Bite My Head Off

Song facts

“Bite My Head Off” is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and released on The Rolling Stones’ 2023 album “Hackney Diamonds“. It features Paul McCartney on bass, making it the first Rolling Stones song Paul has contributed to since “We Love You” in 1967.

Paul was invited to join the recording session for the track by producer Andy Watt, who was simultaneously working with him on his new album and producing the new Rolling Stones album.

‘Bite Your Head Off’ is kind of like a punk song. Andy Watt, the producer was supposed to be working with Paul that week and Andy said let’s bring Paul into the sessions and we’ll get him in. (I said) so what should he play? And Andy said, ‘lets put him on this punk tune’. Paul was amazing. I’d sung with Paul before. I was playing guitar, he was playing bass. He was great on it. He was amazing

Mick Jagger – From “Hackney Diamonds” launch event in London, September 8, 2023 – From Noise11.com

To be honest, if Paul had come another day, he’d probably have been on a different song. It wasn’t calculated. It just happened to be the flavor of the month that day.

Keith Richards – Interview with Guitar Player, December 2023

How did Paul McCartney enter the picture? I think it shocked everyone when it was announced that he was going to be on a Rolling Stones track.

He had been doing some work with Andrew Watt as well, and happened to be around and dropped by. I don’t even think he intended to play bass on a track, but once he was there, I just said, “Come on, you’re in. You ain’t leaving until you play.” [laughs]

Keith Richards – Interview with Guitar Player, December 2023

Macca wanted to put the dirt on it, we were like, OK.

Keith Richards – From mojo4music.com, October 13, 2023

There are at least two tracks I’d love to know more about. The first is “Bite My Head Off,” featuring Paul McCartney on that gnarly fuzz bass.

This is part of a much longer story, but essentially, I was working with both Paul and the Stones during roughly the same period. The Stones’ regular bassist, Darryl Jones, isn’t on the album at all because he was on tour, so everybody was taking turns playing bass, including me, Keith, Ronnie and Bill Wyman.

One day, while speaking with Paul, I thought, Why not invite him to play bass on a song? I realized it was a significant request: Can we get someone from the Beatles to play in the Stones? But surprisingly, both Mick and Paul were like, Sure, no problem, sounds like fun. They were so nonchalant.

I reviewed the list of songs slated for recording. The typical choice might have been to place him on one of the ballads, such as “Dreamy Skies.” However, I thought, how cool would it be to play on the most aggressive punk-rock track on the album? I knew Paul loved to rock, and they had a great time recording “Bite My Head Off.” They were all laughing like teenagers.

How did Paul achieve that fantastic distortion on his bass?

As Paul and I were becoming friends, I decided to get him a gift. I got him another lefty ’64 Hofner, similar to the one he played in the Beatles. However, I added a twist: my guitar tech installed a Univox Super Fuzz circuit on the Hofner that could be activated with a switch.

When I gave it to Paul, he said, “This is an incredibly thoughtful gift, but why? I already have my Beatles Hofner — why another one?” I was like, “Just plug it in and give that extra switch a try.” Suddenly his eyes widened, and he just started ripping on it. I told him to bring it to the recording session, and he couldn’t stop laughing.

I shared the song with Paul the day before, and when we entered the studio with the band, he brought out the bass. During the breakdown section of the song, he activated the Super Fuzz switch, and it was complete carnage! Everyone was like, “What the fuck was that?” It was hilarious and so cool. I think we recorded just three takes of that song, but almost immediately, Keith and Ronnie were on their feet, and Mick dragged the mic into the middle of the room and the roof left the building.

I think Paul really enjoyed that he was just a guy in a band again with friends that he’s known for 60 years. It had been a long time since he was with equals, just plugging in his bass and doing a session. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face for a very long time.

Andrew Watt – Interview with Guitar Player, December 2023

Watt was already working with McCartney on another project in Los Angeles when Jagger got wind and asked his old friend to join the Stones in the studio. “I’d sung with Paul before and I’d hung out with Paul a lot, but I’ve never played with him,” Jagger says. “I didn’t know what song to do. Should we do ‘Depending on You,’ like a ballad? Or something else? And Andy said, ‘Well, let’s try him on your punk song, on “Bite My Head Off.” Paul seemed very happy to play in a band where he didn’t have all the responsibility; he was just the bass player. And he really rocked out. He fitted straight in. It was like we’d been playing with him for years. It was a really good feeling.”

“Paul said to me, ‘Can you believe, here we are in the studio together?’” Wood says. “He said, ‘I have a dream come true: I’m playing with the Rolling Stones. And guess who is producing? Andrew, like we said.’ He was loving it, like a kid in a toy shop.” Wood says McCartney also played on another track they plan to use for another release.

From The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards on ‘Hackney Diamonds’ – Rolling Stone, September 14, 2023

And what about getting Paul McCartney on ‘Bite My Head Off’?

The school boy! He was so happy. He actually played on two tracks, one which we’ve got up our sleeve for, you know, more music to come because we cut about 23 songs and we only picked the first 12.

Ronnie Wood – From Ronnie Wood talks new Rolling Stones album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ (nme.com), October 16, 2023

Can we talk about this song? “Bite My Head Off.”

That’s wonderful. We just rehearsed that yesterday. We’ve been doing a little bit of rehearsing to see how these songs translate live, and they’re really cooking.

Can you tell people who is a special guest on that song?

Paul McCartney…

A Beatle is on the Rolling Stones album! A Beatle is on the Rolling Stones album! What is going on?!

Yeah. Well, the song goes… ♪ Bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah dah dah dah dah ♪ ♪ Bite my head off ♪ Right? And Paul – he was so blown away. He was a bit like a schoolboy, you know? A kid in a toy shop, you know? And he loved it. He said, “My dream!” Really? He said, “A Beatle gets to play on a Rolling Stones album!” Yeah, he was really knocked out. Yeah.

Ronnie Wood – Interview for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, October 19, 2023

I love that McCartney was on this record, he plays bass on a track. Was he in the room with you?

Yeah he was in the room, we were all in the room playing together.

There’s you and Keith…

Yeah, I’m playing guitar, he’s playing guitar, Paul’s playing bass, Ronnie’s playing guitar.

Do you understand that it feels meaningful to me? I understand it’s a session, musicians playing together, but you understand that historically that feels meaningful that you’ve just played together…

Yeah it does and it’s fun, but it seemed so natural, it didn’t seem… and Paul was so natural and relaxed, and he enjoyed it, and we knocked it out really quick.

Did you guys have a good relationship, you and Paul?

[…] I’ve always been friends with him and we don’t see each other that much, but we do sort of text each other and you know and so we sort of keep in touch.

Mick Jagger – Interview with Tom Power, CBC, September 18, 2023

Last updated on October 20, 2023

Variations