Bill_Wyman

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Bill Wyman

Bill Wyman (born William George Perks on 24 October 1936) was the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.

Early life

Bill Wyman was born in Lewisham Hospital, Pied Heath Road, Ladywell, Lewisham, South London, the son of William Perks, a bricklayer,and his wife, Molly. One of five children, Bill spent most of his early life living in a terraced house in one of the roughest streets in Sydenham, south east London. He describes his childhood as "scarred by poverty".

He attended Beckenham and Penge Grammar School from 1947 to Easter 1953, leaving before the GCE exams after his father found him a job working for a bookmaker and insisted that he take it.

Music career

Wyman took piano lessons from 10 to 13. A year after his marriage on 24 October 1959 to Diane Cory, an eighteen-year-old bank clerk, he bought a Burns electric guitar for £52 on hire-purchase, but was not satisfied by his progress. After hearing a bass guitar at The Barron Knights' concert, he fell in love with the sound of it and decided this was his instrument. He created the first fretless electric bass by removing the frets from a bass guitar he was reworking, and played this in a south London band, The Cliftons. He used the stage name Lee (later Bill) Wyman, taking the surname of a friend with whom he had done National Service in the Royal Air Force from 1955 to 1957.

On 29 March 1962, Stephen Paul Wyman, the only child of his marriage to Diane, was born.

The Rolling Stones

When drummer Tony Chapman told him of a fledgling rhythm and blues band called The Rolling Stones that needed a bass player, he auditioned and was hired in December 1962 as a successor to Dick Taylor. The band were impressed by his instrument and amplifier and by his ability to provide cigarettes, but because he was married, employed and older than the rest of the members, Wyman always remained somewhat of an outsider in the group.

In addition to playing bass, Wyman frequently sang harmony on early Rolling Stones records, and (through 1967) in concert as well. He sang lead vocals on the track "In Another Land," released both on the Their Satanic Majesties Request album and also as a single. The song is one of two Wyman compositions released by the Rolling Stones; the second is "Downtown Suzie" (sung by Mick Jagger), which was released on Metamorphosis, a collection of Rolling Stones outtakes. (The title of "Downtown Suzie" was chosen by the Rolling Stones' erstwhile manager Allen Klein without consulting Wyman or the band; the subject of the song is actually named Lucy).

Wyman kept a journal of his days with the Rolling Stones, and used it in writing his 1990 autobiography Stone Alone and his 2002 book Rolling with the Stones, which provides a history of the band. In Stone Alone, Wyman claims to have composed the riff of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," with some input from Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones and drummer Charlie Watts. Wyman also mentions that the Rolling Stones' major hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was released as a single only after a split 3-2 vote within the band: Wyman, Watts and Jones voted to release "Satisfaction" as a single, while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards voted against it, feeling it was not sufficiently "commercial" to sell well.

By the 1970s, Wyman had tired of the monopolization of the Rolling Stones' songwriting and production by "The Glimmer Twins" Jagger and Richards, and he began to pursue solo projects more intensively. In the 1970s and early '80s Wyman released three solo albums, none of which was particularly successful in terms of sales but received good reviews from critics. His single "(Si, Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star," released in July 1981, became a top-20 hit in many countries.

In the mid-1960s, Wyman composed the musical score of the Ryan O'Neal-Omar Sharif film Green Ice. In the mid-80s, Wyman composed music for two films by Italian film director Dario Argento: 1985's Phenomena and 1987's Terror At The Opera. In addition, Wyman made a cameo appearance in the 1987 British film "Eat The Rich." He also produced and managed groups such as Tucky Buzzard.

Wyman was close to Rolling Stones founder-guitarist Brian Jones; he and Charlie Watts were the only members of the group to attend Jones' funeral in July 1969. Wyman was also friends with guitarist Mick Taylor. Like all the other surviving Rolling Stones he has worked with Taylor on various occasions after Taylor's departure from the band.

After the Rolling Stones' 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tours, Wyman decided to call it a day; his decision to leave the band was announced publicly in December 1992. The Rolling Stones have continued to record and tour with Darryl Jones playing bass.

Wyman has stated that from the late 1980s onward The Rolling Stones' recorded music had become creatively stagnant, that he had lost interest in the experiences of recording and touring with the band, and that it was simply the right time for him to retire from the band. Jagger has also said that Wyman had developed a fear of flying and had found the air travel required by touring increasingly stressful.

Recent activity

Wyman continues to tour with The Rhythm Kings, which has featured such musicians as Martin Taylor, Albert Lee, Gary Brooker, Terry Taylor (formerly with Tucky Buzzard), Mike Sanchez and Georgie Fame.

Following his 70th birthday in October 2006, he undertook another British tour.

On the 10 December 2007, Wyman and his band appeared alongside a reunited Led Zeppelin at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at The O2 in London.

Musical instruments

Wyman taught himself several instruments, including autoharp, guitar, vibraphone, glockenspiel, piano, organ, synthesiser, percussion and cello. His bass sound came not only from his home-made fretless bass, but the "walking bass" style he adopted, inspired by Willie Dixon and Ricky Fenson and his tight work with Charlie Watts. Their sound not only anchored the group, but exemplified the "heartbeat and pulse" idea behind ideal rhythm sections. Wyman has played a number of basses including a Framus Star bass, a Vox Teardrop bass (issued as a Bill Wyman signature model), a Fender Mustang Bass, a Gibson SG Bass, a Rickenbacker 4005 and a Travis Bean bass.

Personal life

Wyman, although moderate in his use of alcohol and drugs, has stated that he became "girl mad" as a psychological crutch. Maxim magazine ranked Wyman at number 10 on its "Living Sex Legends" list, as he is reputed to have had sex with over 1000 women. It is believed and stated by many sources that Wyman's conquest tally passed 2000 women throughout his 31-year tenure as bassist of the Rolling Stones. In 1989 Wyman married the eighteen-year-old Mandy Smith, whom he had been dating for a few years; their relationship was the subject of considerable media attention. The marriage ended in 1991, and in 1993 he married Suzanne Accosta. They are still married and have three children.

Non-musical activities

Away from the Stones, Wyman pursued other interests including opening the Sticky Fingers Café in 1989, a rock 'n roll-theme bistro serving American cuisine in Kensington, London. He divides his time between his manor in Suffolk and a house in the south of France. Former Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham says that of all the Stones, Wyman is the most at peace with himself.

Wyman is an amateur archaeologist and has a hobby of relic hunting, having a letter published in The Times about his hobby (Friday 2 March 2007). A model of metal detector is on sale under his name.

Wyman is an avid cricket supporter, and has been since an early age. His finest moment came in a celebrity match at The Oval against a former England XI when he took a hat-trick.