How the Stones' Tax Exile and 'Exile on Main St.' Inspired Generations of Artist Emigration

In 1971, the Rolling Stones fled Britain’s 93% top tax rate for the south of France, setting up a makeshift studio at Nellcôte. They recorded “Exile on Main St.” while half the band was strung out on heroin, and the result was a swampy, unhinged double album that felt like a manifesto for artistic displacement.

The myth stuck: exile wasn’t just about dodging taxes—it was about shaking off expectations and making something dangerous. Fleetwood Mac moved to Switzerland in the mid-70s for similar financial reasons, and David Bowie recorded “Low” in Berlin partly to escape the UK’s tax bands. U2 structured their 1980s income around Dutch holding companies, and Radiohead decamped