October 19, 2006. Copyright 2006, Graphic News. All rights reserved Stone Alone Bill Wyman turns 70 By Joanna Griffin LONDON, October 19, Graphic News: During almost three decades as bassist for the Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman remained something of an outsider. Some said it had to do with the age difference between him and the others, including Sir Mick Jagger, now a mere 63 and still strutting his stuff on stage. Wyman, who today has fingers in many varied pies, turns 70 on October 24. But the real reasons Wyman decided in 1991 to call it a day with probably the most successful rock and roll band the world has ever known were more complex than that. By the time he walked away this Rolling Stone had simply gathered too much moss. Born in 1936 as William George Perks, Wyman grew up in a working class family in Penge, south London. He took a job as a clerk at an engineering firm before completing two years of military service. In 1964 he changed his surname by deed poll to that of a friend in the military, gaining a new confidence to match his future fame. By then he had done two years of a 30-year stint as a bassist with the then fledgling Stones. With drummer Charlie Watts, the unsmiling Wyman was part of what became known as the Òstraightest rhythm section in rockÓ. Eventually the band would set the gold standard with tracks including Honky Tonk Woman, (I CanÕt Get No) Satisfaction and Under My Thumb, and Wyman became richer and more famous than in his wildest dreams. But in private his life had begun to unravel. In his late 40s the self-confessed philanderer had started a relationship with Mandy Smith, then 13, whom he later married. The much reported scandal took a bizarre new twist when a son from WymanÕs first marriage began a relationship with MandyÕs mother. Wyman was suddenly a hate figure. Though Wyman had not always seen eye to eye with his fellow Stones, the affair sped up the parting of the ways. In several interviews Wyman has expressed his disappointment that he was never allowed to write songs for the band, and, unlike the Beatles, publishing royalties were not split between the group. In the 1970s and 80s he recorded three moderately successful solo albums, including the critically acclaimed Stone Alone. He also had an unlikely hit with the ironic (Si Si) Je suis un Rock Star, parodying his status as a tax exile in France. Critics are divided as to the impact of his departure from the Stones -- some say the bandÕs sound never really recovered. During the last decade and a half Wyman has run his Sticky Fingers restaurant, and is an accomplished photographer, archaeologist and author. He still goes on tour with his new band, Bill WymanÕs Rhythm Kings, featuring 60s contemporaries such as Georgie Fame and Gary Brooker, but has not banished his Stones years entirely from memory: his collection of memorabilia is probably worth millions. Since 1993 he has been married to third wife Suzanne Accosta, with whom he has three young daughters. /ENDS