Joss Stone: Mick Jagger thinks I'm mad

15 July 2017

Sir Mick Jagger thinks Joss Stone is "completely mad" for wanting to gig in every nation on Earth.

Joss Stone

The 'We Are the Oceans' singer is determined to perform in every country of the world, and while her Rolling Stones frontman pal supports her plan, he thinks it was a crazy idea.

Joss - who was part of the group SuperHeavy with Mick, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley and producer A.R. Rahman - said: "He laughs at me. He thinks I'm such a hippy and no one else in their right mind would do this. But he gets why I love it.

"For me, the whole power of music is to connect, to communicate and to put a smile on your face."

Joss has made it exactly halfway through her tour, and has even defied official government advice to play in the likes of Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon.

She said: "I don't think it's about where I shouldn't go, I think about where I should go. According to the United Nations, there are 196 countries on this planet but I have a book which lists 226 - and that's the one I'm working from.

"To me, it's simple, we're told as musicians that certain countries are too dangerous to go to, that there is fighting or that certain places are unsafe.

"But my view is people like us are living in those places and surely they want to be entertained, to be sung to, want to feel that people in other countries care about them too.

"I'm not a doctor or a politician, but I know that music can connect people. A song can make you, even for a matter of minutes, forget your troubles...

"I don't actively put myself in danger, I try to do everything as safely as possible. But I won't let myself be put off. There's no country I wouldn't go to, from Syria to North Korea."

The 30-year-old singer admits her jaunt doesn't make her much money and she feels lucky she can take on other well-paying commitments in order to fund the global tour.

She added to HELLO! magazine: "I'm definitely not doing this for the money. It's just about doing it.

"We go away for a few weeks and then come back.

"When the money starts to run out, I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I can do a big organised gig that funds the next leg of the trip. I guess you could never say I was business-minded but I'm so much happier than I was in my early 20s."