Mick Jagger was once the target of an assassination attempt by the Hells
Angels.

The Rolling Stones singer only survived the plot orchestrated by members of
the notorious motorcycle gang in the early 70s, because a boat carrying his
would-be killers was wiped out in a storm, according to former FBI agent
Mark Young.

Jagger became a target for the gang after a row over the death of a crowd
member at the 1969 Altamont Speedway concert in California, organised by the
band.

The Stones had hired the Hells Angels to act as security at the now
notorious show, which saw the death of 18-year-old man Meredith Hunter, who
was stabbed and kicked to death by members of the gang.

Tom Mangold, who presents a radio series about the FBI and interviewed Young
for the show, said: "The Hells Angels were supposedly running security and
after the concert Jagger said he would never work with them again. They were
so angered by his treatment of them they decided to kill him.

"A group of them took a boat and were all tooled up and ready to attack him
from the sea in his home in The Hamptons on New York's Long Island. They
planned the attack so they could enter his property from the garden and
avoid security at the front.

"But the boat was hit by a storm and all the Hells Angels involved were
thrown overboard. All survived and there was not said to have been any
further attempt on Jagger's life."

Hells Angel Alan Passaro was arrested and tried for Hunter's murder in 1972
but was acquitted after a jury concluded that he had acted in self-defence
because Hunter was carrying a handgun.