8 Trouble with the Glimmer Twins

CHAPTER 8 Trouble with the Glimmer Twins Mick and Keith had known each other since they were young boys. They were very close. They had played, sang, written songs, and become huge successes together. They produced albums under the name "The Glimmer Twins."

But sometimes, even close friendships can have problems. By the early 1980s, the Rolling Stones weren't getting along. Keith was upset that Mick wasn't working on the next Stones album. Instead, Mick was focused on releasing his own solo albums. Keith decided to work on his own album, too. Instead of speaking to each other, they argued through interviews they gave to newspapers and magazines. Charlie, Bill, and Ron went off to work on their own projects. The band didn't break up. But they didn't work together for a few years. Ron tried to get Mick and Keith together again. At a London hotel in the spring of 1988, the band finally held a meeting. They agreed to make a new album. The Rolling Stones had become so huge that they couldn't let it end.

Keith said to Mick, "This thing [the band] is bigger than both of us." At the beginning of 1989, the band met in Barbados, an island nation in the eastern Caribbean. They started making what would be called their "comeback" album. They planned to tour that fall, so there was a lot of work to do. Once they sat down to write songs together again, things clicked into place. Keith and Mick took a brief break to fly to New York City for an important ceremony. The

Rolling Stones became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his thank-you speech, with Mick Taylor, Ron, and Keith by his side, Mick joked that they were receiving the award for twenty-five years of bad behavior!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation welcomed its first members in 1986. They included Chuck Berry, James Brown, and Little Richard—the same musicians that meant so much to the Rolling Stones at the beginning of their own careers. The Foundation built the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1995. Its goal is to teach people about the history of rock and roll, and to inspire both musicians and fans.

Back in the Caribbean, the band finished up their Steel Wheels album. They were ready to tour again. The Stones wanted the Steel Wheels tour to be bigger and better than anything they had done before. They had two stages built. As they performed on one, the other stage could be on its way to the next stadium. It took a crew and staff of hundreds and more than fifty tractor-trailer trucks to move the tour around. The huge set looked like an old steel mill towering over the stage. It had giant video screens, strobe lights, smoke, and a wall of fire. The show ended with fireworks.