Mick Taylor’s financial hardship was reported publicly in 2009, decades after he left the Rolling Stones. Taylor said he had received no payments from the band since 1982, while contemporaneous reports described unpaid household bills and a home in need of repair. Those accounts document a difficult period; they do not prove that leaving the group caused it, settle the royalty dispute, or establish his finances today.
What was reported about Taylor’s finances?
In a September 14, 2009 report, The Guardian said Taylor had received no money from the Rolling Stones since 1982, despite playing on albums including Let It Bleed and Exile on Main St. The report said he had been guaranteed performance royalties for songs including “Brown Sugar” and “Angie,” and that payments stopped after the band changed record labels in 1982. These were reported claims about his payment history and arrangements, not a court’s findings.
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The Guardian described Taylor as “scraping by” in a cottage in Suffolk. The next day, Pollstar, relaying an interview published by the Mail on Sunday, described a two-bedroom house needing repair and redecoration, unopened bills, and threats to disconnect utilities. Together, the reports support describing Taylor as facing financial hardship in 2009. They are not a financial statement and do not establish legal insolvency.
Did quitting the Stones cause the hardship?
The reporting does not establish that. Taylor left the band in 1974, after about five years. In The Guardian’s 2009 account, he described frustration with the group’s condition and doubts that it would last: “By 1974, I felt I’d gone as far as I could with the band. I didn’t think they’d stay together. The records were doing well but the band was falling apart – it was in chaos.” He also spoke about his drug addiction and said he did not regret leaving.
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- Hot Rocks 1964-1971 is the Rolling Stones' first anthology and one of their all-time best sellers
A 2000 Los Angeles Times profile adds context: Taylor said the songwriting-credit issue bothered him, but was not the only reason he left. The profile discusses disputes involving “Sway,” “Moonlight Mile” and “Time Waits for No One.” Neither his departure nor those disputes, on their own, explain his later finances.
Was there a lawsuit over the royalties?
The 2009 Guardian report described plans to sue, based on the Mail on Sunday interview it discussed. But NME subsequently reported that Taylor’s management denied he wanted to sue, saying he felt no need to take legal action and remained close to the band. The accounts conflict, so it would be inaccurate to state that a lawsuit was filed or that the payment dispute was resolved in court.
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What did Taylor do after leaving?
Leaving the Stones did not end Taylor’s music career. The Los Angeles Times profile describes solo touring in the 1980s and 1990s, his 1979 self-titled solo album, the 1990 live release Stranger in This Town, work with Bob Dylan on Infidels and a European tour, and later collaborations with Carla Olson. Those activities show that he continued to work as a musician, but the reporting does not quantify what he earned from them.
The Associated Press reported that Taylor reunited with the Stones for performances during their 50th-anniversary tour in 2012–2013. That later collaboration does not establish what happened with the earlier royalty complaint or what Taylor’s financial condition is now.
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- Originally released in 1971, now remastered & cut at revelatory Half-Speed at Abbey Road Studios from vinyl specific original tape transfers designed to get the very best possible sound from the format
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- Standard 180g black LP with remastered stereo audio Features three of the band's greatest songs - "Gimme Shelter", "Midnight Rambler", and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" Regarded by critics and music fans as one of the best and most important rock albums of all time The last Rolling Stones album to feature Brian Jones, and the first to feature Mick Taylor Also available on CD and Deluxe Box Set
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- Originally released in 1978, now remastered & cut at revelatory Half-Speed at Abbey Road Studios from vinyl specific original tape transfers designed to get the very best possible sound from the format
What can—and can’t—be concluded?
- Supported: Taylor said in 2009 that he had received no Stones payments since 1982, and reports from that September described serious household financial strain.
- Not established: The available reporting does not independently verify the contract terms, document a court ruling, or show that leaving the band caused the hardship.
- Not current evidence: The financial accounts are from 2009. The later reunion coverage does not establish Taylor’s present finances or net worth.
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