Thread: Mick Jagger, his Australian connection

Are you sure you are not mixing up Australia with Austria!!!!

Originally Posted by worane

Are you sure you are not mixing up Australia with Austria!!!!

Are you serious? Bob

A bit more on Alfred, shows how times have changed. Bob

" By the time he retired in 1946, Alf was senior foreman of the Boatshed on Garden Island, in charge of the entire operation.He had joined the RAN boat-builders early in WW1, ; by the time WW2 broke out he was foreman, managing the boatsheds operations through the hectic & heavy demands of the War in the Pacific.Frank Hurst, who joined as an apprentice in 1943, looks back on those WW2 years as ' a wonderful time ' in GI's boatshed. ' Because of the War there about a hundred of us....we had great tradesmen and there was a great sense of purpose. Alf was on top of it all, he must have been a great organiser. Hurst rememembers Alfred Scutts as ' a very dapper man,', who always appeared at work in a well cut suit, with a tie, often with a flower in his lapel, & well polished shoes.' He always had a straight back, never slouched, . He spoke well, and had this pointed waxed moustache that he would twirl while he was talking to you.Apprentices held him in awe, even though we might mock him & the moustache occasionaly behind his back.'

Alfred believed you should be well dressed at all times, One day, when Peter was about 12, he was walking along the footpath & kicked a stone, Alfred scolded him severely for scuffing the toe of his shoe. Alfred simply believed everyone should have highly polished shoes all the time.

And music. Did legendary Mick Jaggers Grand-dad like music? He listened to a lot of old 78 rpm records, mostly classical, Peter Scutts recalls. Sydney concert pianist singer & collector Glen Amer has reviewed all of Alfred Scutts collection and says Alfred had a very sophisticated taste.including many of the Worlds great Orchestras, like the Philharmonic, conducted by Stowkowski , & the NBC Symphony conducted by Toscanini, and singers like Beniamino Gigi, Lily Pons & Enrico Caruso. " Alfred Scutts", says Amer, " bought the best of the best".

And what of the legend himself, Mick Jagger?

" Gertrude & Alfred Scutts remained in contact even after Gertrude & the five children returned to the UK. Ten years after their departure , in 1927, one of those children, - Percy, then 24 - came back to live in Australia. In 1929 Percy married Rose Manley, & the couple established their family here - having daughters Margaret & Rosemary, & son Peter. After that, the Australian & English branches of the family continued to communicate, writing to one another, sending photos & crossing the Globe to pay visits. In this regard, Eva's son Mike, or Mick as he became known, has been no different to the others. Whenever the Rolling Stones have visited Sydney, Jagger has handed out tickets to the Aussie rellies, even putting on special post concert parties for the Aussie lot, giving himself an opportunity to say hullo personally.

Having trained at the RAN Dockyard, G.I. , Peter Scutts later in his career joined the Aust. National Maritime Museumin Sydney as a shipwright. When the Rolling Stones were in town in 2003, he invited cousin Mick to Darling Harbour to see first hand some of Alf Scutts handiwork: the Museums beautifully conserved 36 ft. former RAN Officers launch MB172.... built at Garden Island under grand-dads supervision." Mick considered the inspection a must on that visit" says Peter. " He took his daughter Georgie with him, and they took quite a long time to look around on deck & inside. "

The RAN no longer builds or attends to wooden boats on G.I.. The wooden boat shed where Alf Scutts worked still stands, appropriately housing the RAN Historical Society. Why did the Master boat-builder stay down under? It may well be , as some family members suggest, he simply couldn't bear to leave his work on the Sydney waterfront. Alfred Scutts died on 29th June, 1963. This was 11 months after the youthful Rolling Stones first performance, in London, and just 18 months before the bands first visit to Sydney.The boat builder probably knew about, but didn't ever connect with his rising rock star grandson"

What a great story, all of you who visit the Maritime Museum can point out the boat that Mick Jaggers Grand-dad built. And , of course, it should be remembered Mick Jaggers Mother was Australian, probably where he got his talent, Bob