Wot was Mick thinking?

When he decided in the late 80s to tour as a solo artist? Of course, some of us in the rock consumer public were up for it, but what everyone really wanted was a Rolling Stones tour, and what we eventually got instead was the end of the Stones' fairly incredible run as a functioning rock unit. Really, when they came back for their first tour in 8 years in '89, it was all over, no history, no cultural heat, just the best brand in the business adding untold millions to the fortune it had spawned. Quick, name one tune from that album (Ok, i can, but that's because I was buying the purported return of these blokes, even though it wasn't really them, it wasn't really even 1981 anymore, and I wasn't a teenager.)

What made Mick think that his fronting a Stones tribute band could be better than the real thing (I must admit, however, that the second-best Van Halen show I ever saw was David Lee Roth the week before 9/11 at the Minn. State Fair. Bunch of ringers playing all Van Halen songs with him, smokin' hot, Dave in excellent form, better than almost all the actual, original VH shows I ever did see, especially the last one in '84.)  The only thing I can think of that would have killed the Stones as effectively was Keef passing on to that great riff in the sky, which clearly he is never going to do. Keith's resulting solo album was probably the last authentic Stones album, though... Nice mullet Mick's got back in '87, tho.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-25-boldest-career-moves-in-rock-history-20110318