"Neighbours" is a song recorded by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, it is an

uptempo A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings ...

song featuring a saxophone part played by

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

. The song was released 24 August 1981 by

Rolling Stones Records Rolling Stones Records was the record label formed by the Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman in 1970, after their recording contract with Decca Records expired. The label was initi ...

and included as the sixth track on the band's 1981

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Tattoo You ''Tattoo You'' is the sixteenth U.K. and eighteenth U.S. studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 24 August 1981 by Rolling Stones Records. The album is mostly composed of studio outtakes recorded during the 1970 ...

''.

Writing and recording

Jagger and Richards initially wrote "Neighbours" during the ''

Emotional Rescue ''Emotional Rescue'' is the fifteenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 June 1980 by Rolling Stones Records. Following the success of their previous album, '' Some Girls'', their biggest hit to date, the ...

'' (1980) sessions in June-July 1979. It was further worked on by Jagger and Richards for ''Tattoo You'' in October 1979 and April-June 1981. Jagger was inspired by Richards' own run-ins with his neighbours after the guitarist was evicted from his

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

apartment after complaints that he was playing music too loudly. On the story, Richards said at the time of release, "... Patti ansen(Richards' wife) and I (have been evicted from apartments in New York). Mick wrote the lyrics to that - and he never has trouble with neighbours... I have a knack of finding a whole building of very cool people, you know, but there'll be one uncool couple... 'Neighbours' is the first song I think Mick's ever really written for me. It's one I wish I'd written, that." Recording took place during the June–July 1979 ''Emotional Rescue'' sessions, between October and November 1980, and April through June 1981, at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

' Pathé Marconi Studios and

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios is the recording studio network of Atlantic Records. Although the historic recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 Wes ...

in New York City. With Jagger on lead vocals, electric guitars are performed by Richards and

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

, with Wood taking the solo.

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...

and

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

perform drums and bass, respectively.

also contributes

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, one of his three credits for the album. Ian Stewart performs the song's piano.

Music video

The music video for "Neighbours" was directed by

Michael Lindsay-Hogg Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet (born 5 May 1940), is a British American television, film, music video, and theatre director. Beginning his career in British television, Lindsay-Hogg became a pioneer in music film production, direct ...

. It was shot on 1 July 1981 at the Taft Hotel in

. Lindsay-Hogg took "considerable" inspiration from the set and suspenseful screenplay of the

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

film ''

Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery film, mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes, based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "After-Dinner Story, It Had to Be Murder". Originally released ...

.''

Critical reception

Music critic

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...

wrote for ''Rolling Stone'' in an article reflecting on the life of

that "Neighbours" was a "great example of a fantastic song".

Live performances

"Neighbours" was performed by the Stones throughout their 1981 and 1982 tours in support of ''Tattoo You'', and was included on the concert film ''

Let's Spend the Night Together "Let's Spend the Night Together" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and originally released by the Rolling Stones as a double A-sided single together with " Ruby Tuesday" in January 1967. It also appears as the opening track ...

'' (1983). It re-emerged for performances on the Stones' 2002–2003

Licks Tour The Licks Tour was a worldwide concert tour undertaken by the Rolling Stones during 2002 and 2003, in support of their 40th anniversary compilation album '' Forty Licks''. The tour grossed over $300 million, becoming the second-highest-grossi ...

, with one performance being captured and released on the 2004 album '' Live Licks''. The song was again played at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland, on 17 May 2018 on the No Filter Tour.Watch: Rolling Stones perform rarity 'Neighbors' from 2018 UK tour launch in Dublin
Axs.com

References

{{authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1981 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards Music videos directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg