. Incredibly, if Richards had his way, it would have been a reggae song rather than the epic rock ‘n’ roll anthem they’ve been opening sets with for 40 years.
The origin of ‘Start Me Up’ precedes Tattoo You and dates back to their 1978 album Some Girls. Despite cutting dozens of takes, ultimately, it was deemed surplus to requirements, and they expected it to be left to rot in the vaults for eternity. As far as the Stones were concerned, ‘Start Me Up’ was inadequate and would never be heard by the general public. Unexpectedly, this all changed when they later stumbled upon one take they didn’t even recall recording.
“The story here is the miracle that we ever found that track,” Richards later said of the track. “I was convinced – and I think Mick (Jagger) was – that it was definitely a reggae song. And we did it in 38 takes – ‘Start me up. Yeah, man, cool. You know, you know, Jah Rastafari.’ And it didn’t make it. And somewhere in the middle of a break, just to break the tension, Charlie and I hit the rock and roll version. And right after that we went straight back to reggae.”
Richards then explained how “we forgot totally about this one little burst in the middle”. Thankfully, that all changed, with Richards recalling that “about five years later” when somebody was tasked with trawling through the reggae takes, and stumbling upon gold. “After doing about 70 takes of ‘Start Me Up’, he found that one in the middle. It was just buried in there. Suddenly, I had it. Nobody remembered cutting it,” he added.
In Richards’ mind, the song was nothing short of a miracle, explaining, “We leapt on it again. We did a few overdubs on it, and it was like a gift, you know? One of the great luxuries of The Stones is we have an enormous, great big can of stuff. I mean what anybody hears is just the tip of an iceberg, you know. And down there is vaults of stuff. But you have to have the patience and the time to actually sift through it.”
Not only were The Rolling Stones thrilled with ‘Start Me Up’, but they elected it as the lead single for Tattoo You, and it became one of their beloved songs. However, the fact that it was almost accidentally lost forever makes it even sweeter for Richards.
In another universe, if Richards and Watts didn’t decide to jokingly mess around during the song’s original recording, they’d have never resurrected one of the most beloved tracks they’ve ever released, which is a troubling thought for fans.
Considering the rigorous approach that The Stones adopted in the studio, it does make the mind wander about other potential classics they forgot about. Who knows, there could be a bundle of other tracks, on the level of ‘Start Me Up’, which have never seen the light of day.
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