Mick Taylor Suffered Serious Financial Problems After Quitting The Rolling Stones

Highlights

• Despite The Rolling Stones' success, Mick Taylor went broke after quitting due to royalty disputes and financial struggles.
• Mick Taylor quit the band because he felt creatively unfulfilled, wasn't properly credited for his work, and struggled with addiction.
• Taylor rejoined The Rolling Stones in 2012 but eventually left again, and his net worth is significantly lower than his former bandmates.

When people look back at rock music history, there is no doubt that the discussion has to include The Rolling Stones. After all, The Rolling Stones are such a big deal that fans care when they feud with their peers and when the band refuses to perform certain songs live.

Given how huge The Rolling Stones are, it is shocking that a former member of the band named Mick Taylor quit at the height of their success. Worse yet, it is amazing to know that Taylor went through some really tough times after he quit.

This article will reveal how Mick Taylor wound up suffering financially after leaving The Rolling Stones. The article will then look at why Taylor decided to quit The Rolling Stones at the height of their success.

Mick Taylor Went Broke After Quitting The Rolling Stones

After Mick Taylor joined The Rolling Stones, he contributed to many of the band's legendary songs. Some examples of Rolling Stones songs Taylor was a part of include "Honky Tonk Women", "Wild Horses", "Angie", and "It’s Only Rock And Roll". Thanks to Taylor's status in The Rolling Stones' history, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band.

Despite the heights that Taylor's career once hit, he wasn't living like a rock legend when he was interviewed by The Daily Mail in 2009. Instead, Taylor was living in a two-story house that The Daily Mail described as a "ramshackle cottage" while struggling to pay his bills.

After years of refusing interviews, Taylor agreed to talk to The Daily Mail in 2009 and show them around where he was living. As a result of Taylor agreeing to open up his home at that time, The Daily Mail was able to reveal how dire his financial situation was at that time.

In The Daily Mail's article, they described seeing a stack of unpaid bills in Taylor's home. If that wasn't bad enough, the outlet's reporter wrote that they could see letters threatening to cut off Taylor's water, electricity, and gas.

In many areas of the world, utility companies don't make threats like that unless their customer is way behind in their bills.

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Later in the same article, The Daily Mail found another way to depict Taylor's financial troubles at that time.

The article revealed that when Taylor happens to has money, he sorts through his bills and picks some to pay. However, The Daily Mail reported that when Taylor was broke as he often was, he would call his friends and convince them to perform at a local pub to make ends meet.

The Daily Mail's article also reported that Taylor's home was in serious need of repairs and redecoration in 2009. When asked about the work that his house needed, Taylor told the outlet, "Yeah, I know it needs doing. I just don’t feel up for it right now."

According to what Taylor told The Daily Mail in 2009, his money woes at that time were partly caused by a decision his former bandmates made. Taylor claimed he no longer received any Rolling Stones royalties.

"In 1982 they stopped paying me. They’d signed to a different record company and had new contracts and were advised they didn’t need to pay me anymore."

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Taylor admitted that he should have taken action to get his royalty payments back, but he just lashed out instead.

"I should have got a lawyer,’ he said. ‘But instead, I called them rude words and asked how they could just stop paying me. They all know it’s not right. In fact it is outrageous. They get all the money and I get the plaudits and praise, even from Mick."

Taylor continued, "I’ve tried to talk to Mick a couple of times, but I realize that hiring a lawyer is probably the only way they’ll take me seriously. But they figure I’m not going to do anything about it."

Fortunately for Taylor, he wound up mending fences with his former band after the 2009 interview. In fact, Taylor and Bill Wyman both rejoined The Rolling Stones in 2012 for the band's 50th anniversary tour. Taylor would perform with the legendary band for an extended tour before stepping away once again.

How rich are the members of The Rolling Stones as of March 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Taylor has a $300,000 fortune as of March 2024. While that is far less than his former bandmates, at least it seems like Taylor's situation is better than it was in 2009.

Mick Taylor Quit The Rolling Stones For Several Reasons

In 2014, The BBC published an article in which they quoted Mick Taylor talking about if he regretted leaving The Rolling Stones. During several interviews, Taylor has made it clear he doesn't regret quitting the band since he argues the real question is whether he regrets joining The Rolling Stones.

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Still, the fascinating thing about Taylor's first tenure as a member of The Rolling Stones is why he quit. Since people are complicated, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Taylor quit The Rolling Stones for several reasons.

During Taylor's aforementioned The Daily Mail interview, he told the outlet that he was angry that he didn't get enough credit. Taylor claimed that Mick Jagger told him he would get songwriting credits, but that didn't happen. "I took offense and that was a contributory factor in my departure."

In 1969, Mick Taylor joined The Rolling Stones after the band originally formed in 1962. Taylor stayed with the band until he quit in 1974 and stayed away for decades. Taylor then shocked fans by rejoining The Rolling Stones in 2012 and touring with them until leaving again in 2014 . As of March 2024, there is no indication that Taylor will ever join the band again.

Taylor also explained to The Daily Mail that he didn't feel creatively fulfilled by being a member of The Rolling Stones. "I had a creative relationship with Mick, but I was also bored for a lot of the time. I wanted more and they wanted to remain the same."

Finally, Taylor told The Daily Mail that he quit The Rolling Stones because he'd developed an addiction issue. At the time, Taylor believed that he would clean himself up if he left the band.

Sadly, Taylor revealed that his addiction to substances got worse after he left the legendary rock band. When Taylor's father was battling cancer, he was prescribed morphine, which was the substance the rock star was addicted to.

Between ease of access and the emotional turmoil Taylor was in while watching his father struggle, things got worse. "I joined the line of junkies. I was a virtual down and out." On the bright side, Taylor told The Daily Mail in 2009 that he'd been clean "for years".

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