Ronnie Wood's busy weekend: nightclub parties, George Harrison film premiere

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood had a busy weekend in London from September 30 to October 2, 2011.

On September 30, he attended and performed at the second night of parties to launch Mark Ronson's Club Nouveau at Mayfair's The Arts Club. Ronson, Paloma Faith (who also performed at the event) and actress Gemma Arterton ("Clash of the Titans," "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time") were among the celebrites at the party.

On October 1, Wood performed with The Knights Before during the third night of parties to launch Mark Ronson's Club Nouveau at Mayfair's The Arts Club.

On October 2, Wood accompanied Pattie Boyd to the U.K. premiere of the documentary film "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," directed by Oscar winner Martin Scorsese, who is one of the film's producers. Boyd was Harrison's first wife. She also used to be married to Eric Clapton.

(Ana Araujo, who has been Wood's girlfriend and constant companion since 2010, was not with Wood at any of these events.)

In Boyd's 2007 memoir, "Wonderful Tonight," Boyd said that she and Wood became close in 1973, around the same time that she says that Harrison was having an affair with Wood's first wife, Krissy. In turn, Wood and Boyd had their own fling with each other. Wood talked about it in his 2007 memoir, "Ronnie."

These affairs are not mentioned in "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," but multiple people in the film say in a tactful way that Harrison was a chronic womanizer (regardless if he was married or not), and that it was not unusual for him to engage in wife swapping.

And on a related Rolling Stones note about "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," there is a scene in the movie that briefly shows Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger in a late 1960s interview on a news program, with a British talking head saying that the Beatlemania phenomenon came about because of the need for girls to worship love. Jagger, smoking a cigarette, has an expression on his face that barely disguises his contempt for the man's pretentious intellectualizing of fan worship.

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Mick Jagger seen in Twitter pic hanging out in recording studio with Will.i.am

Is Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger possibly going to collaborate with Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas on a studio recording? On his official Twitter account, Will.i.am posted a photo of him, Jagger and Interscope A&M Geffen chairman Jimmy Iovine. (The Black Eyed Peas and Will.i.am are signed to Interscope Records.)

Will.i.am, who posted the photo on September 29, 2011, has not given any further details on why Jagger was in the studio. Will.i.am is presumably working on solo material since the Black Eyed Peas announced in July 2011 that they would be taking an extended hiatus after the group ends its current tour.

If Will.i.am and Jagger end up collbaorating on any music, it would not be their first collaboration, so to speak. Will.i.am did the remix for the Rolling Stones song "Rain Fall Down," the second single from the Rolling Stones' 2005 album "A Bigger Bang."

In 2009, Will.i.am and his Black Eyed Peas band mate Fergie joined Jagger and U2 on stage to perform the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter" at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary all-star concert event, which took place and was filmed during two nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

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Where the Bass Player Went Off To

By MARC MYERS

Not a day goes by without Bill Wyman bumping into a Rolling Stones fan who thinks he's still the band's bassist. Mr. Wyman quit the Stones nearly 20 years ago and has been leading the Rhythm Kings since 1997.

"Taxicab drivers, people in the streets—they all ask about the Stones and when we're touring again," Mr. Wyman said on the phone from his London home. "When I say I'm no longer in the band, they seem stuck for a moment. It's all very sweet. I was with them for 30 years, wasn't I." (Darryl Jones has filled in on bass ever since.)

Jordi Renart

Mr. Wyman leads the Rhythm Kings.

Mr. Wyman, 74, loves hanging out at home now with his wife and three young daughters, but he's hardly retired. On Oct. 17, his Rhythm Kings start a three-month U.K. tour with original Supreme Mary Wilson. A five-CD "Collectors' Edition Box Set" of the band's past studio albums will be released Oct. 25 in the U.S., featuring cameos by Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and others.

The Rhythm Kings are an eclectic mix of all-star musicians and vocalists that includes singer-organist Georgie Fame, guitarist Albert Lee and guitarist-arranger Terry Taylor. They play mostly rock and R&B covers from the '50s and '60s in an interpretive, listener-friendly style.

No U.S. tour is planned. Mr. Wyman, who was in the Royal Air Force in the mid-1950s, no longer flies unless absolutely necessary. On a plane with the Stones in 1990, during a nasty storm, he decided, "I don't like it up here." And that was it, he said.

Mr. Wyman's departure from the Stones enabled him to explore rock's roots. "The Stones never liked early rock 'n' roll—they're hard-core blues fans," Mr. Wyman said. "I'm a bit older, and I love Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnnie Ray and people I grew up with."

He has also branched out. An exhibition of his past photography just opened in London, he owns the city's rock-themed Sticky Fingers Café and, for recreation, he often can be found at archeological digs.

There's even an eighth book in the works. "It's my second Rolling Stones memoir," said Mr. Wyman, a diary-keeper since childhood. "I'm writing from the start. My first, 'Stone Alone,' covered 1962 to 1969 but was criticized for being too long and detailed. This is more reflective. I'm now up to 1973."

As a rocker, Mr. Wyman plays the bass intuitively. "I've always had a good ear and a knack for adapting suggestions," he said. "When the Stones first rehearsed 'Miss You' in 1978, it wasn't gelling. Then Billy Preston suggested I play an octave walk. So I did. For the next two years, every band that heard our record used my funky bass line."

Just don't ask about his favorite bass solo. "I actually don't like them," Mr. Wyman said. "I started as a piano player, so I find bass solos just a big noise. Charlie Watts doesn't listen to drum solos, and I don't listen to bass solos."