It really, really works.

Ethereal ginger chanteuse Florence Welch (her off Florence + The Machine) joined Mick Jagger and co onstage in London for an emotional take on the band’s 1971 classic ‘Wild Horses.’

Despite being reliably miserly when asked his opinion about modern artists, lead guitarist and marvel of modern pharmaceuticals Keith Richards is an avowed fan of Welch.

Anyway, have a butchers for yourself:

There’s a lot to love about this clip. Jagger’s smoky pout at 1:20, the clearly-overwhelmed-and-possibly-tipsy flashpoint of physical contact between the two frontspeople at 2:30, the soaring vibrato harmony Welch unleashes at 3:10.

My favourite bit, anyway, amid all this drama and sexual tension: that clear shot of Charlie Watt at 3:20, looking – as he literally always does – like he’s been invited to have a go on the drums at a village cider festival because it’s his 100th birthday.

Florence Welch tweeted a rather lovely photo from the gig afterwards, because you would, obviously, wouldn’t you.

In case you think ‘Wild Horses’ is a touch airy-fairy and ballady – a waste of Florence’s capacity to be a firebrand – then why not instead divert your attention to another time she joined the Sticky Fingers rockers on stage, this time from 2012 delivering a barnstorming rendition of ‘Gimme Shelter’.







Yeah.

Florence + the Machine announced their new album, High as Hope, is on the way. It’ll drop June 29, and be supported by a bunch of festival appearances including at Melt! Festival in Germany, Osheaga Festival in Montreal, and Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco.

Oh, and the infuriatingly brilliant Welch also releases her first book, Useless Magic, in July.