Ex-Rolling Stone bass guitarist Bill Wyman tells John Whishaw about his own band’s latest tour and what drives him on at the age of 65.

Since he quit the Rolling Stones a decade ago, bass guitarist Bill Wyman has been keeping himself busy. After 30 years with the “Greatest Rock and Roll Band in The World” Wyman wasn’t about to retire gracefully.

In 1996, he formed a new outfit, because he wanted to play the type of music which first inspired him to pick up the bass in the first place.

“I wanted to call this band the Rhythm Kings,” he insists.

“It was the record companies who insisted we were Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. I don’t like to live on past achievements.”

Bill rounded up a number of like-minded friends, some of them renowned veterans like organ maestro Georgie Fame and guitar whiz Albert Lee, others less well known like classy singer Beverly Skeete and Kidderminster boogie woogie pianist Mike Sanchez.

Last year Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings toured the UK, Europe and America, playing more than 80 dates to more than 150,000 fans. This time out, they’re kicking off with a 37-date British tour, which comes to Birmingham’s Symphony Hall tonight, before setting off around the world in the summer. The 65-year-old bandleader is looking forward to his return to the city. “We played at the Jam House two yeas ago,” he recalls. “We went down a storm. We had great reviews from there.”

To prepare himself for the onslaught, Wyman has had a short vacation to recharge his batteries. “I just took a brief holiday with my family. We had three weeks in France, it was my first holiday for two years. It became a working holiday in the end, because I can never stop working, but at least it was a break, in a different country and a different environment.”

Bill married American fashion designer Suzanne Accosta on April 21, 1993, and together they have three young daughters, Katharine Noelle, Jessica Rose and Matilda Mae. Bill also has a 41-year-old son, Stephen, from his first marriage.

There have been a few changes in the Rhythm Kings’ line-up since last year, and Bill reckons he’s noticed an improvement. “We did a couple of gigs in February and they went really well. It sounded just that little bit neater and cleaner than it has before. Sometimes you can tend to overplay, if you have so many people on stage,” he observes. “Me and Georgie go back a long way. Albert Lee and I have played together at the occasional charity event, he’s a genius on guitar. We all kinda know each other.”

Pianist Mike Sanchez, who helped out last year, while regular Rhythm Kings piano player Gary Brooker undertook Procul Harum duties, has become a bona fide member. “We’ve brought Mike into the band full-time now,” Wyman confirms. “I’d seen him a couple of times with the Big Town Playboys and thought he would be the perfect replacement for Gary. Mike is fabulous, a really lovely bloke. He’s a very natural player who puts fun into everything. He’s really dedicated and he puts on a great show, with lots of gusto and energy. I think he’s quite amusing actually.

“Next to someone like me, who doesn’t move about on stage at all, he’s all over the place. He gets absolutely drenched in sweat, while I’m bone dry. Mike was such a winner last year, I had to keep him in the band, because we all enjoyed playing with him so much. He was very well received by the audiences. Everybody was saying ‘I hope you’ve got Mike Sanchez this time’.”

Bill is also anxious to give credit to the unsung hero of the line-up, his right-hand man, rhythm guitarist Terry Taylor. “Terry does everything,” he states. “He knows all the chord structures and all that stuff, which I don’t know, because he reads music as well. He had classical training when he was a kid. Terry corrects everybody when they play the wrong chords, and he’s got a fantastic ear. He’ll hear if a harmony line isn’t quite right, and he’ll correct it. He’s the motor who makes sure it all stays in the right place, at the right tempo. He’s highly respected within the band. For my part, I’ve learned a completely different technique of playing the bass,” he explains. “I don’t use a pick, I use my thumb now, because I want to sound as much as possible like an upright bass.”

Saxophonist Frank Mead and Nick Payne have also serve time with the Big town Playboys, while the drum chair for this outing is occupied by Henry Spinetti, who played with Albert Lee in Eric Clapton’s band of the late-seventies. “Henry really can play good rock ‘n’ roll and he’s pretty good on the stuff we do, which is more jazzy. “He fits in really well, he’s a good, driving drummer. We’ve brought Henry in because Graham Broad, our regular drummer, is on the road with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. Graham has got four children, so he has to bring in some money.

“You don’t earn much with this band, because there are so many mouths to feed, there’s not much change left. I don’t think about the earning potential, maybe I should. They’re all working musicians, out there doing their own gigs. Last year Beverly Skeete toured with the Eurythmics, but luckily it didn’t conflict with when we were working.

“We try to get together at certain times of the year and nine out of ten it works perfectly. There isn’t really any other band who do what we do, which is to play a wide variety of music. There’s jazz, soul, blues, gospel, rockabilly and jump jive, a whole mixture of styles, and it’s very appealing.

“We’re very adaptable, everybody can get off on it, because it’s forever changing throughout the set. Georgie will do a soulful jazzy thing, and then Beverly sings a beautiful ballad, then Mike will do a crazy number and Albert Lee plays a country tune, so it’s constantly changing, which is really hard to do. We spread right across the board. I think that’s why we’re popular. The audiences always want us to play for ever. It’s great for us to get a standing ovation and go home feeling they really loved us.

“There’s a really lovely camaraderie in the band, because everybody’s friendly and we all enjoy it. There are no hassles or prima donnas. Nobody wants to show off better than anybody else, except Mike Sanchez, but he does it in a great way, so it’s all right,” he laughs. “It’s his nature.”

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings are appearing at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall tonight. Box office: 0121 780 3333.