Although Bill Wyman is best known to the general public as the bassist in the Rolling Stones from the band’s inception until he hung up his touring shoes in 1993, in truth that’s just one facet of his long career.
Less well-known is the fact that he also owns a successful restaurant in London, “Sticky Fingers.” Or that he is also an archeologist, author and avid photographer.
While he continues to perform music with the all-star group Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, it’s through photography that he has made the biggest splash in the last two years.
Although he has taken pictures since childhood, his first exhibition was not held until 2006, with sporadic events held ever since. An exhibition of Wyman’s photographs will open at The Morrison Hotel Gallery on Saturday, April 28.
The collection of photos to be displayed began in earnest as a way to deal with the occasional tedium associated with being in a band.
“It was just a way of filling in all that time of hanging around or in travel,” Wyman explained.
Being in a jet-setting group gave him the impetus to document his surroundings, but his interest in the craft began at an earlier age.
“I started as a child, actually, when my uncle came back from the war with a new Leica camera,” he recalled. “He swapped for it with some cigarettes in Africa, and he gave me his (old) Brownie camera.”
The gift proved to be of keen interest to the young Wyman.
“From the age of 10 I was taking pictures, but I was taking pictures of churches and doorways and statues,” he said with a laugh. “I wasn’t taking pictures of my mates or my family or things like that. I don’t know why, but I only took pictures of objects.”
At last count his collection of photos numbered more than 20,000, but sadly little is left of his childhood work. The bulk of the archive is material from 1965 to the late ’80s. Interestingly, he’s taken fewer photographs in the ensuing time.
“My time is very limited as far as photography is concerned these days,” he remarked.
Wyman’s various post-Stones business dealings have had an unintended side effect.
“I don’t get those empty moments when I’m bored and happen to have a camera with me,” he joked. “That was the reason I did it, basically.”
Wyman’s archives features a wide range of subjects, but the current exhibit will focus on celebrities.

“It isn’t always my favorite choice,” he said. “Because I think of a wonderful landscape, or nature shots which I took in the Outback in Australia or Bali. But when you do an exhibition of a limited number of shots, they really want personalities.”
Despite playing with his popular band, this touring exhibition of photographs is likely the closest the U.S. will get to a tour from Wyman.
“(The Rhythm Kings) went on a very brief tour of North America about four years ago,” he said. “I went there on a book-signing tour and I thought I’d bring the band over. We did some very, very low-profile gigs from Canada all the way down to Memphis, by bus.”
Playing to audiences of up to 7,000 a night didn’t serve to rekindle his love for the road.
“It was fun, but I didn’t think it was the thing to do at the time,” he said. “You see, I left the (Stones) so I didn’t have to go touring the world.”
At home, his band is often called to play at charity events and back major headliners such as Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, but he prefers to remain just under the radar.
“I like to keep a lid on it. I don’t want the band to be international because it means I’ll be touring again,” Wyman stated with an incredulous chuckle. “The band’s not too happy about that, but that’s the way I want it.”
Wyman also cited his family as a reason to stay off the road.
“I’ve got this family of three little girls, 12, 11 and 8, and I want to grow up with them,” he said. “In the ’60s I had a son and I never saw him. One day I looked round and he was 13 and I missed everything.
“And I want to grow up with these girls and see them through all the process of growing up, because I sort of missed it (earlier).”
While Wyman’s days as a road warrior are over, he doesn’t rule out the possibility of a stateside visit completely.
“I wouldn’t mind coming to America, but I’m still waiting for you to build that bridge or tunnel,” he joked.