1983 in music: The Rolling Stones go Undercover

The Rolling Stones seem to have been around since time began, and even in 1983 they were seen as the old guard. Having been contemporaries of The Beatles they'd survived many different changes in musical trends down the years, and would continue through many more to survive to the present day.

Their album of 1983, 'Undercover' was their first album of all-new material of that decade, and saw the band attempting to move with the times. While frontman Mick Jagger was keen to push the envelope, guitarist Keith Richards was less so, preferring to stay true to the group's rock 'n' roll roots. Consequently the album covered several bases, and lead-off single 'Undercover Of The Night' was mostly a Jagger composition, with its lyrical content dealing with the dangerous political situation in South American countries:

"One hundred thousand disparos
Lost in the jails in South America".

The video to the song attracted yet more controversy since it showed Jagger as a detective trying to rescue a hostage from kidnappers, only to be shot by one of them (played by Richards). British tabloid papers screamed headlines such as 'Beeb ban Mick's video nasty'; referring to the then-ongoing controversy over explicitly gory horror films released on video cassette being easily accessible to minors. The BBC did ban it, but it was shown on Channel 4's 'The Tube' music show. That was accompanied by a fractious interview where Jagger was grilled by presenter Muriel Gray over the content, the encounter established TV newcomer Gray as a tough interviewer unafraid to stand up to even established stars. 

Shown is the controversial video for 'Undercover Of The Night':