Many years ago Bill Wyman and a bunch of virtually unknown scruffs called The Rolling Stones played a dance in Poole.It was, says the veteran bassman. “Not a pleasant evening…full of hooligans with beer bottles.” That such a memory persists for a man who played Altamant gives an insight into a world where personal protection is a given.
Anyhow Bill, who admits he hasn’t a clue where the ill-fated dance was -
“They probably pulled it down long ago”, he says – clearly still recalls the sense of unease if not outright hostility that confronted the then newly-formed band.
Nearly 50 years on Wyman has done the seemingly impossible and disconnected from the Stones and established a blisteringly good second band The Rhythm Kings.
Together they are happily rediscovered the roots of the music that inspired his career.
As he stepped onto a Poole stage for only the second time in his life, Wyman surveyed the rather sedate Lighthouse audience and joked: “I hope this evening is going to be a bit better.”
He needn’t have worried. The only things that got thrown at the stage were compliments.
The Rhythm Kings are a jaw-dropping mix of musical talents: Georgie Fame on organ, Geraint Watkins on piano, Graham Broad on drums, Terry Taylor and Albert Lee on guitars, Frank Mead and Nick Payn on horns, Beverley Skeete on vocals and Wyman himself on bass.
Their set at Poole paid lavish tribute to a rich vein of music that covered everything from the blues of the Mississippi delta and the streets of Chicago to the rock ‘n’ roll of Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent.
Somewhere in between they visited jazz, boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and a whole lot of soul. But as former Supremes vocalist Mary Wilson was their special guest this was perhaps hardly surprising.
Wyman’s band features an astonishing collection of talents. There’s Georgie Fame on organ, Geraint Watkins on piano, Graham Broad on drums, Terry Taylor and Albert Lee on guitars, Frank Mead and Nick Payn on horns, the wonderful Beverley Skeete on vocals and Wyman himself on bass.
It’s a rare line-up that can blaze through a Supremes song like Stop In The Name of Love, chill out with a Mose Allison number or get the house up and grooving to the Stones’ Honky Tonk Woman.
Marred only by a slightly soupy sound, this was a night for having fun.
There were anecdotes galore. Chuck Berry may be an iconic rock ’n’ roller but in Wyman’s book he’s “a nasty piece of work”. We heard how Gene Vincent had taught a 16-year-old Clive Powell, aka Georgie Fame, how to do an autograph and learnt first-hand how The Everly Brothers left an indelible mark on their longtime sideman Albert Lee.
The magic of Don and Phil was revisited with spine-tingling results in what for me was actually the best performance of the evening, a beautifully stripped down version of So Sad which found Lee playing piano while duetting with Beverley Skeete accompanied only by Terry Taylor on guitar.
The show ended with Wilson leading the band (and audience) in a rousing encore – the Motown anthem Dancing in the Streets. Ten minutes later some happy audience members were doing just that.
By Jeremy Miles
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings: Lighthouse, Poole
Anyhow Bill, who admits he hasn’t a clue where the ill-fated dance was -
“They probably pulled it down long ago”, he says – clearly still recalls the sense of unease if not outright hostility that confronted the then newly-formed band.
Nearly 50 years on Wyman has done the seemingly impossible and disconnected from the Stones and established a blisteringly good second band The Rhythm Kings.
Together they are happily rediscovered the roots of the music that inspired his career.
As he stepped onto a Poole stage for only the second time in his life, Wyman surveyed the rather sedate Lighthouse audience and joked: “I hope this evening is going to be a bit better.”
He needn’t have worried. The only things that got thrown at the stage were compliments.
The Rhythm Kings are a jaw-dropping mix of musical talents: Georgie Fame on organ, Geraint Watkins on piano, Graham Broad on drums, Terry Taylor and Albert Lee on guitars, Frank Mead and Nick Payn on horns, Beverley Skeete on vocals and Wyman himself on bass.
Their set at Poole paid lavish tribute to a rich vein of music that covered everything from the blues of the Mississippi delta and the streets of Chicago to the rock ‘n’ roll of Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent.
Somewhere in between they visited jazz, boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and a whole lot of soul. But as former Supremes vocalist Mary Wilson was their special guest this was perhaps hardly surprising.
Wyman’s band features an astonishing collection of talents. There’s Georgie Fame on organ, Geraint Watkins on piano, Graham Broad on drums, Terry Taylor and Albert Lee on guitars, Frank Mead and Nick Payn on horns, the wonderful Beverley Skeete on vocals and Wyman himself on bass.
It’s a rare line-up that can blaze through a Supremes song like Stop In The Name of Love, chill out with a Mose Allison number or get the house up and grooving to the Stones’ Honky Tonk Woman.
Marred only by a slightly soupy sound, this was a night for having fun.
There were anecdotes galore. Chuck Berry may be an iconic rock ’n’ roller but in Wyman’s book he’s “a nasty piece of work”. We heard how Gene Vincent had taught a 16-year-old Clive Powell, aka Georgie Fame, how to do an autograph and learnt first-hand how The Everly Brothers left an indelible mark on their longtime sideman Albert Lee.
The magic of Don and Phil was revisited with spine-tingling results in what for me was actually the best performance of the evening, a beautifully stripped down version of So Sad which found Lee playing piano while duetting with Beverley Skeete accompanied only by Terry Taylor on guitar.
The show ended with Wilson leading the band (and audience) in a rousing encore – the Motown anthem Dancing in the Streets. Ten minutes later some happy audience members were doing just that.
By Jeremy Miles
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings: Lighthouse, Poole
