The music world isn’t always as glamorous as it seems. In a revealing interview with Classic Rock, Bill Wyman, the Rolling Stones‘ bassist from 1962 to 1993, exposed the financial struggles he and other band members faced during the height of the band’s success. While many associate the Stones’ heyday in the ’70s and ’80s with lavish parties, wealth, and carefree living, Wyman painted a very different picture.
“We had no money,” Wyman explained, “Our manager, Allen Klein, controlled everything. If you needed cash, you had to go to him and beg for it. We were always in debt, worrying more about paying the bills than partying. It was a nightmare.”
Wyman also highlighted how the tax policies of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who raised the tax rate to 93%, forced the band to leave the UK. “We had to leave England because we owed so much money to the government. They called us multimillionaires avoiding taxes, but that wasn’t true. When Brian Jones died, he was £30,000 in debt. When I bought my farmhouse in Suffolk, I had only £1,000 in the bank and had to take out a mortgage, hoping I could keep making money through music.”
But not all the band members faced the same financial hardships. Wyman revealed that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were in a much better position thanks to their royalties and songwriting credits. “They were fine, but Brian, Charlie, Ronnie, and I were earning a tenth of what they made.”
When asked if leaving the band in 1993 was the right decision, Wyman didn’t hesitate. “I should’ve left in the ’80s. After the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour in 1989-1990, I found myself £200,000 in debt. Mick and Keith were rich by then, but Charlie, Ronnie, and I were broke. Ronnie even turned to art to support his family.”