| 29th January 2007 11:14 AM |
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| Gazza |
The Stone who rolled away...
By KRISTINA PEDERSEN Last updated at 22:30pm on 28th January 2007
Rock star (retired): Taylor returns from a shopping trip
When the Rolling Stones were revealed last week to be music’s biggest current earners, making £77million a year, one man who played a key part in their success could be forgiven for not joining in any celebrations.
Mick Taylor, guitarist on some of the Stones’ best albums, now has a lifestyle far removed from the excesses of the rock circuit.
He lives alone in a run-down cottage in a Suffolk village and seldom talks about his five years with Jagger, Richards and Co.
Taylor joined the band in 1969, replacing Brian Jones shortly before Jones was found dead in a swimming pool.
He worked on such albums as Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street, and was described recently by drummer Charlie Watts as ‘clearly the best solo guitarist the Stones had’.
Yet after five years Taylor walked out, saying he ‘saw the group as not going anywhere’, and was replaced by Ronnie Wood of the Faces.
Last week, as Forbes magazine placed the Stones at the top of its music moneymaking list, Taylor was trudging home after doing his shopping at Asda.
And his forlorn appearance suggested he might be regretting his decision.
While he was arguably right that the band’s best work was behind them, the Stones did go on to do rather well as a stadium act.
Though he lives alone, the twice-married 58-year-old conducts a long-distance relationship with a Swedish girlfriend, who is in her 30s and who visits him once a month.
His modest rural lifestyle is something of a contrast with, say, Jagger, who is worth well over £200million and has homes in exotic locations all over the world.
Taylor left the band after, as he put it, ‘I had a falling out with Mick Jagger over some songs I should have been credited with co-writing on (the album) It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll.’
He added: ‘I don’t get paid for some of the biggest-selling records of all time. Frankly, I was ripped off. You get cynical about the music business.’
Taylor went on to rejoin John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, with whom he had played before the Stones, and also played with the Jack Bruce Band, Alvin Lee and even Bob Dylan. He has made several unsuccessful solo albums.
The Mick Taylor Band last appeared in the Netherlands in November as a support band to a Scandinavian blues act but there are, according to his website, no performances planned as yet this year.
It is understood that he receives at best only minimal royalties from the Stones albums on which he appears.
A taxi driver who regularly drives Taylor said: ‘He never mentions the Stones, but he’ll sometimes be carrying a guitar with him and when he does he’ll always say that he has a gig to go to in London.’
PJ Crittenden, owner of the Dirty Water Club in Tufnell Park where Taylor’s band played last summer, said: ‘People interested in Mick Taylor fall in the 30-to-45-year-old category, but, although enthusiastic, they are certainly not a legion.’
Geoff Laurence, who works in the village shop near the musician’s home and is a friend of Taylor, said: ‘He is a lovely person. He moved down here from London around seven years ago and he likes village life because he feels protected from the outside world.
‘He probably feels like this because we are a very close community and we make him feel safe.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=432052&in_page_id=1773 |
| 29th January 2007 11:27 AM |
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| Mel Belli |
That's friggin' sad. On the one hand, you could say the guy quit - made his own bed. On the other, Mick and Keith chewed him up and spat him out. |
| 29th January 2007 11:44 AM |
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| Gazza |
to be honest, in true tabloid style, the article is prone to exaggeration, effectively suggesting he's pretty much retired and broke ('Living in a run down cottage' - proof, please?) and 'forlorn' (hardly).
The stuff about him not wanting to discuss his Stones career is hardly accurate. When I met him a couple of years ago, he was very approachable, and happy to sign all the old Stones albums he was on. |
| 29th January 2007 12:29 PM |
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| ExileInLA |
quote:
Mel Belli wrote:
On the one hand, you could say the guy quit - made his own bed.
fuck that...
mick made his bed for him and fucked him in the ass....and over what? a few songs on a mild hit of a record?
mick jagger IS cheap, just as janice dickinson said on Howard Stern last week. |
| 29th January 2007 12:41 PM |
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| nankerphelge |
Joey?
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| 29th January 2007 01:22 PM |
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| Maxlugar |
Mick Taylor is the greatest guitarist the Stones have had.
Material things mean nothing in the face of that kind of greatness.
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| 29th January 2007 01:25 PM |
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| steel driving hammer |
People forget, he chose to quit. |
| 29th January 2007 01:27 PM |
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| MikeyC613 |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
Mick Taylor is the greatest guitarist the Stones have had.
Material things mean nothing in the face of that kind of greatness.
You misspelled "Keith Richards" |
| 29th January 2007 05:03 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
steel driving hammer wrote:
People forget, he chose to quit.
So? People quit Rock n roll bands all the time. If he's owed money or credits, he should be paid. Simple as that. |
| 29th January 2007 06:14 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
When I met him a couple of years ago, he was very approachable, and happy to sign all the old Stones albums he was on.
Damn straight. He's got nothing to be ashamed of.
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| 29th January 2007 08:47 PM |
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| The Wick |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
to be honest, in true tabloid style, the article is prone to exaggeration, effectively suggesting he's pretty much retired and broke ('Living in a run down cottage' - proof, please?) and 'forlorn' (hardly).
The stuff about him not wanting to discuss his Stones career is hardly accurate. When I met him a couple of years ago, he was very approachable, and happy to sign all the old Stones albums he was on.
You're right Gazza and who knows what really happened between them, but it still doesn't hide the fact that the Stones are generally a bunch of selfish wankers and once you step outside of the band, you might as well fuck off and die. I saw him at a show a few years ago and I remember a dollar fell out of his pockets while he was on stage. He made sure to go out of his way to put the dollar back into his pocket. I just thought what a difference 20 years makes. He really doesn't seem in the best shape and I remember reading a Wyman interview where he said that he was so badly off that he had to lend him equipment or something like that. For a band like the Stones, that's disgraceful. |
| 30th January 2007 08:30 PM |
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| gotdablouse |
Come to think of it it really is...on the other hand the guy made his bed as someone said and had the best of runs in the early 70s, hard to feel sorry for him. What are they going to do, give him a pension ? |
| 31st January 2007 06:58 AM |
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| corgi37 |
Without Taylor actually admitting he's broke, i just dont believe the article. What does "minimal royalties" mean? He'd get as much as Bill for the period he was in the band. Who knows what he did with it all? Up his nose? Dirty girls? Bad accounting? He had the whole world on a plate and he threw it away. I dont feel sorry for him. Hey, you know, maybe he should get a better fucking lawyer? Poor baby. He cant be doing too bad. He's got a Swedish girlfriend over 20 years younger than him. Doubt that would be the case if he was collecting the dole.
Fuck him and his fluffy hair.
But, also, bless him for "Sway".
[Edited by corgi37] |
| 31st January 2007 07:21 AM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
He's walkiing home from doing his shpping. Jesus! There is nothing more to it.  |
| 31st January 2007 05:57 PM |
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| texile |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
Mick Taylor is the greatest guitarist the Stones have had.
Material things mean nothing in the face of that kind of greatness.
still, the stones are assholes..
they don't acknowledge him as much as they should.
i just wait for that day when mt receives some kind of revisionist legendary status.
sadly, he'll have to die first. |
| 31st January 2007 07:32 PM |
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| fireontheplatter |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
The Stone who rolled away...
By KRISTINA PEDERSEN Last updated at 22:30pm on 28th January 2007
that is a great photo of him.
he is, to me, one heck of a guitar player.
what is that in his hand? |
| 31st January 2007 07:44 PM |
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| Scottfree |
quote:
fireontheplatter wrote:
that is a great photo of him.
he is, to me, one heck of a guitar player.
what is that in his hand?
A fag... |
| 31st January 2007 07:53 PM |
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| fireontheplatter |
quote:
Scottfree wrote:
A fag...
thank you. i thought it was a pencil. |
| 1st February 2007 06:07 AM |
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| corgi37 |
A pencil?
1. Milk
2. eggs
3. black pudding
4. Never, ever, ever, fucking ever, leave the most successful band of all time.
5. margarine
6. Ask Charlie for loan for eggs
7. Invent time machine to return to early 1974 (reminder: Dont leave Stones
8. Cocoa
9. Buy pickled herring for Swedish girlfriend
10. Bang head hard against wall for throwing it all away. |
| 1st February 2007 07:33 AM |
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| Gazza |
LOL...nice one, Corgi
A pencil? LOL
Its a fag. Either that, or his keys. |
| 1st February 2007 08:41 AM |
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| mojoman |
He's got this dream about buyin' some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he'll settle down there's a quiet little town
And forget about everything
But you know he'll always keep movin'
You know he's never gonna stop movin
Cus he's rollin'
He's the rollin' stone |
| 1st February 2007 11:08 AM |
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| ComeAsYouAre |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
Mick Taylor is the greatest guitarist the Stones have had.
I agree. |
| 2nd February 2007 04:59 AM |
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| corgi37 |
Oh, have you forgotten a certain Blondie???
Hmmmm??? |
| 2nd February 2007 11:43 AM |
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| Factory Girl |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
When I met him a couple of years ago, he was very approachable, and happy to sign all the old Stones albums he was on.
I too met him and he's happy to sign Stones albums. He even took a picture with me.
I do think he's a broken sad man. But, he's still a beautiful guitar player.
He toured with Dylan in Italy in 84. Those are great recordings.
[Edited by Factory Girl] |
| 2nd February 2007 11:57 AM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
You don't hold a cigarette like that. He is probably holding keys. |
| 2nd February 2007 12:07 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Honky Tonk Man wrote:
You don't hold a cigarette like that.
you do if you suddenly feel the need to brush your hair out of your eyes, though! |
| 2nd February 2007 12:32 PM |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
quote:
Honky Tonk Man wrote:
You don't hold a cigarette like that. He is probably holding keys.
Yes, you hold a cigarrete like this, ask Jumacfly   
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| 2nd February 2007 12:44 PM |
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| Saint Sway |
Michael Vick?? |
| 2nd February 2007 03:05 PM |
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| gimmekeef |
They should give him credit for.."Time Waits For No One"....cause it didnt...Great player..poor career planner |
| 4th February 2007 10:54 AM |
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| Stranger |
The Wick wrote:
--------
and I remember reading a Wyman interview where he said that he was so badly off that he had to lend him equipment or something like that. For a band like the Stones, that's disgraceful.
--------
I'm not saying the Stones didn't treat Taylor badly but there were some incorrect assumptions made by Wyman after Taylor showed up at the studio (in London) with just a guitar when recordings took place for Wyman's 1st Rhytm Kings solo record.
This was not because Taylor didn't have equipment.
Taylor's mother was terminally ill and (unbeknownst to Bill) he had been at her bedside for weeks. Bill didn't know this was the reason Taylor was travelling up and down to Wales (with one guitar) while worrying about his mother. So he thought that Taylor was out of it or something and didn't even have a house of his own.
All this happened during recordings for Wyman's 1st solo album since leaving the Stones. He had just decided to form his own group and record some new music.
He actually got in touch with MT (who had almost finished work on his own album) and asked him if he knew a good studio. Wyman and Terry Taylor started recordings for the new CD at the studio recommended by Mick T.
Wyman made these comments years back (around '99) while talking (informally) to a French fan, who put his words on a website. Bill and Mick have spoken about this about 4 years ago, when they cleared up some misunderstandings. Bill apologised for jumping to conclusions.
During this conversation they also talked about Taylor's royalties. Amazingly, it turned out Wyman had been completely in the dark about this stuff.
He had been led to believe by others (presumably Jagger and Loewenstein) that Taylor had been bought out in the early 80's.
Wyman looked quite shocked when Taylor enlightened him with some facts and told him what really happened.
He said to Taylor: You should do something about it. He also told Taylor that he (BW) and Charlie had tried to stand up for MT after he left.
[Edited by Stranger]
[Edited by Stranger] |
