S Poddar
Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has spilt some dirty financial secrets regarding his times with the now-legendary rock band. Interviewed recently for Classic Rock, the bassist was asked if he, drummer Charlie Watts, and guitarist Ronnie Wood sometimes did little more than exist while their friends and brothers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards built up their fortunes.
“Mick and Keith were totally wealthy, so they weren’t bothered, but me, Charlie, and Ronnie were scraping by,” Wyman said. “Ronnie started to do art to feed his family.” The bassist also expressed regret for staying with the band longer than he should have, admitting that he could have left in the 1980s.
Revelations by Wyman would also bring out stark contrasts in the experiences of the members of the band. While Jagger and Richards would be reaping the fruits of their songwriting and publishing royalties, the rest of the band members would be having a rather tough time to make ends meet. This would be a culmination of disparity when the band became tax exiles in the early 1970s.
“We had no fucking money,” Wyman recalled. “Klein had all the money, and when you wanted anything you begged him to send you some money. You’re in the red with your bank, so you weren’t partying all the time, you were worrying about how to pay your bills.” The band moved out of the UK for tax reasons, not to get away from paying a fair share of their millions.
Despite the economic struggles, Wyman remained faithful to the band for twenty years. He continued performing with the Stones until 1993 when he finally decided to leave. His childhood days, how the band rose to fame, the tragic Altamont Free Concert, the loss of Charlie Watts, and his passion for metal detecting are discussed in the interview.
Through Wyman’s candid account, we catch glimpses of the complexity that surrounded the Rolling Stones. It shows how, in one of the most successful bands that have ever existed, great disparities exist, not in talent but in wealth and experience. While Jagger and Richards became symbols of excesses in rock and roll, Wyman and his fellow band mates met head-on the harsh realities of the demanding industry combined with the challenge of sustaining income that could be guaranteed.
