It's wonderful getting that phone call

The lithe singer, who has had a reputation as a serial womaniser and the occasional brush with the law over the years, has also had careers as an actor and occasional film producer on his way to amassing an estimated 200 million fortune.But as he counts down to his birthday on July 26, he will be spending his time doing what he does best – performing with the band he founded more than 50 years ago as they continue to tour.Despite lengthy gaps between their mammoth world jaunts, the group are currently playing global shows showcasing half a century of songs, and will take in next weekend's Glastonbury Festival.Next month there will be two performances in London's Hyde Park, a return to the scene of one of the most celebrated and colossal shows ever staged by the Stones back in 1969.Having been awarded a knighthood in 2002, the star seems to have put his wildest years behind him for at least the past decade.But he showed last year that he is not entirely happy to be seen as part of the establishment when he pulled out of an event at the Davos summit in Switzerland, claiming he was being used as a "political football" when he appeared to be siding with David Cameron. Born in Dartford, Kent, Sir Mick was a primary school chum of Stones guitarist Keith Richards, but they drifted apart through their teens.However as a student at the London School of Economics in 1961, Sir Mick and Richards – at the time studying art bumped into each other at Dartford station and discussed their love of R'n'B and pioneering rocker Chuck Berry.Sir Mick asked his old friend to join his fledgling blues band and they became regular faces at Ealing Jazz Club, which was also frequented by guitarist Brian Jones and drummer Charlie Watts.An early version of the Stones line-up featuring the two guitarists and the frontman made its debut at the Marquee club in central London on July 12 1962.By January of the following year Watts and bassist Bill Wyman were on board and within months they had a deal with Decca, issuing a cover of Chuck Berry's Come On as their first single, which peaked at 21 in the charts.Earlier this month the group revived the song live for only the eighth time in their career to mark the 50th anniversary of its release.Lennon and McCartney's I Wanna Be Your Man completed in the studio when the Beatles popped in to watch a rehearsal was their next shot.