There was a day when Steve Jobs and Mike Jagger were in the same room. What came out of it, however, was not exactly fruitful. Rather, it ended in an awkward silence and an impromptu computer session for the singer’s own daughter. I’ve been working with Apple teams for nineteen years and following the guys from Cupertino for nineteen years and I’ve never heard such an amazing story.
Everything goes back to January 1984 for context. The introduction of the first Macintosh could change everything within the company, according to in Apple organizes a small presentation tour with illustrious personalities to pose in front of the national press. And of course one of them was Mike Jagger, genius and character.
A Macintosh for Mike Jagger?
Let’s travel to the first week of January. While Steve Jobs, Mike Murray and Bob Belleville run their own event from New York, engineer Andy Hertzfeld is hard at work preparing for launch from his office in Cupertino. That morning he had arrived at the office much later than usual: the night before he had been fighting until 3 a.m. Review of applications and the operating system in general.
But when he sits down at his desk, he comes across a note. A handwritten note from software librarian Patti King:. And it says this: “Andy, Steve J. called, we can ship Mick Jagger a Mac tomorrow.. You can fly to them tomorrow at noon and bring lots of software with you. If you can come, arrange your trip through Lynn. Steve will call back in a few hours. He’ll be at the Carlyle Hotel tomorrow.”
According to Andy himself This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.. This message, written by Steve Jobs’ secretary Lynn Takahashi, was part of a larger campaign. Two days earlier they gave Andy Warhol a Macintosh himself and he loved it. It was actually his idea: “You should show Mick.” And he did. He got up and began to organize the preparations.
Although the Rolling Stones went through their own creative crisis in 1984 and switched to a lighter version of their usual style, less rock and more folk, they had nothing left to prove at this point. AND Mike Jagger was one of the most notorious personalities in the world. The clock was ticking and the deadline to get everything ready for launch was set for Monday 16th January at 6am. And flying away a few days just to show Jagger a Mac meant losing two workdays.
As it was, the plane landed, Andy handed over the tools, and Steve Jobs, Mike Murray, and Bill Atkinson loaded up their Mac to take to Mick Jagger’s house. And keep an eye on the original story: “They knocked on the door in the direction they were given, but there was no answer for several minutes. Eventually the door was opened by two huge guys who were obviously bodyguards and They didn’t seem too impressed talking to the co-founder of Apple Computer and his entourage.”
After waiting they were finally able to get in, they walked up several flights of stairs to get to an elegant room, and they had to wait in silence while good old Bill Atkinson started up MacPaint and tinkered with various programs.
“I think he was drugged. It’s either that or he’s got brain damage.”
And then the debacle began: Mick Jagger stormed in in his usual blue jeans and waved politely, but didn’t seem to articulate any sentences adeptly. And it doesn’t seem like it’s a matter of apathy towards technology, more like substance abuse:
“Their speech was slurred and very slow.” “Actually, I think he was on drugs. It’s either that or he’s got brain damage.”. -Steve Jobs
A little missing, one must say. And more knowing that Steve was never really a person outside of drugs. After a few minutes, Apple officials realized how little Mick cared about anything related to Apple and this powerful computer that would change the technology tables at the user level. There was an awkward silence that lasted forever, broken only by Jade., Jagger’s daughter, who had followed her father into the room. In fact, curiosity saved the scene.
Jagger’s daughter was blinded
If the father’s attitude was absolutely disinterested, the girl was captivated: “Her eyes lit up when she saw the MacPaint.” Bill took advantage of the situation and explained the application, and after a few minutes the young woman fully understood how this versatile graphic editor works. Jagger went to another room and eventually the entire Apple team stayed with Jade. for another half hour to answer various questions.
Jade was born in October ’71 and was 12 years old at the time. Fascinated by the possibilities of MacPaint, the Apple team limited themselves to “selling” this device to a later renowned model and fashion designer. Shortly after they left, nothing was heard. there was none Return messageneither positive nor negative. A somewhat strange encounter where there was no shortage of puyas.
In fact, this wasn’t the only time both personalities coincided. In 2008, Steve Jobs met Mick Jagger again at a round table on e-commerce in Brussels, the European Commission reported. But We’re surprised Jobs reminded him of Jagger that afternoon and even less knowing how the meeting ended.
Home | Steve Jobs (Reddit) / Image by Mike Jagger: Original by Jerzy Bednarski (Wikipedia)
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