“When we did Paint It Black, and it was kind of finished, and we were listening in the studio, I said, ‘There's not enough balls'”: Bill Wyman recalls his unorthodox but vital contribution to a 1966 Rolling Stones classic

Bill Wyman passed a landmark over the weekend when he celebrated his 90th birthday.

Ahead of the occasion the ex Rolling Stone recorded an interview with Gyles Brandreth, of all people, for his Rosebud podcast. The interview covered plenty about Wyman’s early life, and the bassist also discussed his little-known contribution to one of the Stones’ classic hits.

“When we did Paint It Black, and it was kind of finished, and we were listening in the studio, in the control room, I said, ‘There's not enough balls,” Wyman remembered. “It's too light. It needs more guts.’ They said, ‘Well, you play bass.’ I said, ‘Yeah, and bass drum, but it still needs something more.’”

Bill Wyman At 90 | The Oldest Living Rock Star on the Planet! - YouTube

Watch On

Wyman suggested putting some organ on the track. “They said, ‘OK, give it a try.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but I can't play organ. I can't play with my feet like organ players do.’ I said, ‘But I can try.’

The Rolling Stones • “Paint It Black” • 1966 [Reelin' In The Years Archive] - YouTube

Watch On

“So they set up the mics, and I laid on the floor with my fists, and I, as the music went out, der der der der der der, or whatever it was, I start. [So] it's me on those pedals, it filled it out perfectly.”

So long the unsung hero of many Stones tracks, Wyman left the band after 30 years in 1993. There was no great falling out, though. “It was time,” the bassist says of his decision to leave. “I had so many other things I wanted to do in my life.”

Incidentally, Wyman is a brave man to consent to an interview with Gyles Brandreth. In recent years, the TV personality has gained a reputation for meeting celebrities just before they depart this earth. A few years ago Brandreth said he felt ‘responsible’ for the deaths of Rod Hull and Harry Secombe as he saw them both just before they died. In the past few weeks he also met Jeffrey Archer shortly before the ex Conservative MP passed away. One hopes that Wyman isn’t his next victim...