“None of the rest of us took drugs”: Bill Wyman believes Brian Jones was sidelined in the Rolling Stones because he was the only one doing drugs (at the time)
Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has opened up on how his close friend Brian Jones was sometimes “sidelined” from the band due to his drug use.
At the time, Jones was the only member who was often taking drugs, and though Wyman says there was “no malice” among the group, sometimes other members would get “fed up” with his substance use. Wyman joined the Stones in 1962, forming part of its original and longest standing line up alongside Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts.
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In an interview with Classic Rock, Wyman is asked if his close friendship with Brian ever affected his relationships with the other members. He replies, “No. I wasn’t just friends with Brian, I was very, very close with Charlie, because we were the rhythm section and got on very well. We were both similar – early married, had a child, went home after London concerts to rejoin our family while the others were out partying at the AdLib with all the other celebrities.
“I had a very close affinity with Charlie. I joined the band on the eighth of December, 1962, because Tony Chapman, the drummer from my band in South London who’d been playing with them for a few months, introduced me, then they fired him and got Charlie in from the ninth of January, 1963. But on the road I was with Brian mostly.”
He adds, “There was no malice, they just got fed up with his drug taking. None of the rest of us took drugs. Well, Keith… They did a bit, but there was no heavy stuff for years. I never had any, nor did Charlie, we were always completely clean. We had responsibilities, so we behaved ourselves.”
The Rolling Stones wrapped their Hackney Diamonds tour back in July. Bill Wyman’s new solo album, Drive My Car, is out now.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
