Jerry Hall's single could 'make a grown man cry'

Their last top 10 hit was more than 20 years ago, when Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones belted out "Start Me Up," which included the lyrics "don't make a grown man cry". That may now be about to happen as Jagger faces up to the news that Jerry Hall, the former model and his ex-wife, finally takes revenge in a thinly veiled musical attack on his philandering.

Their last top 10 hit was more than 20 years ago, when Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones belted out "Start Me Up," which included the lyrics "don't make a grown man cry". That may now be about to happen as Jagger faces up to the news that Jerry Hall, the former model and his ex-wife, finally takes revenge in a thinly veiled musical attack on his philandering.

The 48-year-old has made her recording debut on a track by her friend Rachel Fuller - the girlfriend of The Who's Pete Townshend - which is to be released as a single in the coming months. It is bound to touch a nerve with her ex, as it explores the breakdown of a marriage and refers to a husband who takes lovers while she is out of town.

Jagger was notoriously wayward during their two-decade relationship and fathered a child with the Brazilian model Luciana Morad.

Hall performed the track in front of music industry figures from around the world at a showcase for British artists hosted by Radio 2 and the British Phonographic Industry in Austin, Texas. Hall gave a spoken-word delivery - a form she calls "country recitation" - on the track "Around This Table", written by Fuller.

She has also recorded a version of the song at Ronnie Scott's club in London for a BBC Radio 2 show, Eddie Izzard's Late Night Cabaret, which will be broadcast on Saturday.

The model has a long association with the music industry though she has never been a performer. She did some work for Roxy Music and dated the band's singer, Bryan Ferry. She left him for Jagger, whom she married in 1990, but they split in 1999 following his affair with Morad, although they remain on friendly terms.

The song will appear on Fuller's album Cigarettes & Housework when it is released in the UK shortly.

Fuller said of Hall's contribution: "I thought of Jerry because I knew she would do a good job. The song is about what happens when a relationship breaks down and everyone starts arguing about who owns the spoons and all the material things."

Fuller was conscious that parallels would be drawn between the content and Hall's experiences. She said: "I want to release it as the second single off the album - if Mick doesn't mind too much." The spoken-word format was chosen, said Fuller, because Hall "can't really sing".

It is not the first time that an angry lover has got her own back in song. Carly Simon's 1972 hit "You're So Vain" is famously said to have been directed at film star Warren Beatty. More recently New York rapper Eamon released "F**k it (I don't want you back)" following a failed relationship.

'AROUND THIS TABLE'

We make love on it

Our children scratch their names beneath

The fire lights our passion

And the wine has numbed our grief

Then you bring other women, while I'm out of town

And I can always sense when a stranger has sat down