Tattoo You: How the Rolling Stones Turned Leftovers Into a Late-Career Triumph

The most famous fact about Tattoo You is that its lead single “Start Me Up” started life as a reggae song. The Stones first tried recording it during the Black and Blue sessions in 1975, then revisited it in 1978 for Some Girls with a straight rock approach. They never finished it to their liking until 1981, when they finally nailed the take that became one of their biggest hits 11 years later.

The entire album relied on outtakes spanning almost a decade. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had no new material ready after the Emotional Rescue tour, so producer Chris Kimsey dug into the vaults and pulled unfinished tracks from sessions dating back to 1972. “Waiting on a Friend,” for example, was originally recorded during Goats Head Soup in 1973, with Jagger’s vocal added later. That song gave them a surprise hit single two decades into their career.

What makes Tattoo You a testament to their longevity isn’t just the scavenger approach—it’s how seamless the patchwork sounds. The Stones had spent the 1970s evolving from blues-punks into stadium giants, and by the early ’80s they were facing pressure to stay relevant. Instead of forcing a rushed studio album, they let their own overlooked recordings do the heavy lifting. It worked: Tattoo You spent nine weeks at No. 1 in the US and