Exclusive: Mick Taylor Exposes Mayhem And Excess Of Life On The Road
May 3 2009 Billy Sloan
ROCK LEGEND Mick Taylor has no regrets about walking out on the world's greatest rock'n'roll band.
The guitarist claims he would have died if he had not quit The Rolling Stones in 1974.
His drug-fuelled lifestyle with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts almost killed him.
Mick, 60, said: "People thought I was crazy to walk away but I'd have ended up dead from my heroin addiction.
"Drugs went hand in hand with what was going on creatively with the Stones at that time. Heroin was available to me and I got hooked, simple as that.
"Towards the end of my time with the Stones it got too crazy. I'd become very depressed. I felt my life with the band was falling apart so I decided to quit.
"Life clean is much better than being a drug-ravaged member of The Rolling Stones."
It was in 1969 that Mick got the big break that would earn him a place in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
The guitarist said: "In 1967 I went down to Olympic Studios in London to buy a Gibson Les Paul guitar - which was once owned by Keith Richards - from their Scottish road manager Ian Stewart.
"They were recording the album Their Satanic Majesties and wearing those silly costumes from the album sleeve.
"I only saw them through a glass partition. That was as close as I got."
When Brian Jones was sacked in 1969 Mick was asked to jam with the Stones.
He said: "I didn't realise they were auditioning me so I wasn't nervous.
"The first track I played on was Honky Tonk Women and the second was Live With Me, from 1969 album Let It Bleed.
"I actually said, 'Are we going to play more tonight? If not, I'm going home'.
"Mick Jagger called up the next day and said, 'Do you want to join the band?'"
Mick's first Stones gig was their historic appearance at Hyde Park in London on July 5, 1969.
It became a tribute to guitarist Brian Jones, who had died two days earlier.
On his first US tour, Mick played at Altamont when 18-year-old fan Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death in front of the stage by Hell's Angels after pulling a gun on Mick Jagger.
Mick said: "The first album I ever made with John Mayall was Crusade in 1967. It was recorded and mixed in seven hours.
"But the Stones had a much more nonchalant approach to recording - we'd be in the studio for months. I got used to it. The entire time I was in the band I was either making records or touring."
Mick played on a six-year run of albums which included Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile On Main Street (1972), Goat's Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock'n'Roll (1974).
He also appeared on the classic Get Yer Ya Ya's Out (1970), recorded at Madison Square Garden, New York - hailed as one of the greatest live albums in rock history.
He said: "Mick and Keith were big personalities. They always had a natural, instinctive feel when playing together.
"It was a very creative period, the most interesting stuff they did, and we were just starting to play sports stadiums.
"My favourite album was Sticky Fingers because I think the songs on it - such as Brown Sugar, Bitch and Wild Horses - were great.
Exile On Main Street was difficult. We recorded it in Keith's house which was always full of his friends wanting to party.
"It put a strain on Keith's relationship with Anita Pallenberg. He once stayed with me to get away from his own house."
But Mick missed out on the big bucks tours which earned the band millions.
He said: "I don't think any of our tours made much. We didn't have global sponsorship or lucrative merchandising deals then.
"I bought my first house for s12,000, the proceeds of my first Stones tour in 1969. They only started making money on the massive Steel Wheels tour of 1989.
"On their last, A Bigger Bang world tour, they made $250million. People say, 'Don't you wish you were still part of that?' But I can't really say I do." When Mick quit the group in 1974 it was a shock to the band. He was replaced a year later by guitarist Ronnie Wood.
He said: "Mick flew back from Nicaragua and tried to persuade me to stay. Later, we went to Eric Clapton's birthday party and I got so drunk I could barely stand up.
"Discussions went on for days but I'd had enough. I felt better for leaving. I've never lived to regret it.
It's very hard to think about the road not taken. "But if you'd asked any of us in 1972, T)o you think you'll go on until you're 60?', we'd have said no."
Mick is still in big demand as a guitarist and has appeared with stars such as Bob Dylan, Mike Oldfield and Cream bassist Jack Bruce.
He said: "Dylan is one of the most impressive guys I've met. I'd listened to Bob's music since I was 15 but never thought I'd get to play with him."
Now, as the Stones make millions touring the world, Mick is happier playing blues guitar in tiny clubs.
On May 9 he appears at the Renfrew Ferry in Glasgow, guesting with blues guitarist Stephen Dale Petit.
He will play the 500-capacity venue to promote his friend's latest album, The Crave, which features new single As The Years Go Passing By.
It's a far cry from Mick's first Glasgow show with the Stones at the legendary Apollo in 1973.
Mick says playing in Glasgow always brings back fond memories.
He said: "I remember playing the Apollo in '73 on that infamous 25ft-high sloping stage with the dressing room underneath. "Bianca Jagger came on stage and started to dance with me. You don't forget things like that.
"Playing the Ferry with Stephen should be great. He's a brilliant blues guitarist."
Mick first created waves on the London music circuit aged just 15 when he joined legendary band John Mayall's Bluesbreakers after Eric Clapton failed to turn up for a show.
He said: "I picked up the guitar at 10 and was self-taught. I had a very good ear and was blessed with musical talent. At 15 I'd travel from home in Hertfordshire to London to see bands.
"I saw The Yardbirds, Georgie Fame, James Brown and John Mayall. One night Eric Clapton didn't turn up for a show so I went backstage and asked John if I could sit in with them.
"To my amazement he said yes. It was a real baptism of fire but I never looked back. I served my musical apprenticeship with John playing six nights a week and doing two tours of America."
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