Significant longplayers from yesteryear
24 August 2026
THE ROLLING STONES released their 16th LP, in the UK and their 18th in the US today
45 years ago, on 24 Augustus 1981. It topped the charts in the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries, and peaked at #2 in the UK.
Tattoo You is an album primarily composed of outtakes from previous recording
essions, some dating back a decade, with new vocals and overdubs. The Stones
put together this collection to have a new album to promote for their worldwide
American Tour 1981/European Tour 1982.
Richards: “The thing with Tattoo You wasn’t that we’d stopped writing new stuff, it was a question of time. We’d agreed we were going to go out on the road and we wanted to tour behind a record. There was no time to make a whole new album and make the start of the tour.”
The album title was originally planned to be simply Tattoo. Jagger claims to this day that even he has no clue how the ‘You’ became attached to the title. The title caused friction between the glimmer twins with Richards suspecting that Jagger had changed the title without seeking his input. The album cover had concept origination, art direction and design by Peter Corriston and illustration by Christian Piper.
The New York Times said at the time: “Remarkably, Tattoo You is something
special. None of the tracks are Chuck Berry retreads, none of them are disco, and
none of them are reggae. They are all rock-and-roll, with more than a hint of the
soul and blues influences that were so important in the band’s early work.
The new album’s lyrics are also a surprise. The Stones seem to have dropped
the studied decadence that was their most characteristic pose throughout the
70’s. The songs on Tattoo You seem to be by and about real people rather than
larger-than-life caricatures.”
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