Bill Wyman talks bass, Rhythm Kings and The Rolling Stones
"I'm lucky - I've been in good bands"
Joe Bosso, Fri 23 Sep 2011, 12:20 pm BST
"Most musicians play clubs and dream of being in stadiums," says Bill Wyman. "I was the other way around. Everybody thought I must've been crazy to leave The Rolling Stones, but it was something that was on my mind for a while. It was something I had to do."
When the bassist quit The Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World in 1992, ending a 30-year association that produced some of the most vital recordings of the post-Baby Boom Era, he wasted little time in assembling a new band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, one which would allow him to perform the music he loved in more intimate venues.
"For a long time in the Stones, I missed having contact with the audience," says Wyman. "Standing there with your bass in a football field, you become isolated. With the Rhythm Kings, the band is totally engaged with the people who've come to see us. I quite like it."
Being an ex-Rolling Stone has its perks, of course, as evidenced by some of the stellar A-list names who have popped up on Rhythm Kings recordings over the years: Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Nicky Hopkins, Peter Frampton and fellow former Stone Mick Taylor - all have played with Wyman and the Kings on their four studio albums.
And those discs now make up the five-CD boxset titled Collectors' Edition Box Set, due out 25 October, which neatly packages Wyman's stunning examination of 20th Century roots music, along with originals that suit the same period to a T.
MusicRadar sat down with Bill Wyman to discuss the Rhythm Kings and a few of the iconic musicians who have played with the band. In addition, we talked about bass playing and gear, as well as that other group he spent some time with.
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http://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/bill-wyman-talks-bass-rhythm-kings-and-the-rolling-stones-500650
