NEWSMick Jagger Admits He Made a 'Really Stupid' Mistake After Taking John Lennon's Advice on Elvis Presley
Mick Jagger stated that he made a 'really stupid' mistake by taking John Lennon's advice on Elvis Presley to the heart.
July 15 2026, Published 3:54 a.m. ET
Mick Jagger is opening up about his career regrets, and one of them includes taking John Lennon’s advice on Elvis Presley.
The Rolling Stones frontman recently appeared on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast on July 13.
During the interview, he admitted that he feels "stupid" about never meeting Presley, whom he had idolized for a long time.
“That’s incredible to me,” O’Brien replied to the revelation.
Mick Jagger admitted his regret for following John Lennon's advice on not meeting Elvis Presley.
The singer revealed that his decision not to cross paths with the icon stemmed from Lennon's advice that "you should never meet your heroes.”
“It was really stupid of me, really. I would have loved to have met Elvis. Why did I take John’s advice?!” Jagger exclaimed.
Mick Jagger Reveals John Lennon Put Him Off Meeting Elvis Presley
Mick Jagger revealed hearing John Lennon's stories of meeting Elvis Presley put him off the idea.
The rockstar stated that Lennon once told him, “I would never meet Elvis, Mick, if I were you.”
“And so I didn’t. I took John’s advice,” he continued.
Although he has come to regret his decision in the following decades, at the time, it seemed like a very prudent piece of advice to him.
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Mick Jagger wondered how his meeting with Elvis Presley would have gone.
“He told me all this story [of meeting Presley in 1965] more than once, so it put me off,” he said in the interview.
He further explained that “I wanted to keep my Elvis to myself, my version of Elvis. So I didn’t want my version of Elvis shattered like John’s was.”
“But maybe my Elvis version would have been different,” he wondered.
Mick Jagger Shed Light on the Long-standing Rivalry Between The Rolling Stones and The Beatles
Mick Jagger said there was 'truth' to the rumored rivalry between The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
While Jagger took The Beatles icon’s advice to heart, their connection did not play a role in the rumors surrounding The Rolling Stones and The Beatles’ iconic rivalry that lasted for decades.
He shed some light on the topic during his appearance on Today’s Sunday Sitdown With Willie Geist, saying, “I think there was an element of truth in it.”
“But I think there was an element of PR in it, too. But it was also London [versus] Liverpool, so it’s a bit like L.A. [and] New York,” he added.
Paul McCartney recently collaborated with The Rolling Stones.
“Obviously, that was a good talking point for the press to get on,” Jagger remarked.
However, any supposed rivalry between the two bands has seemingly been forgotten over time.
The Beatles star Paul McCartney contributed to The Rolling Stones' 2023 album Hackney Diamonds on the song “Bite My Head Off.” McCartney also joined in for a track on The Rolling Stones’ latest album Foreign Tongues.
