Richard Clifford Taylor (born 28 January 1943) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and founding member of

the Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Taylor was an early bassist for

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, but left the band to resume his studies at Sidcup Art College. While there he formed the Pretty Things in September 1963. He now lives on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, England.

Career

Taylor was born in Livingstone Hospital,

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, and attended

Dartford Grammar School Dartford Grammar School is a selective secondary (ages 11–19) foundation school for boys in Dartford, Kent, England, which admits girls to its sixth form (ages 16–18). All of the students joining the school are considered to be from the top ...

. In July 1962, while he was at Sidcup Art College,

was formed when Taylor,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

' three-piece group Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys joined

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

and Ian Stewart's Rollin' Stones. Initially, Taylor played lead guitar in the band, but switched to bass to accommodate Jones. That November, Taylor left to return to art college, and his former bandmates posted an advertisement seeking another bassist.

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

responded, and succeeded him as the Rolling Stones' bassist in December 1962. In 1963, Taylor formed

with vocalist Phil May, and once again played his preferred guitar position. He left the Pretty Things in 1969, after the release of their concept album ''

S.F. Sorrow ''S. F. Sorrow'' is the fourth album by the English rock band Pretty Things. Released in 1968, it is known as one of the first rock operas ever released. Based on a short story by singer Phil May, the album is structured as a song cycle tell ...

''. The band released a few more albums without Taylor and disbanded in 1976, but regrouped with Taylor in 1979 to release '' Cross Talk''. Taylor remained with the Pretty Things until they broke up in 2018. In addition to his work with The Pretty Things, Taylor co-produced

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

's debut album, on which he also played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, as well as

Cochise Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...

's first album and

Skin Alley Skin Alley were a British progressive rock band founded by Thomas Crimble and Alvin Pope in the autumn of 1968. The original lineup consisted of Crimble on bass guitar and vocals, Pope on drums, Max Taylor on guitar, and Jeremy Sagar on lead v ...

's first album. His contribution to punk rock was a

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

by Auntie Pus. During the second half of the 1980s, Taylor played guitar with the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band

the Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

. He recorded with

Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to: * Andre Williams (musician) * Andre Williams (American football) * Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX {{hndis, Williams, Andre ...

in Chicago for George Paulus' St. George Records.

References

1943 births Living people 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians People educated at Dartford Grammar School English rock guitarists English record producers English songwriters English rock musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians Lead guitarists Slide guitarists People from Dartford Musicians from Kent The Rolling Stones members The Mekons members Pretty Things members {{UK-guitarist-stub