Hi,

On 26th August I was one of the very lucky people to see Bill walk in the O2 and immediately thought that now was the chance that he will play one or a few numbers with the Stones on stage. He is in the same room! A dream for a lot of people to see him play again with his old bandmates and they know that!

I know this has been discussed before and that he left the band in the early nineties. But...is there any reason that he don't play with his old pals?? I hear many different stories, but what is it exactly:

1. Bill don't want to do it anymore.
2. The Stones don't want him to play with them anymore.
3. The Stones don't ask him to play with them.

Does someone know the reason for it?

Hope to hear from you.

Well, he doen't want to be a stone anymore that's why he quit.
I don't have a clue why he never was a quest on one of the shows though...

Cheers,
Wuudy

Bill was there simply to enjoy the show and which he took in with his family.

I saw him after the show near the Savoy and Simpson's (correct name?) where the Stones were having their private post tour party. He was walking down the street with a daughter on each arm and no one was bothering him at all.

Of course, I would have liked to have gone up and greet him, etc, but not in that situation.

He remains friends with the band and was there and he was spending some time with his old mates.

The Plexiglass

He was also innside the Wembley arena back in 2003.

Per-Arne

The idea that Bill Wyman and/or Mick Taylor might play with the Stones is just a pipe dream.

Bill left as he was sick of the touring, flying, wanted to go out on what he tought was the peak - end of steel wheels. the band tried very hard to convince him to stay, even keith was upset. it was probably a dicision over couple years for Bill. this is stuff i remember reading dont know where. Pity really as more than ever now i really appreciate his playing... great he saw the show on sunday with his kids tho.

I was at Sunday's show.

For the first three songs I thought, "What shitty and pedestrian bass-playing" - it really spoiled any Stones band-grrove for me.

Then came Ain't too proud - and Darryl was fine for that.

She was Hot - I think their best momment all night - and guitars drums and jagger were quite tight and into it - I forgot about the bass.

After that - well they are not rely a R&R guitar band anymore - they rely so heavily on Chuck and others, and Ronnie or Keith just turn it on intermittently - I just enjoyed the "event" - enjoyed seeing the stones enjoying themselves - but really took little notice of the bass-playing or bass player thereafter. He does a good "job" on Miss You, granted. But other than that he's functional. Worse really, his on-beat style actually detracts from the-flow. Just TOO rhythmic.

They are not a R&R BAND without an integral R&R bass-player. Just have to accept that and enjoy them for what they are now - a rather inconsistent touring nostalgia act that require a bass player to complete the sound, as they now require horns, back-ups and Mr Marvel on keyboards - to complete their sound.

It was a fun gig - a spectacle - an occasion - a "show" - but not rock and roll - that's a BAND thing.

Wyman is what they are missing. It's all "Rock" now with no roll.

"You don't know what you got till it's gone".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-08-29 16:08 by Four Stone Walls.

Why weren't you at The Pilot Inn Four Stone Walls?

JumpingKentFlash

I agree that the band is missing Wyman's bass, but when they open the show it's just them. No backups. Rough Justice on August 26th was awesome, totally guitar driven and probably the best live version they've done on the tour. Chuck Leavel is no Ian Stewart. His playing is a bit too fancy for my taste, But what can you do?
All you can do is thank God that they are still around, even if it has become a spectacle. When they bust out the one song (or two) that we wait aroung all night to hear (e.g. Shine a Light, Let it Bleed, CYHMK, Rambler) it is worth it and should bring a tear right to your eye.

Dear Cousin Lou,

I don't like Rough Justice, and I wouldn't call it (or anything the Stones did on Sunday) "awesome" - but yes, the guitars were very lively. Not a a bad experience. But the bass was a drag.

"it is worth it and should bring a tear right to your eye"

I think it was worth it, certainly was for me. But that doesn't stop me being critical of a Keith who can't sustain simple rhythm through one song, let alone a whole show, and who stops a solo (during sympathy) in order to shake hands with the crowd. It wasn't a bad solo either! There were glimpses of his genius. He was "on" on Tues and Thurs apparently.

Tear to the eye? If I were to cry, it would be because of what Keith has lost and what we are losing.

Nevertheless, a quite moving experience - to see the genuine emotion that Mick and Keith had about the last show of what, for them, is quite a mammoth outing. They have a right to feel proud and emotional, even if they aren't what they once were as a band.

It was obviously THEIR night, THEIR party and THEY had a good time

Now that they've made loads of money and have nothing more to prove, I wish they'd do some low-key gigs concentrating on Blues mainly. Take on Bill again. Play for the joy and get a band groove going, (i.e. no "spare parts"). A few special guests, why not? But plenty of Jagger on harp and Keith doing still what only he can do. Damn I'd like just to see them jam!

They need to stick their necks out a bit - instead of sticking to the FORMULAIC approach. All they are doing with it is showing that they can still "rock" at ages 60+. But so what.

"Get up, get OUT, step into something NEW"

I think it is pretty nice Bill still attends Stones shows but I am a bit surprised.

Don't be surprised. He's part of the family. He only left the band physically.

I don't know that I agree that he's still 'part of the family'. The last interview I read with him, he said he hadn't spoken or seen Keith for years and only sees Charlie when he's in London.
The article said he last had contact from KR a few xmas's ago. Keith had sent him a candle for his xmas present - apparently Bill was a bit insulted.
CW said in an interview a few years back that Bill had crossed the line and he didn't know if they'd let him come back now.
Nevertheless - he always will be THE Rolling Stones bass player.

Exactly.

Whatever his current personal relations with the others, he is still "one of them" and there will be indestructible empathy, based on their shared musical and life experiences.

I may hate my brother (I don't!) - but I'm bonded to him for life.

Keith and Bill at the same resaurant together on Sunday night. Against their wills?

Well if they were in the same restaurant then good luck to them, I hope they can rekindle some kind of a friendship.
I rather think the time Bill should have been (and Mick Taylor) invited back to play was at some of the club dates on the 40 Licks tour. Everything was right (even the setlists......).

I agree. It's not going to happen with Bill until they disband their present touring entourage approach. And that's unlikely to happen - cos I don't think they can create a sustained dynamic show for the masses with two guitars, Jagger and Charlie.

But IF they adopted a "Stripped" approach and did a number of low-key smaller venues , concentrating on Blues etc, then that would lend itself to a Wyman re-union, even if only for a limited series of shows.

Trouble is, they've created this corporate business machine (web-site, merchandise etc) which requires large-income generating shows to sustain it. They've effectively re-branded themselves as a Four-piece. so, however much fun they might have from low-key gigs with a real Stones bass-player, it would rather negate all the hard work they've done to remove Wyman's image from their brand.

People never expected Cream to reform.

Nellcote Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi,
>
> On 26th August I was one of the very lucky people
> to see Bill walk in the O2 and immediately thought
> that now was the chance that he will play one or a
> few numbers with the Stones on stage. He is in the
> same room! A dream for a lot of people to see him
> play again with his old bandmates and they know
> that!
>
> I know this has been discussed before and that he
> left the band in the early nineties. But...is
> there any reason that he don't play with his old
> pals?? I hear many different stories, but what is
> it exactly:
>
> 1. Bill don't want to do it anymore.
> 2. The Stones don't want him to play with them
> anymore.
> 3. The Stones don't ask him to play with them.
>
> Does someone know the reason for it?
>
> Hope to hear from you.

According to a good source point 2 and 3 are false!

FourStoneWalls,

Whatever may or may not be true about the music,
I don't think you can generalize about the people at the Pilot Inn and their
views, not at all.

Also, really, the lyrics with Darryl, however playfully
intended, are offensive, sorry.

I forgive you.

I didn't intend to offend anyone.

Actually, Darryl's dress-code offends ME! (I wasn't referring to his face, hair, weight.... just his sheer shabiness).

I know it's about the music (and you will have gathered that I don't rate him highly as a R&R/Blues player) ........ but Mr Wyman used to look so cool, as well give 'em punch and swing.

If image isn't important ......... well, it's a crucial to Mick, Keith and Ronnie and Charlie. darryl just looked like a tramp they'd dragged off the street and slung an (oversized) bass on.

But never fear, it's his characterless playing (outside a jazz, mowtown or disco context) that I find really offensive.

He just doesn't get it.

Unflippantly,

An incomplete square construction

That "Keef & Bill cant stand each other"-fluff gossip can be dropped now!