According to a recent report in Ultimate Classic Rock, the Rolling Stones just played their first show in Liverpool in around 50 years. Evidently, the group felt that the moment was right for a grand gesture — in this case, playing a song composed by another legendary band with whom the Stones are perennially associated.
The song “I Wanna Be Your Man” was composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but was recorded by both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, with both bands’ versions seeing release in November 1963.
According to comments made by Mick Jagger, Lennon and McCartney approached them with the song. “[T]hey played it and we thought it sounded pretty commercial, which is what we were looking for, so we did it like Elmore James or something,” Jagger recalled. “I haven’t heard it for ages but it must be pretty freaky ’cause nobody really produced it. It was completely crackers, but it was a hit and sounded great onstage.”
In footage taken from the Liverpool show, Jagger hints that the Stones are about to play “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — they were, after all, playing at Liverpool’s home stadium Anfield — before heading in a different direction. And it turns out his assessment of the song all those years ago was correct — it does sound pretty great in a live setting.
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