Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were honoured in their English hometown of Dartford, Kent on Wednesday, with a pair of bronze statues in celebration of their achievements with The Rolling Stones. The statues of the Rolling Stones rockers who will always be remembered were unveiled which capture their essence.
The statues have been named The Glimmer Twins – Jagger and Richards adopted the pseudonym in the mid-’70s. The statue of The Glimmer Twins was unveiled at One Bell Corner in Dartford, Essex. The Bronze figures of two of the world’s greatest Rock ’n’ Roll stars were unveiled in their home town of Dartford, Kent, known mainly for its tunnel and bridge across the River Thames.
The statues which were commissioned by Dartford Borough Council, show the pair in mid-performance. Jagger is captured, donning his trademark skintight trousers and singlet, singing and strutting with a microphone in hand while Richards has his head bent over his ‘Micawber’ Telecaster over his guitar, which was a birthday gift from Eric Clapton.
The two rock ‘n’ roll stars met on a platform at the Dartford railway station as teenagers in 1961, forming a friendship that would lead to the foundation of The Rolling Stones the following year. Even though both of them had attended Wentworth primary school in Dartford, they went to different secondary schools. The Rolling Stones who lasted more than 60 years to date went on to become one of the most successful bands in history.
The bronzes, titled The Glimmer Twins, were created by Amy Goodman – a fan of the band. Her previous public artworks include depictions of Florence Nightingale and Sir Stirling Moss as well as a Gurkha memorial. Goodman, who listened to the band’s music while creating the statues took about ten months for completion. She said she could have gone for any time between their late teenage years to their late 70s, and decided to depict Jagger and Richards as they were in the 1980s. She also said there was a lot of pressure and that it was an honour and privilege to sculpt “two incredible music icons”. She added that her aim was to capture their energy and chemistry.
The unveiling ceremony of the statues took place at One Bell Corner on Wednesday and was attended by Richards’s daughter Angela and granddaughter Ava.
The leader of Dartford borough council,, Jeremy Kite, said that in terms of music and culture, you do not get much more influential than the Rolling Stones, and that their music has changed the face of popular music, making these lads from Dartford presently two of the most recognisable and loved people in the world. The town had now realised a long-held desire to celebrate the roots of the duo in Dartford, he said. Jagger and Richards had adopted the pseudonym the Glimmer Twins in the mid-1970s, under which they produced Rolling Stones albums. The pair wrote most of the band’s songs.
Jagger celebrated his 80th birthday last month He had a party at a Chelsea nightclub for family, friends and stars including Stella McCartney, Baz Luhrmann and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Richards will be 80 in December while Charlie Watts, another founding member of the band, died in August 2021 aged 80. The band played 14 gigs in Europe last year and a new Rolling Stones album is due to be released this year.
Jagger enjoyed a lavish party Last month to celebrate his 80th birthday with a very star-studded guest list. The frontman of the Rolling Stones who was knighted in 2003 for services to popular music, appeared to be having the time of his life as he stepped out of a nightclub in Chelsea in the wee hours of the morning.
