Writers: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Producers: The Glimmer Twins
Recorded: October 1977-March 1978 at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany (album)
October 1977-March 1978 at EMI Pathe Marconi Studios, Paris,
France (single remix, b/w “No Use In Crying”)
Released: 1981
| Players: | Mick Jagger–guitar, vocals Keith Richards–guitar Ron Wood–guitar Bill Wyman–bass Charlie Watts–drums |
| Album: | Tattoo You (Rolling Stones, 1981) |
“Start Me Up” entered the UK pop chart at Number Seven on September 12, 1981.
Two days later the Rolling Stones played a gig as Blue Monday & the Cockroaches at Sir Morgan's Cave, a club in Worcester, Massachusetts. More than 4,000 fans overran the club, which had a capacity of 350, once the news got out.
1981 turned out to be a dangerous year to attend a Stones concert. In Maryland in mid-October, two thieves fatally shot one man and wounded another in an effort to steal Stones tickets. Nine days later, another man was shot and killed by a 16-year-old outside Houston's Astrodome, where the Stones were playing. Finally, in November, another dozen people were injured and 56 more arrested at another Stones concert.
Although “Start Me Up” became something of a symbol (among younger fans) of the elder Stones ability to rock, it was originally recorded as a reggae song.
The up-tempo beat and general cockiness of the tune has earned it a place as the band's opening number for many live shows since its release.
Tattoo You stayed at Number One on the Billboard 200 for nine weeks in the fall of 1981.
“Start Me Up” didn't fare quite as well, although it did hold the Number Two slot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks. It was kept out of the top slot by Christopher Cross's “Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)” and Hall & Oates's “Private Eyes.”
