In 2012, the Rolling Stones had a special reunion: As part of their 50th anniversary, the rock giants invited their two former members Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman to two shows in London’s O2 Arena.
Wyman, who played two songs with the band, recalled in a recent interview with “Classic rock“The Stones were anything but accommodating. “When they asked me to play the O2 in 2012 they didn’t even give me a sound check. I said: ‘I need a sound check because I’m using the bass equipment [Darryl Jones] play and don’t know what it sounds like. And I play two tracks. And you just told me yesterday which two tracks.’”
“In the end it was well received”
The band was more interested in getting the sound of guest star Mary J. Blige (who performed the classic “Gimme Shelter” with the band) right than the bass sound of their founding member. Wyman was forced to improvise – but the whole thing turned out well. “In the end it was very well received and I was very happy.”
Bill Wyman was only allowed to play two songs
However, Wyman also thinks that the Stones kept him down to a certain extent. He himself expected to be asked on stage for more pieces. He therefore rejected an offer for further shows together (Mick Taylor also appeared at the shows in Newark, USA).
Says Wyman: “They only let me sing two songs [‚It’s Only Rock ‚N‘ Roll (But I Like It)‘ und ‚Honky Tonk Women‘]. I actually thought they would let me do four or five. Then they wanted me to fly to New York to play two shows and I said, ‘How many songs do you want me to play?’ And they said, ‘Two.’ And I said, ‘No, thank you. I’m not flying to New York for five days to play two songs.’ So I didn’t go.”