A nice, lenghty interview with Billy Wyman about his childhood, early Stones, Brian etc.

[www.loudersound.com]

How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Thank you franzk.

Really interesting.

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franzk
https://www.loudersound.com/features/bill-wyman-drive-my-car-interview

"His long-awaited seventh solo album, Drive My Car was released in August, and there is, as he casually confides over an afternoon glass of chilled rosé in his local pub just off Chelsea’s Kings Road, another one on the way."

Let's see whose is out first, Bill's or the Stones' ...

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franzk
A nice, lenghty interview with Billy Wyman about his childhood, early Stones, Brian etc.

[www.loudersound.com]

"And Satisfaction. I’m the only guy that goes to the four chord.".

Very interesting. I always wondered about that. I always thought that Keith was going to the 4th chord too, with his thumb on the 6th string, or something like that.

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

With his life style etc I can imagine that 1000000 pound sterling left on the bank is the danger zone...

"Incorrigible swordsman" - that a new euphemism to me. Had to look it up...


Ps A good, informative interview all in all Ds



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024-12-05 01:46 by Stoneage.

Bill sums up how some Stones fans are so against them continuing without Charlie, perfectly:

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?

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Why would you think that? Because of his 7 Stones songs or whatever it is? He didn't co-write Maggie May. Musicians like Ronnie didn't make a ton of money. Certainly got paid nicely to tour but not millions. He probably gets a per annum with the Stones, which includes recording, and these days, shit, the last 30 years, probably 7% in mechanical performance royalties.

That aspect aside, he was terrible at managing his money. Drugs, booze... and his travels and homes.

Ronnie is the kid given too much sugar - does a whole lot and then crashes. Makes one good decision out of 10. His best life has probably been since the Stones started working again in 2012 and since, steadily.

Sober, of course. As Keith said sometime in 2003, Ronnie never stopped after the BABYLON tour (I can't remember exactly but he said something to the effect of he never got out of the spin cycle). Chasing ankles under tables.

Gypsy. OK. Fine. Get a good manager. Pay attention.

Bill... he had his shit together. And yet the Stones still treated him like shit in 2012. "Oh it's just Bill". Still surprised he agreed to it. You know they would've cheaped out on him if he had agreed to fly to NY or whatever for the US shows for two songs. TWO SONGS. What a load of crap.

Jagger Richards are not cool, they are crude.

Great read! That is how it is done. Great questions from a well-prepared journalist. And Wyman is as humble as he has always been. Relaxed, straight-forward, unpretentious answers.

The 2012 'reunion' has been discussed countless times and I think we can all agree that it was great to see Wyman on stage with the Stones even if only for two songs. He should have done more songs. Why he did not get the chance to do more is not clear. I am sure it had nothing to do with hurting Darryl's feelings -- he is a hired hand and there are albums/songs on which his help was not needed so he doing less songs on those two nights would have been no issue at all.

I see this now as missed opportunity but it is what it is.

However, there is no excuse for airbrushing Wyman off of the rarities collection album cover. It is beyond belief that they would do something like that. Perhaps there was a justifiable reason but it has never been explained. Knowing Wyman, I do not think he was upset about it and I am pretty sure he has not mentioned it to any of the Stones, perhaps to Charlie.

The Stones has never been shy about getting rid of people they thought was not the right guy for the job or no longer needed. They knew exactly how valuable Wyman was as a bass player and as a person of integrity and replacing him was never discussed as far as I know.

Bill Wyman is a huge part of the Stones' legacy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-12-05 20:06 by frenki09.

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Very expensive lifestyle, I quess. When you own multiple houses, you're used to to go on holidays and party's on a weekly basis, the well runs dry pretty quick when you're income goes down to 90% for like 6 years long...

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GasLightStreet

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Why would you think that? Because of his 7 Stones songs or whatever it is? He didn't co-write Maggie May. Musicians like Ronnie didn't make a ton of money. Certainly got paid nicely to tour but not millions. He probably gets a per annum with the Stones, which includes recording, and these days, shit, the last 30 years, probably 7% in mechanical performance royalties.

That aspect aside, he was terrible at managing his money. Drugs, booze... and his travels and homes.

Ronnie is the kid given too much sugar - does a whole lot and then crashes. Makes one good decision out of 10. His best life has probably been since the Stones started working again in 2012 and since, steadily.

Sober, of course. As Keith said sometime in 2003, Ronnie never stopped after the BABYLON tour (I can't remember exactly but he said something to the effect of he never got out of the spin cycle). Chasing ankles under tables.

Gypsy. OK. Fine. Get a good manager. Pay attention.

Bill... he had his shit together. And yet the Stones still treated him like shit in 2012. "Oh it's just Bill". Still surprised he agreed to it. You know they would've cheaped out on him if he had agreed to fly to NY or whatever for the US shows for two songs. TWO SONGS. What a load of crap.

Jagger Richards are not cool, they are crude.

Ronnie's been a millionaire since his Faces days. He went bankrupt in the 1990's due to investments in a club in London and a lifestyle that was a bit too much even for a Rolling Stone. Read all about it in Jo Wood's memoir.

Mathijs

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Mathijs

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GasLightStreet

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Why would you think that? Because of his 7 Stones songs or whatever it is? He didn't co-write Maggie May. Musicians like Ronnie didn't make a ton of money. Certainly got paid nicely to tour but not millions. He probably gets a per annum with the Stones, which includes recording, and these days, shit, the last 30 years, probably 7% in mechanical performance royalties.

That aspect aside, he was terrible at managing his money. Drugs, booze... and his travels and homes.

Ronnie is the kid given too much sugar - does a whole lot and then crashes. Makes one good decision out of 10. His best life has probably been since the Stones started working again in 2012 and since, steadily.

Sober, of course. As Keith said sometime in 2003, Ronnie never stopped after the BABYLON tour (I can't remember exactly but he said something to the effect of he never got out of the spin cycle). Chasing ankles under tables.

Gypsy. OK. Fine. Get a good manager. Pay attention.

Bill... he had his shit together. And yet the Stones still treated him like shit in 2012. "Oh it's just Bill". Still surprised he agreed to it. You know they would've cheaped out on him if he had agreed to fly to NY or whatever for the US shows for two songs. TWO SONGS. What a load of crap.

Jagger Richards are not cool, they are crude.

Ronnie's been a millionaire since his Faces days. He went bankrupt in the 1990's due to investments in a club in London and a lifestyle that was a bit too much even for a Rolling Stone. Read all about it in Jo Wood's memoir.

Mathijs

And he hasn't been on the Stones' 'payroll' for some time now, has he? I understand he was a salaried 'employee' until the early-90's? Of course, he was a member of the Stones, just not part of the 'partnership', right?

Excellent interview. Always good to hear from Bill.
Forgot how much fun the video for Je Suis was, in a cheesy sort of way!

I do not think that Wyman was that poor as he claims to be. I guess he got paid in a lump sum and nothing in between. Was he counting on getting a monthly salary like ordinary workers?
Is that it? How could you afford an expensive villa in France and expensive cars and so on and still being poor? Did he live on a bank loan or what?

Thanks for sharing!

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Stoneage
I do not think that Wyman was that poor as he claims to be. I guess he got paid in a lump sum and nothing in between. Was he counting on getting a monthly salary like ordinary workers?
Is that it? How could you afford an expensive villa in France and expensive cars and so on and still being poor? Did he live on a bank loan or what?

It is a bit odd that they all claimed to be broke, begging for money, when they all did have their mansions etc.

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GasLightStreet

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Stoneage
I do not think that Wyman was that poor as he claims to be. I guess he got paid in a lump sum and nothing in between. Was he counting on getting a monthly salary like ordinary workers?
Is that it? How could you afford an expensive villa in France and expensive cars and so on and still being poor? Did he live on a bank loan or what?

It is a bit odd that they all claimed to be broke, begging for money, when they all did have their mansions etc.

As someone once explained me, there is a difference between rich and wealthy. You are rich when you have a lot of money and you are wealthy when you have a lot of stuff but you have no money because you spent it on the stuff.

I think he's bang on about HD though (Live By The Sword):

"I wasn’t crazy about the song, and I wasn’t crazy about the way they’d done it. It was just full of guitars, and there was no air in it. No spaces, no gaps. There are probably eight guitars on there, instead of two. It could have been done so much simpler. But that’s the way they do it, bless ’em. It was hard for me to put a bass in because there wasn’t a lot of room.

Anyway, after I’d finished my part, and was happy with it, I said: “Have you got any other songs that I could do while I’m here?” And they said: “Yeah, there’s another one.” So they set it up, and I played bass on it, and they said: “We’ll save that for the next album.” So I might be on the next album as well. Elton [John] came in after me to put his piano on it, so we had a chat, but you can’t really hear his piano. Just odd little notes here and there, because the track’s so busy. But it was nice doing it because it was me and Charlie again."

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Stoneage
I do not think that Wyman was that poor as he claims to be. I guess he got paid in a lump sum and nothing in between. Was he counting on getting a monthly salary like ordinary workers?
Is that it? How could you afford an expensive villa in France and expensive cars and so on and still being poor? Did he live on a bank loan or what?

I suppose that when you move in such rarefied circles, you end up with a slightly distorted view of what being "poor" means...

Yeah thats about it ....
Their version of poor is slightly different than ours .... HHHhaaa$$$hhhaaa



ROCKMAN

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frenki09

The 2012 'reunion' has been discussed countless times and I think we can all agree that it was great to see Wyman on stage with the Stones even if only for two songs. He should have done more songs. Why he did not get the chance to do more is not clear. I am sure it had nothing to do with hurting Darryl's feelings -- he is a hired hand and there are albums/songs on which his help was not needed so he doing less songs on those two nights would have been no issue at all.

In an interview not long after, Bill said (to paraphrase) they never forgave him for leaving and this was their petty way of getting back at him. They gave him enough stage time so some of his extended family could see him play with the Stones for the first time but not enough to let him get really warmed up and comfortable. Such a missed opportunity, especially since they also had Mick Taylor, (who would get up to 4 songs per night, but usually 1 or 2).

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Spud

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Stoneage
I do not think that Wyman was that poor as he claims to be. I guess he got paid in a lump sum and nothing in between. Was he counting on getting a monthly salary like ordinary workers?
Is that it? How could you afford an expensive villa in France and expensive cars and so on and still being poor? Did he live on a bank loan or what?

I suppose that when you move in such rarefied circles, you end up with a slightly distorted view of what being "poor" means...

Sure, but Wyman, of all, should know the true meaning of being poor considering his childhood.

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Stoneage

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Spud

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Stoneage
I do not think that Wyman was that poor as he claims to be. I guess he got paid in a lump sum and nothing in between. Was he counting on getting a monthly salary like ordinary workers?
Is that it? How could you afford an expensive villa in France and expensive cars and so on and still being poor? Did he live on a bank loan or what?

I suppose that when you move in such rarefied circles, you end up with a slightly distorted view of what being "poor" means...

Sure, but Wyman, of all, should know the true meaning of being poor considering his childhood.

And really, the only Rolling Stone to ‘consciously’ live through the Second World War. I know he was raised in South East London, but I’m unsure if he was evacuated to the countryside.

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Big Al

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Mathijs

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GasLightStreet

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Why would you think that? Because of his 7 Stones songs or whatever it is? He didn't co-write Maggie May. Musicians like Ronnie didn't make a ton of money. Certainly got paid nicely to tour but not millions. He probably gets a per annum with the Stones, which includes recording, and these days, shit, the last 30 years, probably 7% in mechanical performance royalties.

That aspect aside, he was terrible at managing his money. Drugs, booze... and his travels and homes.

Ronnie is the kid given too much sugar - does a whole lot and then crashes. Makes one good decision out of 10. His best life has probably been since the Stones started working again in 2012 and since, steadily.

Sober, of course. As Keith said sometime in 2003, Ronnie never stopped after the BABYLON tour (I can't remember exactly but he said something to the effect of he never got out of the spin cycle). Chasing ankles under tables.

Gypsy. OK. Fine. Get a good manager. Pay attention.

Bill... he had his shit together. And yet the Stones still treated him like shit in 2012. "Oh it's just Bill". Still surprised he agreed to it. You know they would've cheaped out on him if he had agreed to fly to NY or whatever for the US shows for two songs. TWO SONGS. What a load of crap.

Jagger Richards are not cool, they are crude.

Ronnie's been a millionaire since his Faces days. He went bankrupt in the 1990's due to investments in a club in London and a lifestyle that was a bit too much even for a Rolling Stone. Read all about it in Jo Wood's memoir.

Mathijs

And he hasn't been on the Stones' 'payroll' for some time now, has he? I understand he was a salaried 'employee' until the early-90's? Of course, he was a member of the Stones, just not part of the 'partnership', right?

Bill is making money from mechanical royalties. But not every song since he's not on Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), for example. The one track Bill makes the most royalties from is Start Me Up.

Of course, same with the rest of them. Start Me Up is their biggest song ever.

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

I'm a little confused by the interview. I don't think it says what specific period some of the Stones were broke. I remember reading in Bill's Stone Alone that by '69, Charlie, Brian, and he were broke because those three didn't get song royalties (except from Nanker/Phelge), and they hadn't toured since 1966. I don't know what Bill, Charlie, and then Ron, were making from touring back then. Tours weren't money makers until much later. They were meant to be promotion for the newest album, where the real money was. I suspect they were set for life (at least Bill and Charlie), after the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour. Charlie, of course, stayed on for the real money tours that came afterward.

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24FPS

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

I'm a little confused by the interview. I don't think it says what specific period some of the Stones were broke. I remember reading in Bill's Stone Alone that by '69, Charlie, Brian, and he were broke because those three didn't get song royalties (except from Nanker/Phelge), and they hadn't toured since 1966. I don't know what Bill, Charlie, and then Ron, were making from touring back then. Tours weren't money makers until much later. They were meant to be promotion for the newest album, where the real money was. I suspect they were set for life (at least Bill and Charlie), after the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour. Charlie, of course, stayed on for the real money tours that came afterward.

That is the paradox for me. Bill has the mind of a chartered accountant, much oppose to Ron, still he missed out on the really big money. A good accountant but not a good businessman? Is that the deal?

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GasLightStreet

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Big Al

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Mathijs

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GasLightStreet

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Taylor1
How could Ron have been so poor that he had to survive on painting? I thought he was worth hundreds of of millions

Why would you think that? Because of his 7 Stones songs or whatever it is? He didn't co-write Maggie May. Musicians like Ronnie didn't make a ton of money. Certainly got paid nicely to tour but not millions. He probably gets a per annum with the Stones, which includes recording, and these days, shit, the last 30 years, probably 7% in mechanical performance royalties.

That aspect aside, he was terrible at managing his money. Drugs, booze... and his travels and homes.

Ronnie is the kid given too much sugar - does a whole lot and then crashes. Makes one good decision out of 10. His best life has probably been since the Stones started working again in 2012 and since, steadily.

Sober, of course. As Keith said sometime in 2003, Ronnie never stopped after the BABYLON tour (I can't remember exactly but he said something to the effect of he never got out of the spin cycle). Chasing ankles under tables.

Gypsy. OK. Fine. Get a good manager. Pay attention.

Bill... he had his shit together. And yet the Stones still treated him like shit in 2012. "Oh it's just Bill". Still surprised he agreed to it. You know they would've cheaped out on him if he had agreed to fly to NY or whatever for the US shows for two songs. TWO SONGS. What a load of crap.

Jagger Richards are not cool, they are crude.

Ronnie's been a millionaire since his Faces days. He went bankrupt in the 1990's due to investments in a club in London and a lifestyle that was a bit too much even for a Rolling Stone. Read all about it in Jo Wood's memoir.

Mathijs

And he hasn't been on the Stones' 'payroll' for some time now, has he? I understand he was a salaried 'employee' until the early-90's? Of course, he was a member of the Stones, just not part of the 'partnership', right?

Bill is making money from mechanical royalties. But not every song since he's not on Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), for example. The one track Bill makes the most royalties from is Start Me Up.

Of course, same with the rest of them. Start Me Up is their biggest song ever.

Wouldn't it be Paint It, Black - their most streamed song? Or is ABKCO blocking that?

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mosthigh

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frenki09

The 2012 'reunion' has been discussed countless times and I think we can all agree that it was great to see Wyman on stage with the Stones even if only for two songs. He should have done more songs. Why he did not get the chance to do more is not clear. I am sure it had nothing to do with hurting Darryl's feelings -- he is a hired hand and there are albums/songs on which his help was not needed so he doing less songs on those two nights would have been no issue at all.

In an interview not long after, Bill said (to paraphrase) they never forgave him for leaving and this was their petty way of getting back at him. They gave him enough stage time so some of his extended family could see him play with the Stones for the first time but not enough to let him get really warmed up and comfortable. Such a missed opportunity, especially since they also had Mick Taylor, (who would get up to 4 songs per night, but usually 1 or 2).

Whatever the reason only 2 songs we'll never know, it's all speculation. I
think the band has been magnanimous inviting Bill and Mick T back occasionally.

Seeing Bill gripe about it after, or shooting down the song he played on, on HD, I think confirms for me their opinion of him.

A great part of their history but can be a bit of a whiner. He was wonderful with the Stones and was greatly enriched, many many times more than he would otherwise been in his lifetime. He could have done all the things he wanted to do and stayed in the band, if he chose. As Charlie said, 5 years working, 20 years hanging around.

I find his pettiness...well...petty.