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The Rolling Stones were hardly expected to reinvent themselves in the 1980s, yet Flirty emerged from sessions where the band was clearly refusing to sit still. Recorded at EMI Pathé Marconi Studios during the making of Undercover, the track belongs to a fascinating period when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were absorbing new wave, funk and more modern production ideas without abandoning the blues-rock instincts that got them there. With Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman ands Ronnie Wood adding their familiar strengths, the sessions became a meeting point between old-school Stones chemistry and a decidedly newer musical landscape. Because apparently surviving two decades at the top wasn’t enough—they still had to experiment.
Also known as: Forty Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Dec. 1982 (Undercover sessions) Guest musicians: Jim Barber (guitar, bass), Chuck Leavell (keyboards)
A New Sound Taking Shape
When The Rolling Stones entered EMI Pathé Marconi Studios in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, in 1982, they were no longer interested in simply repeating the formula that had made them famous. The sessions for Undercover found the band testing the boundaries of their familiar rock sound, bringing new wave, funk and sharper rhythmic ideas into the mix. Among the material taking shape was Flirty, a track that reflected this restless period of experimentation. Mick Jagger brought his energetic vocal presence, while Keith Richards continued to explore different guitar textures. Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman supplied the rhythmic backbone, and Ronnie Wood added another guitar voice. It was a remarkably collaborative period, proving that even after two decades at the top, the Stones could still behave as though they had something to prove. Apparently, retirement was not yet on the agenda.
Inside Pathé Marconi
The choice of EMI Pathé Marconi Studios was hardly incidental. Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, the facility was equipped with advanced recording technology and offered the acoustics necessary for the Stones to experiment with arrangements and production techniques.
Rather than treating the studio simply as a place to document completed songs, the band used it as part of the creative process. Ideas could be developed, reshaped and given new sonic dimensions as the sessions progressed. That approach was particularly useful for an album that deliberately moved between styles.
The combination of the Stones’ established rock instincts and newer production possibilities helped give Undercovera more contemporary edge. The band was clearly listening to what was happening around them, even if they were not about to abandon their own identity in the process.
The Stones Meet the Eighties
The sessions eventually produced an album that sounded considerably more adventurous than a straightforward continuation of the band’s earlier work. Undercover, released in November 1983, blended traditional rock with new wave and funk, creating a sound that could feel tense, polished and occasionally unpredictable.
Undercover of the Night became one of the clearest examples of this direction, combining the Stones’ familiar attitude with a more modern rhythmic and production approach. The album demonstrated that the band could absorb contemporary influences without completely surrendering the ingredients that made them recognizable.
For Flirty the importance of the sessions lies not simply in the finished recording, but in what it reveals about the Stones at this particular moment. Jagger, Richards, Watts, Wyman and Wood were working within a band that had already accumulated an enormous musical history, yet they were still willing to experiment.
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