The Dirty Work Feud: Mick Jagger vs. Keith Richards

By 1985, the Rolling Stones were barely a band. Mick Jagger was in London, Keith Richards was in Paris, and they only came together for the Dirty Work sessions at Keith’s insistence. The album became a pressure cooker. Jagger was focused on his solo career — he’d just released She’s the Boss — and Richards felt abandoned. The tension boiled over when Jagger showed up late to the studio one day and Richards allegedly threw a glass of wine at him. A physical fight followed, and the two had to be separated by producer Steve Lillywhite.

The real breaking point came over money. Richards learned that Jagger had signed a massive solo deal with CBS without telling him, and during a heated argument in the studio, Richards screamed, “Where’s the money, Mick?” — a moment that became legend. The feud was so bad that Jagger refused to tour for Dirty Work. Instead, the band went silent for two years. Richards channeled his anger into his own solo album Talk Is Cheap, which included a direct jab at Jagger in the song “You Don’t Move Me.” The friendship didn’t truly heal until Richards showed up at Jagger’s house in 1988, unannounced, and they talked it out over a bottle of wine.