Keith Richards is amazed at how beloved the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You album remains. The band has just released its Tattoo You: 40th Anniversary deluxe edition, which features a new remaster of the 1981 nine-week chart-topper, a bonus disc of nine previously unreleased — yet heavily bootlegged tracks — and a two-disc June 1982 performance art London's Wembley Stadium.
In a new chat with Apple Music, Keith Richards shed light on how the band cobbled some choice outtakes to have on the market for the band's legendary 1981 North American tour: “Tattoo You was, like, a few sessions from Paris, and then we realized that over the years, we had left a whole lot of stuff trailing behind us that we really needed to catch up on, y'know? 'Start Me Up' was at least five-years-old by the time it got on this album (laughs), Y'know? So. . .”
When pressed as to how the Stones could possibly keep an era-defining tune like “Start Me Up” on its cutting room floor for a half-decade, Richards was quick to explain it wasn't as obviously a classic as it seemed: “I can explain that by saying that we did, I think, 45 takes of 'Start Me Up'; I was convinced it was a reggae song. And we took a break and Charlie (Watts) and I said, 'Let's twist (laughs) it around.' And then we went back to doing more reggae versions — and then we found it five years later. There's one rock n' roll version, which means you should really check out (laugh) what you leave in the can, y'know? (Laughs).”
APPLE MUSIC – Keith Richards On ‘Start Me Up’ :
APPLE MUSIC – Keith Richards On ‘Tattoo You’ :
