Bill Wyman turns 88 today. The talented bassist had a great career, in which he stands out his time in the Rolling Stones, band that he founded with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. However, not everything was rosy for Wyman, who revealed in a recent interview his problems with the band.
In a chat with Classic Rock, the musician expressed how he felt being a member of the Stones, the complicated situation he went through for years regarding money and his own interests. In addition, he shared intimacies within his separation from the band in 1993.
Bill Wyman’s statements about the Rolling Stones
Despite the Rolling Stones’ undoubted success in the 1970s thanks to albums like “Sticky Fingers” and “Let It Bleed,” the financial status of its members was terrible. “Our manager, Allen Klein, had all the money, and when you wanted something you begged him to send you something. You were in the red with the bank, so you weren’t partying all the time, you were worrying about how to pay the bills. It was a nightmare“Wyman confessed.
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Furthermore, he added: “And then Prime Minister Harold Wilson comes and raises taxes to 93%, it was absurd”. Because of this, the band could not meet its debts, so they went into fiscal exile at that time. He further revealed that when Brian Jones died he was in debt of more than thirty thousand pounds.
On the other hand, the bassist expressed about his departure: “I should have done it much sooner…in the eighties. I lasted until the end three tours in ’89 and ’90 three legs of the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour, after seven years of nothing, and I ended up with a bank overdraft of £200,000because we didn’t earn anything.”
“Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were totally rich, so it didn’t bother them“said Wyman, who in an interview with The Mirror newspaper explained that his bandmates did not understand that he wanted to leave. “I left in 1991, but they didn’t believe me! They refused to accept that I was gone. It wasn’t until 1993, when they were starting to reunite for the 1994 tour, that they said to me: ‘You’re gone, right?’ And I answered them: ‘I left two years ago.’ They finally accepted it, so they say I left in 1993“.
In addition, expressed his tiredness and his lack of desire to continue for his own interests: “I just had enough. I was in the middle of my life and I thought, ‘I have other things I want to do’. I wanted to do archaeology, write books, do photography exhibitions and play charity cricket. I read about ancient cultures while traveling and also did photos. I wanted to live another life“.
Still, the memories still linger in Wyman’s mind: “The strange thing is that from the time I left until today, I keep dreaming that I’m on touras if we were in a dressing room or a hotel. I still have those dreams, and I dream of other friends like David Bowie. “Everyone is very nice but very confusing.”
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Last year, the Rolling Stones released “Hackney Diamonds”a new studio album that established its longevity and validity. And Wyman was not far behind, since participated in the song “Live by the Sword”.
Source: Ambito
