The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger turns 80 this week

He is still performing for packed arenas, most recently touring Europe to mark the band's 60th anniversary

The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will turn 80 on Wednesday. Reuters

Mick Jagger once sang "what a drag it is getting old", but the senior artist is showing little sign of slowing down as he turns 80 on Wednesday.

The Rolling Stones frontman is still performing for packed arenas, most recently touring Europe to mark the band's 60th anniversary.

The star of 1960s counterculture underwent a heart valve replacement in 2019, but his regime of running, kick-boxing, cycling and yoga has maintained his svelte figure and longevity as an energetic showman.

The band completed its 14-date Sixty tour last year, although they had to cancel one date when Jagger caught Covid-19.

It was the first time the band had performed without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021.

The Rolling Stones pictured in 2016, from left, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Reuters

The remaining members plan to release a new album in tribute to their late drummer later this year, the first LP of original material since A Bigger Bang in 2005.

It will reportedly feature Beatles member Paul McCartney and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman, 86, more than 30 years after his departure from the band.

Beyond the Stones, Jagger teamed up with Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl in 2021 to record Eazy Sleazy, a song about life during the pandemic.

With songs such as Jumpin' Jack Flash, Gimme Shelter, Sympathy for the Devil and Not Fade Away, Jagger's band helped detonate the cultural and social explosion of the 1960s.

The charismatic frontman built a reputation for pushing boundaries.

Establishment figure

Mick Jagger and ex-wife model Jerry Hall meet former US president Jimmy Carter in 1978. Photo: Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

Michael Philip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, to middle-class parents in Dartford, south of London.

He started jamming with childhood friend Keith Richards in 1960 after they discovered a mutual love of the blues, and have enjoyed a productive, if love-hate, relationship ever since.

Jagger dropped out of the London School of Economics to pursue his dream, and in 1965, the band had their first smash hit with (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

A string of massive hits across five decades followed, including Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Women and Paint It Black.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards perform in December 1969. Getty Images

Despite all his controversies, Jagger has always kept a careful eye on the commercial side of things and has amassed a £310 million ($400 million) fortune, according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2021.

For all his image as a subversive figure, Jagger become a pillar of the establishment late in his life.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 and is frequently spotted at Lord's, watching the England cricket team.

The rocker became a father for the eighth time in 2016 when American dancer Melanie Hamrick, his current partner, gave birth to a son.

He already had seven children from four previous relationships.