Let me ask you this, who do you think is the greatest band ever? Well, some of you may say the Beatles or Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or any other band however, there will also be some that will say the Rolling Stones. Well, that is because they are considered one of the greatest and most iconic bands of all time. So how many fans does this band have? conspiring the fact that they were rivals of the Beatles, it is not hard to believe that they have a crazy fan following worldwide.
With all this success, it is a wish or dream of many to be a part of this band, however, it is quite interesting as much as it is shocking that Bill Wyman does not think like that. Maybe that is because he was part of the band for decades. He first joined the band back in 1962 however, after performing with the band for three long decades he decided to leave the band in 1993.
So how did his bandmates react to his decision? why did he even want to leave the band in the first place? and lastly, does he regret his decision to leave or not rejoin the band? find the answer further in the article.
Does Bill Wyman regret leaving the Rolling Stones?
It might seem an absurd or crazy decision to us but let’s just think about it. Wyman spend over thirty years with the band before finally deciding to leave so he must have put a lot of thought before making his decision to quit. So I ask you, what are the odds of Wyman having regret? you are absolutely right, none.
And that is true he doesn’t have any regret about leaving the band or not rejoining them. When asked if he regrets not rejoining the band he said, “Have I had any regrets about not going back? None whatsoever.”
So how did the other band members react to his decision? well, his bandmates did not like the decision at all. He even revealed that after leaving the band it took him months to rebuild his relationship with them. He said, “When I first left the Stones it took a few months to rebuild that relationship with them. It was quite stressful and they didn’t want me to leave. So they became bitchy. Instead of being nice and saying: ‘Great 30 years. Cheers mate.”
He further said that Mick Jagger would rub salt in the wound with his attitude. Wyman continued, “Mick would say the most absurd, stupid things, with that spoilt attitude he had. He’d say things like: ‘Oh well, if anybody has to play bass I’ll do it. It can’t be that hard.” Furthermore, he also talked about how Keith Richards responded to his decision, he remembered what Keith said, “No one leaves this band unless they’re in a wooden box.”
Wyman says that Mick and Charlie Watts would often call him and ask if he was really leaving or if he had re-thought his decision. He said that they opened the gate two years for him. However, the Rolling Stones were about to have their 94/’95 tour so they needed a bassist, so they had to get a new bassist, and finally, they got one. Wyman was then replaced by Darryl Jones.
Now move on to the next question, why did Wyman decide to leave the band? well, he was asked why he left the band and he said that he was frustrated because there was always pressure with the band. As mentioned above, the Rolling Stones were one of the biggest names and it still is so they had pressure to make new albums or songs better than the ones before. He also said that it would take them a month to practice all the songs when they would go on a tour.
So how is his relationship with them now? do they still have some hard feelings? that does not seem to be the case because he said that it took him months to make things work with them. Furthermore, now he told Louder Sound that Richards sends him scented candles at Christmas. And they all send gifts to each other on birthdays and at Christmas. He says that they still are pretty much like a family.
