British Band Used Cop Nightsticks in 1967 Song After Shocking Run-in
Sometimes music artists wouldn't fare well if cops interrupted their recording session. That was the case for Mick Jaggerof The Rolling Stones who almost got caught with an illegal substance. But his team had a clever way to avoid trouble and add a new sound to a song.
Mick Jagger's Recording Session Was Interrupted by Cops
The lyrics of "Let's Spend the Night Together" by The Rolling Stones are all about begging a partner to stay with them. It's simple, but the story behind the recording is much more complicated.
Jagger recorded the song in the studio at night in 1966 with studio engineer Glyn Johns, according to American Songwriter. Johns wrote in Sound Man: A Life Recording Hits with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, the Faces that cops interrupted the session.
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The lead singer smoked a joint before two policemen showed up at the studio as part of their rounds. "They could not see Mick, had no idea who they were intruding on, and could only hear him singing," the engineer wrote. "Mick, in turn, could not see them and was oblivious to their presence."
The lead singer's driver exited through the back with a bag of illegal substances. The policemen realized they had interrupted Jagger's session and apologized. Producer Andrew Oldham asked to use their nightsticks, gave them to Jagger, who then used them against each other as percussion. That sound was added to the track.
Jagger was open about his past of having to avoid the cops. "At the time it wasn't very funny," he told The Talks. "It wasn't very good because it completely took over our lives creatively, and we couldn't do this and couldn't do that. You had to spend all your time trying to deal with all the police, and you didn't have time to do anything else."
It took a lot creatively, but in this case it gave back to the music. The song was released in 1967 as a single with "Ruby Tuesday."
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 2:57 PM.