Watch The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger give surprise performance in Oxford pub
He visited the city on Sunday
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger treated pubgoers to a surprise live performance during a visit to Oxford over the weekend.
The octogenarian rock legend visited Oxford’s Oriel College on Sunday 7th June with his 38-year-old fiancée Melanie Hamrick, and he later dined with students at the Half Moon pub in St Clements.
During the pub's weekly folk session later that evening, Sir Mick stood up and belted out traditional ballad ‘Handsome Molly’, a song he previously covered as the closing track on his 1993 album ‘Wandering Spirit’.
Sharing a snippet of the performance, Oriel College said: “Sir Mick Jagger and partner Melanie Hamrick visited Oriel Oxford on Sunday as guests of the Provost and Lady Mendoza. Mick joined students at Evensong and dined at High Table.
“After dinner and drinks in the SCR a small group went off to the pub where Mick gave an impromptu performance with Rolling Stones keyboard player Matt Clifford and Oriel Politics academic Robert Cheah.”
Johnnie from the pub told the BBC: "The Half Moon prides itself on its authentic atmosphere and welcoming community.
"Our Sunday folk session has been going for many years and is open to everyone - whether you're a beginner player or an international rock star.
"You never know what to expect at the Half Moon."
Featuring the Planet Rock playlisted lead single ‘In The Stars’, The Rolling Stones release their 25th studio album ‘Foreign Tongues’ on Friday 10th July 2026.
25 rock stars when they were young:
Mick Jagger
A school photo of a 9-year-old Mick Jagger in 1951 at Wentworth Junior County Primary School in his home town Dartford
Rod Stewart
Roderick David Stewart aged 8 in 1953.
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts – Rolling Stones legend Charlie Watts - aged 2 with his mother Lillian and father Charles in Trafalgar Square in 1943.
Sting
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner – aka Sting – aged 10 at his home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1961.
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (Ronnie Wood) aged 4 in 1951, taken at his home in Whitehorn Avenue, Yiewsley, West London.
Bob Dylan
A childhood photo of Robert Allen Zimmerman – Bob Dylan – aged 2 in 1943.
Iggy Pop
Punk legend James Newell Osterberg Jr. – Iggy Pop – aged 18 months in 1948.
Paul McCartney
Future Beatles icon James Paul McCartney, nowadays known as Paul, aged 8 in Liverpool in 1950.
Janis Joplin
Late-great rock icon Janis Joplin aged 9 in 1952. She died just 18 years later.
David Bowie
A seven-year-old David Jones, soon to be known as David Bowie, in Bromley, London in 1954.
Neil Young
Feted rocker Neil Young as a young boy, aged 11 in 1956.
Jim Morrison
The Doors' Jim Morrison, aged 15, in his high school yearbook photo in 1958.
Bono
A one-year-old Paul David Hewson – future U2 frontman Bono – at his home in Dublin in 1961.
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad – aka Billy Idol – aged 10 in 1965.
Bruce Springsteen
16-year-old Bruce Springsteen in his high school yearbook photo in 1965.
Chrissie Hynde
The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde aged 17 in her high school yearbook in 1968.
Larry Mullen Jr
U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr aged 13 in 1974.
Freddie Mercury
An eight-month-old Farrokh Bulsara – future Queen frontman Freddie Mercury – at his home in Zanzibar.
Debbie Harry
Blondie's Debbie Harry aged 17 in her high school yearbook photo in 1962.
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich, the son of Danish tennis player Torben Ulrich, accompanies his father to Wimbledon in June 1966. Lars was two-and-a-half at the time.
Tina Turner
17-year-old Anna Mae Bullock, rock icon Tina Turner, in her high school yearbook photo in 1956.
Jack Black
Tenacious D rocker and acting legend, Jack Black, aged 16 in 1985.
Tom Petty
17-year-old Tom Petty as seen in his 1967 Gainesville High School yearbook photo. © Alamy
Elvis Presley
The King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, aged 5 in 1940.
Jimi Hendrix
A three-year-old Johnny Allen Hendrix with his dad Al in late 1945. When he was four in 1946 – a year after the above photo was taken – Johnny was renamed James 'Jimmy' Marshall Hendrix after his dad and Al's late brother Leon Marshall Hendrix.
John Lydon
The Sex Pistols' John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – aged 7 in 1964.
Sid Vicious
Simon John Ritchie - aka future Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious - aged 12 in 1969.
Ian Curtis
A five-year-old Ian Curtis in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1961.