The 1986 decision Mick Jagger said would have broken up The Rolling Stones: “A terrible period”
The Rolling Stones have existed long enough to receive a free bus pass and are almost at the age of receiving a state pension. But somehow, they are still going strong.
The Stones have faced enough adversity over the years to justify breaking up long before now, only to reunite a decade later for a lucrative comeback tour. Yet the Rolling Stones have never split, and in many cases have even thrived during turbulent periods, creating some of their most celebrated records in the middle of chaos.
Every era of The Stones has included challenges along the way, such as Brian Jones’ drug struggles and tragic death in the 1960s, or Keith Richards’ personal issues while making Exile on Main St in the ’70s. However, as a collective, it was the 1980s which brought them closest to calling it a day.
While Mick Jagger and Keith Richards once operated in tandem like a well-oiled machine, that had changed by the time that the 1980s rolled around. They no longer had a shared vision for the future of the band, holding contrasting views on the creative direction of the overall unit.
For many years, Jagger had been the one holding them together amid Richards’ battle with addiction. However, once the guitarist cleaned up his act, he wanted a more active role in the songwriting process again. Yet, Jagger wasn’t willing to hand over the power, and a vicious battle ensued.
The problems in the Stones didn’t stop there, either. Drummer Charlie Watts, who was the model citizen compared to his bandmates and the glue that kept the chaos together, uncharacteristically became addicted to heroin, placing pressure on his personal life and marriage.
Nevertheless, despite their ongoing issues, The Stones headed to France in 1985 to record Dirty Work. Due to his addiction woes, Watts couldn’t play on all of the tracks, and the cracks between the members rose to the surface on the recordings for fans to hear.
During an interview with Rolling Stone in 1995, Jagger bluntly responded when asked for his analysis of the record, stating it was “not special”.
However, one saving grace from it all was that Jagger put his foot down to stop The Rolling Stones from taking Dirty Work on tour. The tensions had become too big to ignore, and they’d only have swelled further if they spent six months sharing hotels and a tour bus.
With that in mind, Jagger knew that no amount of money they were set to earn from touring the album would have been worth risking the band’s future.
Reflecting on the tumultuous era, he said, “Touring Dirty Work would have been a nightmare. It was a terrible period. Everyone was hating each other so much; there were so many disagreements. It was very petty; everyone was so out of their brains, and Charlie was in seriously bad shape.”
On the foiled plans for a tour, Jagger recalled, “When the idea of touring came up, I said, ‘I don’t think it’s gonna work.’ In retrospect I was a hundred percent right. It would have been the worst Rolling Stones tour. Probably would have been the end of the band.”
Although touring was a lucrative business for The Rolling Stones, it would have been their final tour if it had gone ahead. By this point, they were 25-years deep into their career, and knew what they had built wasn’t worth jeopardising for a big payday.
Thankfully, The Rolling Stones made a euphoric comeback in 1989 with Steel Wheels, accompanied by the biggest world tour of their career until that point, proving there was still life in the old dog yet. After staring their mortality in the face, The Stones miraculously found a way to soldier on and bounce back from their dance with the devil.
