Ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman has been shining a light on his life, telling all in a revealing new interview with Classic Rock. In it we get new details regarding his departure, some juicy new tidbits on the band’s finances, and his opinion on what The Stones should be doing.
The notoriously fastidious bassist has already written 14 books, detailing his life before, during and after his tenure with The Stones, and regarding his legendary archiving of memorabilia and facts, Wyman suggests that: “It probably started off with me collecting a few things thinking we were going to be around for maybe a year or two, maybe on television once, have two or three records, and I wanted to leave a few things for my son, who was eight months old when I joined the Stones, so he knew his dad was in a band once, and played a couple of shows [laughs].”
But being in The Stones wasn’t always plain sailing. In one instance the young heartthrob was left fearing for his life: “Once just outside Los Angeles, we left the stadium having played to five thousand kids, the limo driver chose the wrong exit and we couldn’t get out,” Wyman reveals.
You had those moments: all your clothes ripped and big chunks of hair pulled out... you had to laugh if off
“Pretty soon the car was covered in kids, they climbed on the boot, the roof, they were banging on the windows and we had to lay down on the floor with our feet holding the roof up. We couldn’t get any air because we were just engulfed.
“Then the cops came, started swinging their sticks and cleared a way to the helicopter. Keith had a scarf he used to wear and on one occasion some of the girls got hold of one end of it and some the other, then they started to pull and wouldn’t let go. Nearly strangled him.
"So you had those moments: all your clothes ripped and big chunks of hair pulled out. But it wasn’t frightening, terrifying or really dangerous, you just had to laugh it off in the end.”
And despite his frivolous Stones-annoying, solo ode to fame and fortune (Si Si) Je Suis Un Rockstar – a song about Wyman’s capers in the south of France – “Keith liked it” – it seems he wasn’t always living the highlife.
“We were living in big country mansions, but we had no fucking money,” Wyman explains. “[Stones Manager ’68-’70, Allen] Klein had all the money, and when you wanted anything you begged him to send you some money.
“It was a nightmare. And then [Prime Minister Harold] Wilson comes in, and puts tax up to ninety-three percent, it was absurd. So we left. We had to leave, and then we were accused of being multimillionaires, leaving because we didn’t want to pay our way, but we weren’t.
“Mick and Keith were wealthier because they had songwriting and publishing royalties, but me, Brian, Charlie and, eventually, Ronnie only had about a tenth of what they were getting.”
You can't always get what you want
And on the subject of Brian Jones, Wyman highlights Jones’ lifestyle and choices as the reason why he was ousted from the band, while protesting his own and ex-drummer Charlie Watts’ professionalism: “There was no malice, they just got fed up with his drug taking. None of the rest of us took drugs. Well, Keith… They did a bit, but there was no heavy stuff for years.
"I never had any, nor did Charlie, we were always completely clean. We had responsibilities, so we behaved ourselves.”
And speaking of departures, Wyman reveals that The Stones actually refused to let him go: “Well, I should’ve done it a lot earlier… In the eighties. I hung on for a three-tour ending across ’89 and ’90 [three legs of the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour], after seven years of nothing, and I’d ended up with a bank overdraft of £200,000, because we weren’t earning anything.
“Mick and Keith were totally wealthy, so they weren’t bothered, but me, Charlie and Ronnie were scraping by. Ronnie started to do art to feed his family. So I was so happy to leave in the end. Which they absolutely didn’t like, and refused to accept. They said: 'You have not left.'
"When they were doing the plan for the coming year, I said: “Well there’s no point me discussing it, because I’m leaving.” And they went: “You’re not leaving.” I said: “I am leaving, I’ve left.” And they wouldn’t believe me.
“Two years went by, and they were putting the band together again to make a new record in ’94. They said: “Are you still in the band?” I said: “I left two years ago.”
And as for The Stones today? Wyman, of course, has his take on what should have happened: “When Charlie left, I thought they would close. I really did. They could replace the bass, but I didn’t think they could replace Charlie, and his charisma, and what a great guy he was, but they went on, which surprised me.
"I wouldn’t say it disappointed me, but it surprised me. I think it would’ve been a good time for them to… But I don’t think they’ve got anything else to do, otherwise they’d do it, wouldn’t they?”
Be sure to check out the full interview here.
