Bill Wyman Quotes

Onstage 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 WYMAN

Boards Player Sound
I am much more my own man than I was when I was with the Stones.
BILL WYMAN

Men My Own Stones
I 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 WYMAN

Bass Efficiency Lines Play Vocal
I’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 WYMAN

Drums Belong Forte Persons Upfront
I had a wonderful time with the Stones but after 31 years, I thought it was time to move on.
BILL WYMAN

Moving Time Years
If 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

Ideas People Song
But why is it that in music, anything more than 5 years old – apart from a few hits – is never played on radio to the young public?
BILL WYMAN

Music Radio Years
Companies spend twenty, thirty, forty percent of revenues on advertising to brand their product and to get, essentially, acquire customers cheaply. You get a lot of exposure on something like this.
BILL WYMAN

Advertising Thirty Twenties
I don’t make any money.
BILL WYMAN

Any Business Make Money
I open events for museums and I do charity work and photography.
BILL WYMAN

Museums Photography Work
I love to play smaller crowds with the Rhythm Kings.
BILL WYMAN

Kings Love Play
When 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 WYMAN

Boards Sound Use
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 WYMAN

Kings Rolling Work
I’m not a musician, I just play bass.
BILL WYMAN

Bass Musician Play
My first record I owned was by Les Paul.
BILL WYMAN

Celebrity Famous Firsts Person Records
Everything had to be done in-between Stones time.
BILL WYMAN

Done Everything Stones Time
All 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 WYMAN

Book Giving Research
You’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 WYMAN

Albums Frustrated Song
Because 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 WYMAN

Fashion Few People Person Young
I’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 WYMAN

Adulation Shadow Shy
You never know what your next dig is going to find.
BILL WYMAN

Dig Going Knows Next
It’s all right leaping about the stage when you’re 20 but when you get to 25 it gets a bit embarrassing
BILL WYMAN

Dumb Embarrassing Funny
With the Rhythm Kings, I can involve myself in arranging and producing the music as well as the choice of songs.
BILL WYMAN

Kings Music Song
I have very interesting hobbies like archeology and photography.
BILL WYMAN

Hobbies Interesting Photography
The Stones always tried to do the odd smaller gig when they could.
BILL WYMAN

Gigs Odd Small Stones
I live in a house that was built in 1480. It has a moat around it. It is like a little baby castle.
BILL WYMAN

Baby Girl House
I always got great respect as a bass player.
BILL WYMAN

Bass Player Respect

Other Famous Personalities