Ben Waters honors Ian Stewart and reunites the Rolling Stones with Bill Wyman
May 5th, 2011
By Carla Hay
Ben Waters
Willy Garnett, Jools Holland, Dave Green, Charlie Watts, Ben Waters and Don Weller
Photos: Eagle Records
Ben Waters has managed to do what no one else has been able to do for a little more than 20 years: reunite the Rolling Stones for a studio recording with the band’s former bass player Bill Wyman. As previously reported, Wyman and the current members of the Rolling Stones (lead singer Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ronnie Wood) recorded a cover version of Bob Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow.” The track is part of an excellent collection of songs on Waters’ album “Boogie 4 Stu,” a tribute to the late Ian Stewart (one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones), who later became a tour manager and session/touring musician for the band. (Stewart died of a heart attack at the age of 47 in 1985. Proceeds from “Boogie 4 Stu” benefit the British Heart Foundation.)
The last Rolling Stones album to feature Wyman was 1989’s “Steel Wheels,” and the most recent Rolling Stones album is 2005’s “A Bigger Bang.” It is perhaps testament to Stewart’s profound impact on the Rolling Stones that this tribute to Stewart was able to bring together the band and former Stones bassist Wyman for a new recording after all these years. Stewart was also a major influence on Waters, who organized and played on the “Boogie 4 Stu” album, which also features performances from PJ Harvey (Waters’ cousin) and Jools Holland. Waters is also the keyboardist for Watts’ other band: The A, B, C & D of Boogie Woogie. In this exclusive interview, I chatted with Waters by phone while he was on his way to Finland for one of the concerts on his 2011 tour.
What is your very first memory of the Rolling Stones?My earliest memory is of Stu [Ian Stewart]. He played at my aunt and uncle’s (PJ Harvey’s parents) wedding anniversary when I was 8 years old. I was more influenced by Ian Stewart’s kind of music — R&B, blues. I also liked Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis.
There are so many songs that could have been selected for “Boogie 4 Stu.” How did you go about choosing the songs to record?I started it as a solo project, so I had already chosen the material. I chose the songs and planned to record them with my band, and then what happened was that [other people] like PJ Harvey [got involved]. Charlie Watts is in the band I’m in at the moment called the A, B, C & D of Boogie Woogie. I heard that Bill Wyman wanted to play bass, and then Keith Richards and Ronnie played guitar [on some tracks]. It was a matter of getting a hold of them.
What’s the whole story about getting all of the Rolling Stones and Bill Wyman to perform on “Watching the River Flow”?They all ended up on it by accident, really. Charlie had played on several tracks [on “Boogie 4 Stu”], then Ronnie Wood played on some tracks. And Keith played on three tracks, including “Watching the River Flow.” And then Bill Wyman came in. It was the first time he had played [on the same song as the Rolling Stones] in 20 years. And we asked Mick Jagger to be on it, and they all ended up on the same track.
The reason why we chose this Bob Dylan tune was … well, it’s funny, because Ian Stewart didn’t actually like Bob Dylan. He was very narrow in his taste in music. He didn’t really like rock’n’roll, like Jerry Lee Lewis and stuff. He was more into avant-garde jazz, and he did like R&B, but he just didn’t like Bob Dylan. And he used to say, “Bob Dylan has only one decent tune: ‘Watching the River Flow.’” He kept saying that over and over again. So that’s why I chose it.
There are two tracks — “Kidney Stew” and “Chicago Calling”— that are exclusively on the Japanese release of “Boogie 4 Stu.” Why are they only on the Japanese release?When you [sell] a CD in Japan, it’s twice the price of an American or English release, so they [the Japanese record company] always like to have extra tracks.
The Ian Stewart tribute concert in London on March 9, 2011, had an all-star lineup that included former and current members of the Rolling Stones (Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman), as well as Mick Hucknall, Jools Holland and Shakin’ Stevens. With all those stars involved in the show, how did you decide which songs to perform?I talked about it with Ronnie Wood and some of the other people … and we eventually did get to a [set list]. It was a bit shambolic, but in a way, that was very freeing. Basically, people turned up, and it was shambolic, and it was basically “go with the flow.”
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were asked to perform at the Ian Stewart tribute concert. What's the real story of why Mick and Keith weren’t there?I know there’s been a lot of speculation about why they weren’t there. Keith was in the Caribbean, and he couldn’t get back [to London]. He had a family thing. It wasn’t possible for him to be there and fly out the next day. He sent his best wishes. And Mick just couldn’t get away. And they both felt that if one turned up and not the other, the press would’ve had a field day, really.
Have you read Keith Richards’ memoir “Life”?No, I haven’t.
In “Life,” Keith described Ian Stewart as the “arbiter of events” when it came to the Rolling Stones. Based on what you know about Ian Stewart and your personal admiration of him, how would you interpret that description?I couldn’t really say, but as far as I was concerned, when I first got into playing music, I heard people say that [Ian Stewart] was [overshadowed] by the Rolling Stones, and I found that really sad. So I did lots of research, and I realized that he just didn’t really care about his own fame. He had a bigger picture in mind. He and Brian Jones started the Rolling Stones, but [Ian] put himself last, and he was a bigger person for it. What was really meant to be is what happened.
With recording technology, people no longer have to be in the same room at the same time to record music on the same song. But on “Boogie 4 Stu,” were you actually in the same room with any of the musicians when they played on any of the album’s tracks?Charlie [Watts] on drums, Dave Green on bass, myself on piano, and Willy Garnett and Don Weller on saxophone were on the main sessions. I was in the studio with Ronnie [Wood] and Bill Wyman. It [“Boogie 4 Stu”] sounds very much like a live band; it’s very old-fashioned.
We only overdubbed Ronnie and Keith on [some of] the tracks. But I was in the studio with Ronnie, and I spent a day with Keith. Bill came in at the end and overdubbed his bass parts.
Are there any songs that were recorded for “Boogie 4 Stu” that haven’t been released? And if so, do you think they’ll be released?There are about five or six, some with Charlie on them. I can’t think of the titles right now. They might be released. I don’t know yet.
If Ian Stewart were alive today and you had a chance to play any song with him, which would it be?I think I would play the last track of the album: “Bring It on Home to Me.”
The Examiner Nice interview - including an "official" explanation for Mick and Keith's absence.
Both or neither does make sense...