Former bassist Bill Wyman has spoken about his choice to leave The Rolling Stones in favor of a more normal life, and says he has 0 regrets.
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In a recent interview with UK publication The Mirror , Bill Wyman spoke about the end of his 30 year career as a bassist with The Rolling Stones - and he’s more than happy with the life he chose to replace it with. “I left in 1991, but they would not believe me. They refused to accept I had left,” Wyman began. “It was not until 1993, when they were starting to get together to tour in 1994, when they said, ‘You have actually now left, haven’t you?’ And I said, ‘I left two years ago’. They finally accepted it, so they say I left in 1993.”
There was no relationship breakdown between the band, no argument that sent Wyman packing. Rather, he says he just wasn’t made to live, what he calls , the “showbizzy star thing” his whole life.
“I just had enough,” he said of his mindset when quitting at age 53. “It was half my life and I thought, ‘I have got other things I want to do.’ I wanted to do archaeology, write books, have photo exhibitions and play charity cricket. I used to read about ancient cultures while I was on the road and take photos as well. I just had this whole other life I wanted to live.”
And live he did! As the story goes, Wyman happily traded in his days of the rocking life for a much more normal life.. The ex-rock ‘n roller is an avid cricket player, leader of his own blues band, and an author of twelve different books . He’s also a proud collector of various odds and ends, like stamps, music hall posters, and every Rupert Bear annual book since his 1936 birth year. “I love collecting and don’t like throwing things away,” Wyman said, pointing back to his wartime childhood in Great Britain.
And his collections even include some Rolling Stones memorabilia. “I’ve an archive of the Stones too,” he pointed out. “I’ve got a library that I created of everything that has happened to me. I wanted to keep an archive of the Stones to show my son I was once in a band.”
Wyman has made the occasional but limited return to that band, including a feature on their 2023 album Hackney Diamonds . Alongside drums previously recorded by the late Charlie Watts , Wyman can be heard walking the bass once more in the song “Live By The Sword.”
Thus, Wyman wishes his old friends the best from afar. “The weird thing is ever since I’ve left, up until the present day, I still dream I’m on tour, like we are in a dressing room or we are in a hotel,” he told the publication, chuckling as he recalled their own tour antics. “I still dream those dreams and I dream of other friends like David Bowie . They are all very nice but very confusing.”
To hear Wyman’s bass and the music of The Rolling Stones, tune in to our The Rolling Stones Radio anytime of the day - we think you’ll find some satisfaction .
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