The Rolling Stones were on a roll. Their ninth album, Sticky Fingers, was another high point on a golden run of albums from Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), to Exile on Main Street (1972). Even now, all these years later, a Stones live show still draws heavily on songs from this period.
As Sticky Fingers was being unloaded at record stores 50 years ago, the Rolling Stones were loading up and moving to France, seeking refuge from Britain’s punitive tax regime, in which Mick, Keith and the lads were paying up to 95 per cent of their earnings to the Government. As a result, they were flat broke, at the height of their success.
Mick Taylor replaces founder member Brian Jones on sessions at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and at Jagger’s home in Hampshire. The result is glorious, an album of songs full of Stones influences and swagger, with some truly magical playing. Watch them listen to the playback of Wild Horses – a clip showing the mood of the times, and their sense of wonder at what they had made.
Listen to the story of Sticky Fingers
