Mick Jagger was on the verge of death! The legendary frontman of The Rolling Stones was just one step away from a tragic end after a heroin overdose in the 70s and had to be saved literally at the last second.
According to Bob Spitz’s new book, “The Rolling Stones: The Biography,” the dramatic incident took place in 1976, when Jagger was at the height of his fame. After a European tour, the singer unexpectedly showed up one evening at the New York apartment of then-Rolling Stones Records boss Marshall Chess – bored, restless and already under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
And then things took a turn for the worse. Jagger reportedly insisted that the party not end, so Chess got some heroin. The two were supposed to split a dose—but just minutes after taking it, the singer collapsed to the ground. Lazy, his lips turning blue, he was fighting for his life.
“I thought he was going to die right in my apartment!” Chess allegedly panicked, trying to slapping him back to sleep – in vain. The situation was critical, so he immediately called an ambulance. He also contacted music mogul Ahmet Ertegun, who arrived with Hollywood star Faye Dunaway.
Chess reportedly gave Jagger CPR until paramedics arrived. It was only after he was put on oxygen that the singer began to breathe fully and on his own. He was then taken to the hospital, where Faye Dunaway set up a private room for him and tried to keep everything quiet so the scandal wouldn’t go public.
This incident was to be the final straw for Chess, who soon left the music business and the drug world. Jagger himself has not yet commented on the incident, but his drug history has long been the subject of much speculation and has been widely discussed in the press. He was arrested for drug possession in 1969, although the singer always claimed that the suspicious package was just planted on him.
Interestingly, his bandmate Keith Richards also struggled with heroin for years before finally giving it up in 1978. And to make matters worse, his ex-partner Jerry Hall even confirmed that Jagger was using drugs, even when they met – but he was supposedly able to quit because of her.
