We all know time is not on our side, we will have to leave this world at a time (better later than sooner of course), so I have put down a list of questions to the Stones archivists' archivist, Bill Wyman, hoping someone may ask them directly to him (or that he may answer here...). Why?
As any Stones collector, I have been always intrigued to know what band members really thought about collecting their recordings; unfortunately, all the interviews I read about this subject have been so superficial to have let down even the most basic collector, since no interesting question was ever asked. I am referring to specialist magazines like Record Collector or Goldmine (in their heyday), not to generic music ones. I always imagined who could have, apart from band members, received rare recordings (either studio or live ones) and I put down a list, knowing that, once in a while, something pops up in the record collectors market that surprises everyone. When I read/saw K.Richards interviews on the birth of Satisfaction I often ended up cursing the journalist/interviewer that never asked the obvious question (do you still have that tape?) until recently when Keith himself said he is still looking for it; how about the Street Fighting Man original tape then? We saw with the Art Collins tapes that they surfaced after the owner passed away, this is why I enclosed dead people’s estates. It may seem odd to enter stage designers, lighting technicians, and the like, or even mention small age offsprings, but they could have got impromptu specific recordings, let alone some old friend of the band that may have a live reel to reel recording or some studio session tape. We all remember how the film reels of RnR Circus were discovered in Stu's garage when believed lost. Please think what would you do if you were approached by a member of the Stones organization being a collector/fan, maybe you’d ask them something and they just give you a recent remix they plan to release in a fortnight, but then something may change… or an interview tape/acetate/recording session cassette. On the other hand, there are people who argued even violently with some members and with whom a ‘relationship’ turned bad (Rupert Lowestein) that may have got something in the distant past. Moreover, in her recent book Jo Wood mentioned she still has a trunk full of cassette tapes, saying that when the band was recording in the studio each member received a cassette a day with the previous night’s recordings. How many of these do exist?
I have always considered Bill Wyman the most reliable and interesting person to this regard, partly due to his being an archivist by heart but also because of his involvement with the band even after he quit it. Had I have the option these would be my questions:
1) On many occasions/interviews and in your recent film A Quiet One you mentioned and showed that you collected memorabilia, magazines/tour programs/posters/ticket stubs etc. since the Stones started their career, is it feasible you didn’t collect audio/video recordings of the band too?
2) Talking about private videos on many 60s films you are shown with an 8 mm. video camera filming scenes, did you transfer your own video recordings in 2000s formats?
3) If so, I assume you got studio raw tapes and acetates like all other band members as well; a rumor says you still have the Radio Luxembourg 64 acetate featuring 14 unheard tracks recorded for that station; another rumor says that the famous IBC 63 recordings came from B.Jones own collection, but since the first bootleg featuring those tracks appeared in 1973 (Bright Light, Big City), over 4 years after Brian’s death, do you know the whereabouts of Brian's personal tapes/recordings?
4) Some years ago a rare acetate featuring excerpts of Stones 62 recordings was broadcasted on BBC Radio thanks to C.Jagger; then some other years ago a live recording on a Reel to Reel tape of a Stones 63 Richmond Crawdaddy concert was auctioned and apparently purchased by MJ; is it feasible that you have no similar recordings in your collection or that you did not ask him for a copy?
5) Since when the band recorded their live shows? Did you also get such recordings when you were on tour and do you still have them? How about recording session tapes?
6) In The Quiet One film there are many scenes where your collection is shown, among them audio and videotapes together with the equipment to play them (either reel to reel players, cassette players, turntables, super 8 mm. decks etc.). Now since analog recordings due to their media tend to deteriorate in some decades after having been recorded, can we believe you have not digitalized all your audio/video collection? Can we assume you have a list of them, too?
7) Many people that have reached your age think about their legacy, which does not just mean making a testament, but specifically what will become of your recordings decades after your immediate heir has gone; for instance, will it become part of a national library in order to be enjoyed by future generations or will it be left to your grand grand grand nephews will?
8) Talking about your most valuable recordings, namely acetates or items that can be easily damaged or destroyed, have you put in action anything to preserve them in the future, apart from digitalizing their content, like insurance or special custody?
9) How do you envision in the future your own audio/video collection made available to the general public, in a museum or through dedicated releases for collectors/fans or even freely available through some subscription program?
10) What is your personal position with regard to bootlegs? What would you feel knowing that some (or all) of your recordings will be sold in the future to someone else economic’s benefit, or would you rather keep them shut in a vault or even sell them through auctions as you did for your memorabilia?
11) Since being a collector is not a static activity, but involves genuinely trying to increase your own collection, have you ever bought any collectible item online?
12) What about fans and collectors, are you in touch or even traded items with any of them?
13) Have you ever discussed topics like these with any other band member? Is any other band member concerned about these issues?
14) Generally speaking, is it true that there is a physical location where the Stones recordings/tapes are preserved and that they have all being digitalized for future reference?
15) As far as you know is any Stones member’s offspring a real Stones collector?

Here is the list:
[wetransfer.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-01-06 10:09 by riccardo99.

15) they all collect Stones-made money…

17) Bill... why, man?

I watched the Dick Cavett show from the 72 tour. He asked Bill if he envisions
playing with the Stones at age 50 or 60. Bill said no, he'd either be retired or
playing with his own group of musicians. He had it planned it seems!

Quote
riccardo99
We all know time is not on our side, we will have to leave this world at a time (better later than sooner of course), so I have put down a list of questions to the Stones archivists' archivist, Bill Wyman, hoping someone may ask them directly to him (or that he may answer here...). Why?
As any Stones collector, I have been always intrigued to know what band members really thought about collecting their recordings; unfortunately, all the interviews I read about this subject have been so superficial to have let down even the most basic collector, since no interesting question was ever asked. I am referring to specialist magazines like Record Collector or Goldmine (in their heyday), not to generic music ones. I always imagined who could have, apart from band members, received rare recordings (either studio or live ones) and I put down a list, knowing that, once in a while, something pops up in the record collectors market that surprises everyone. When I read/saw K.Richards interviews on the birth of Satisfaction I often ended up cursing the journalist/interviewer that never asked the obvious question (do you still have that tape?) until recently when Keith himself said he is still looking for it; how about the Street Fighting Man original tape then? We saw with the Art Collins tapes that they surfaced after the owner passed away, this is why I enclosed dead people’s estates. It may seem odd to enter stage designers, lighting technicians, and the like, or even mention small age offsprings, but they could have got impromptu specific recordings, let alone some old friend of the band that may have a live reel to reel recording or some studio session tape. We all remember how the film reels of RnR Circus were discovered in Stu's garage when believed lost. Please think what would you do if you were approached by a member of the Stones organization being a collector/fan, maybe you’d ask them something and they just give you a recent remix they plan to release in a fortnight, but then something may change… or an interview tape/acetate/recording session cassette. On the other hand, there are people who argued even violently with some members and with whom a ‘relationship’ turned bad (Rupert Lowestein) that may have got something in the distant past. Moreover, in her recent book Jo Wood mentioned she still has a trunk full of cassette tapes, saying that when the band was recording in the studio each member received a cassette a day with the previous night’s recordings. How many of these do exist?
I have always considered Bill Wyman the most reliable and interesting person to this regard, partly due to his being an archivist by heart but also because of his involvement with the band even after he quit it. Had I have the option these would be my questions:
1) On many occasions/interviews and in your recent film A Quiet One you mentioned and showed that you collected memorabilia, magazines/tour programs/posters/ticket stubs etc. since the Stones started their career, is it feasible you didn’t collect audio/video recordings of the band too?
2) Talking about private videos on many 60s films you are shown with an 8 mm. video camera filming scenes, did you transfer your own video recordings in 2000s formats?
3) If so, I assume you got studio raw tapes and acetates like all other band members as well; a rumor says you still have the Radio Luxembourg 64 acetate featuring 14 unheard tracks recorded for that station; another rumor says that the famous IBC 63 recordings came from B.Jones own collection, but since the first bootleg featuring those tracks appeared in 1973 (Bright Light, Big City), over 4 years after Brian’s death, do you know the whereabouts of Brian's personal tapes/recordings?
4) Some years ago a rare acetate featuring excerpts of Stones 62 recordings was broadcasted on BBC Radio thanks to C.Jagger; then some other years ago a live recording on a Reel to Reel tape of a Stones 63 Richmond Crawdaddy concert was auctioned and apparently purchased by MJ; is it feasible that you have no similar recordings in your collection or that you did not ask him for a copy?
5) Since when the band recorded their live shows? Did you also get such recordings when you were on tour and do you still have them? How about recording session tapes?
6) In The Quiet One film there are many scenes where your collection is shown, among them audio and videotapes together with the equipment to play them (either reel to reel players, cassette players, turntables, super 8 mm. decks etc.). Now since analog recordings due to their media tend to deteriorate in some decades after having been recorded, can we believe you have not digitalized all your audio/video collection? Can we assume you have a list of them, too?
7) Many people that have reached your age think about their legacy, which does not just mean making a testament, but specifically what will become of your recordings decades after your immediate heir has gone; for instance, will it become part of a national library in order to be enjoyed by future generations or will it be left to your grand grand grand nephews will?
8) Talking about your most valuable recordings, namely acetates or items that can be easily damaged or destroyed, have you put in action anything to preserve them in the future, apart from digitalizing their content, like insurance or special custody?
9) How do you envision in the future your own audio/video collection made available to the general public, in a museum or through dedicated releases for collectors/fans or even freely available through some subscription program?
10) What is your personal position with regard to bootlegs? What would you feel knowing that some (or all) of your recordings will be sold in the future to someone else economic’s benefit, or would you rather keep them shut in a vault or even sell them through auctions as you did for your memorabilia?
11) Since being a collector is not a static activity, but involves genuinely trying to increase your own collection, have you ever bought any collectible item online?
12) What about fans and collectors, are you in touch or even traded items with any of them?
13) Have you ever discussed topics like these with any other band member? Is any other band member concerned about these issues?
14) Generally speaking, is it true that there is a physical location where the Stones recordings/tapes are preserved and that they have all being digitalized for future reference?
15) As far as you know is any Stones member’s offspring a real Stones collector?

Here is the list:
[wetransfer.com]

Interesting questions. But why don't you write to him and ask him yourself - makes more sense than asking on a Forum. See his web site for contact details.



Meanwhile I'm very reliably informed that Bill Wyman had his (first) Covid vaccine injection at 1:00pm yesterday.

--
Captain Corella
60 Years a Fan

Quote
schillid
17) Bill... why, man?

that would perk him up!

Here's one place to attempt to find something out:

[twitter.com]

I don't think there are any more questions to be asked to Mr Wyman. By selling out most of his collection he already answered a few. Time is out for collecting now. Let him enjoy his retirement.

Quote
Stoneage
I don't think there are any more questions to be asked to Mr Wyman. By selling out most of his collection he already answered a few. Time is out for collecting now. Let him enjoy his retirement.

He must answer! No enjoying retirement! All must be revealed! Time is past of the essence! Time waits for no one! Time is not on Bill Wyamn's side!

An interesting list, was it ever sent to Wyman ?

--------------
IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio

Who knows what he's sitting on. (Not literally, piss takers). It wouldn't be beyond him to have a plan. At this late date he's probably busy setting up his family's future. Maybe he has some really tasty recordings, both music and video, that he simply can't release on his own. I wouldn't be surprised if there's ongoing negotiations with Rolling Stones Inc.

We've never had an Anthology, along the lines of what the Beatles did, just Crossfire Hurricane. Hopefully Bill has some surprises left in his vault.

Quote
24FPS
Who knows what he's sitting on. (Not literally, piss takers). It wouldn't be beyond him to have a plan. At this late date he's probably busy setting up his family's future. Maybe he has some really tasty recordings, both music and video, that he simply can't release on his own. I wouldn't be surprised if there's ongoing negotiations with Rolling Stones Inc.

We've never had an Anthology, along the lines of what the Beatles did, just Crossfire Hurricane. Hopefully Bill has some surprises left in his vault.

Like "English Summer", "Gozi", "Panama Powder Room" and some other great leftovers...