In addition to his drum work, Taylor routinely played keyboards, guitars and bass on his own songs. During the 1980s, in addition to his work with Queen, he formed a parallel band known as the Cross, in which he was the lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist. During the early 1980s, Taylor was also a panelist on the popular UK quiz show Pop Quiz, hosted by Mike Read.
In 2005, he was voted by UK fans as the eighth greatest drummer in classic rock music history, in a poll conducted by Planet Rock Radio. According to The Sunday Times Rich List he was worth £80 million or around $127 million in 2011. In 2014, he appeared in The Life of Rock with Brian Pern as himself.