Remember When: Mick Jagger Released a Solo Album That Caused Major Turmoil in the Rolling Stones Camp in 1985

The Rolling Stones had undergone all kinds of drama during their first few decades of existence. But a solo album by one of its pair of artistic leaders caused friction that very nearly proved impossible to overcome.

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The album in question was Mick Jagger’s She’s The Boss, released in February 1985. It was a hit at the time, at least in terms of sales. But it now holds a somewhat infamous place in Stones’ history as the catalyst for all kinds of animosity.

Mick Follows His Muse

Mick Jagger simply claimed that he needed a break from the Rolling Stones’ circus. He took some time away from the band in 1984 to make She’s The Boss. But considering the context of what had been going on with the Stones for several years, the decision seemed much more ominous.

Jagger and Keith Richards had been locked in prolonged disagreement about how the band should be proceeding on their studio records. Mick constantly wanted to push them towards modernity with their sound. And Richards simply didn’t think they should be messing with the blues-based approach that had served them so well.

She’s The Boss offered Jagger the chance to go pop. Although a solo album, none of the songs on it really shed any light on Mick Jagger as a person. But they did explain where his head was at when it came to the music that he preferred at the time.

Commercial Success

As you might expect, Jagger assembled an impressive list of special guests for the album. Mostly, their contributions can be a bit hard to discern amidst the glossy production. (One exception: Jeff Beck, who tears through some impressive guitar solos on several tracks.)

Most of She’s The Boss sounds right at home with what was dominating pop radio at the time. And Jagger enjoyed a good deal of success with it, including a Top 10 hit in “Just Another Night” and platinum sales. Critics weren’t as kind, but that was to be expected considering the decidedly non-Stonesy approach.

Not long after She’s The Boss was released, Jagger joined Richards in Paris to start work on the next Stones’ album, Dirty Work. It’s safe to say that Richards, unhappy with how Jagger worked his solo album into the Stones’ recording contract, wasn’t too keen on discussing She’s The Boss. The guitarist deemed the LP an unnecessary distraction from the work of the band.

Keef’s Reaction

The lingering bad vibes engendered by Jagger’s solo foray led to a disjointed album-making process for Dirty Work. Mick spent time away from the studio doing promotion for his record. Drummer Charlie Watts also sat much of the album out as he dealt with addiction issues.

The domino pieces continued to fall when Jagger refused a Stones’ tour to support Dirty Work, instead heading right back in to do his second studio album. Primitive Cool arrived in 1987, a year prior to Richards getting in on the solo act with Talk Is Cheap.

By that time, Richards had made public his distaste with Jagger’s exploits, even releasing a nasty diss track called “You Don’t Move Me”. Thankfully, the two men came to a period of détente in time to make the Stones’ excellent 1989 comeback album Steel Wheels.

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