I always say that I am very proud of the work that I did with the Rolling Stones and that I am also proud of what I have done with the Rhythm Kings.
BILL WYMANI always say that I am very proud of the work that I did with the Rolling Stones and that I am also proud of what I have done with the Rhythm Kings.
BILL WYMANOnstage I like to play with a an 18-inch speaker, which very few bass players do. I need that fat, underneath sound, which I’ve always had. It suits me admirably to do it like that, and I can imitate that sound by plugging directly into the board in the studio.
BILL WYMANI’m not an upfront person. Being upfront is not my forte. I’m quite happy to stay in the back there with the drums, where I belong.
BILL WYMANThe Stones always tried to do the odd smaller gig when they could.
BILL WYMANYou never know what your next dig is going to find.
BILL WYMANYou’re always frustrated, you don’t have the chance to do a song on the album, like the Beatles did with Ringo and George, or like Led Zeppelin, where everybody was given a chance to contribute. There never is a chance with the Stones.
BILL WYMANBecause of the fashion, the young people don’t have any access to the history of music, unless people like me revive it. There are very few people to revive it, because you can’t earn any money doing it.
BILL WYMANI can’t really sing and play live, because I can’t play bass efficiently and sing at the same time. If I concentrated on the vocals, I’d mess up the bass, and if I concentrated on the bass, I’d forget the lines.
BILL WYMANAll of my books are about researching. I do all the research and I give it to a writer who can put it in the written word better than I could.
BILL WYMANI don’t make any money.
BILL WYMANI’m always shy in front of an audience, so I’m always at the back, in the shadows, just doing it. I don’t like the front, the adulation.
BILL WYMANI am much more my own man than I was when I was with the Stones.
BILL WYMANI love to play smaller crowds with the Rhythm Kings.
BILL WYMANWhen I record in a studio I don’t use an amp. I go directly into the board, so I can get that very fat, full sound – which is my favorite sound.
BILL WYMANI’m not a musician, I just play bass.
BILL WYMANIf you are any competent musician, if you have creative ideas, ideas of songs, of arrangements, in a band like the Stones, where these 2 people do all the things, there is no freedom.
BILL WYMAN