Rock legends had “no fucking money” despite great fame, a former member reveals

Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman recently revealed that he faced financial problems during his time with the band.

The 87-year-old musician revealed in an interview with Classic Rock that the members of the legendary band were in financial difficulties due to their great success.

“We had no money,” Wyman said. “(The band’s former manager, Allen) Klein had all the money, and if you wanted something, you begged him to send you some money. You’re in the red with your bank, so instead of partying all the time, you’ve been worrying about how you’re going to pay your bills. It was a nightmare.”

The former bassist also cited another financial burden – a tax increase in the UK that caused members to flee the UK

“We had to leave because we owed the IRS so much money that with ninety-three percent taxes we could never make enough to pay it back,” Wyman said. “So we had to leave, and then we were accused of being multi-millionaires and we left because we didn’t want to pay our living expenses, but we weren’t.”

Wyman noticed that some members of the group were doing better than others. He said Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were wealthy; Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and himself “snuck by”; and Brian Jones died in 1969 with over £30,000 in debt.

Wyman went on to say that he should have left the band earlier than 1993.

After leaving the band, Wyman released nine solo albums. In 2023 he returned to the band for a short recording period.

Christopher Burch can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Do you have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips/.