Mick Jagger lands a new U.K. hit as “Strange Game,” his Slow Horses theme song, debuts on the downloads chart amid work on The Rolling Stones’ next album. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 06: Singer Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs during a stop of the band’s No Filter tour at Allegiant Stadium on November 6, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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The Rolling Stones are reportedly hard at work on a new album, the follow-up to the band’s 2023 comeback full-length Hackney Diamonds, which became a global success. Only a few details have emerged about the next chapter for the legendary rock group, but fans may only need to wait a few more months before getting their hands on the forthcoming twenty-fifth full-length from the rockers.
As the band continues to work, lead singer Mick Jagger scores a new solo hit in the United Kingdom, as his own “Strange Game” barely manages to become a bestseller for the first time.
Mick Jagger’s “Strange Game” Finally Becomes a Chart Hit
Jagger’s “Strange Game” debuts on the Official Singles Downloads chart, the weekly roundup of the 100 top-selling individual tracks of any language or genre on platforms like Amazon and iTunes throughout the U.K. The tune barely manages to break onto the list, as it opens in second-to-last place at No. 99.
Slow Horses Helps Mick Jagger Score a Bestseller
“Strange Game” is not new, though it does become a hit on a U.K.-based chart for the first time this week. Jagger recorded the track to serve as the theme song to Apple TV+’s hit – and critically-adored – series Slow Horses. The Gary Oldman-led program recently began unveiling season five episodes one at a time, beginning in late September. The show’s comeback may have reinvigorated interest in all things connected to Slow Horses, including Jagger’s cut.
Mick Jagger Returns to the Charts After Nearly a Decade
It’s been almost a decade since Jagger scored his last solo success on the Official Singles Downloads chart. In 2016, “Dancing in the Street,” his cover of the classic with David Bowie, spent one frame at No. 83.
Mick Jagger’s Oddest Collaboration
The Rolling Stones superstar first appeared on the Official Singles Downloads chart on his own back in 2012. He joined Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am and Jennifer Lopez on one of the oddest collaborations in pop music history, titled “T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever).” The electronic dance-pop and hip-hop hybrid climbed all the way to No. 3, earning Jagger a huge win right out of the gate — and bringing him to a position he has yet to approach again.
How Many Bestselling Songs Have the Rolling Stones Charted?
View of members of the British Rock group the Rolling Stones during a press conference to announce the band’s ‘A Bigger Bang’ world tour, at the Julliard School of Music, New York, New York, May 10, 2005. Pictured are, from left, Charlie Watts (1941 – 2021), Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards. The group had performed a short, surprise set of music before the announcement. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
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As a member of The Rolling Stones, Jagger has appeared on the Official Singles Downloads chart with nine different tracks. Three of them — “Angry,” “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” featuring Lady Gaga, and “Mess It Up” — came from Hackney Diamonds and debuted in 2023. Several other classics from the group, like “Paint It Black,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “Sympathy for the Devil,” have also appeared on the list, but so far, the band has only managed a pair of top 10s on a tally that was introduced decades after The Rolling Stones’ heyday.
Mick Jagger’s Collaboration with David Bowie Keeps Selling
Jagger claims two bestsellers in the U.K. this frame. As “Strange Game” debuts, “Dancing in the Street,” the oft-mocked collaboration with Bowie, falls almost 30 spaces on the Official Physical Singles ranking. That track, which has previously topped the list of the bestselling individual tunes on formats like CD, vinyl, and cassette, dips from No. 27 to No. 55 in just its seventh turn on the tally.
Forty Licks by the Rolling Stones Lives on the U.K. Charts
Interestingly, The Rolling Stones don’t take up space on any song-specific rosters this frame, but the band does rebound onto the Official Albums chart, the list that looks at the most consumed albums and EPs across the country. The group’s hugely successful Forty Licks compilation, which peaked at No. 2 years ago, reappears in last place, at No. 100. The title is also gaining ground on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, as Forty Licks rises to No. 80 on the Official Albums Streaming tally.