Ronnie Wood believes Jeff Beck wouldn’t have coped in The Rolling Stones
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has responded to long-standing rumours that Jeff Beck, Wood’s former bandmate in the Jeff Beck Group, was once invited to play in the Stones. Beck died earlier this year at the age of 78 after he developed a bacterial form of meningitis.
In an interview with MOJO, Wood said: “He wouldn’t have kept up with the timetable! Eric Clapton once said to me, ‘I could have joined that band.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you gotta live with them, Eric!'” Wood also admitted that Beck wouldn’t have been keen on the spotlight that being in the Stones brings.
“Anything to do with the spotlight, he’d be like, ‘You can take care of this,’ and he would be gone,” Wood added. “And Jeff was not satisfied with the simple blues and rock’n’roll approach – much as he loved Buddy Guy. When he hooked up with Jan Hammer, the experimental jazz stuff, that was where I got off, although we’d already gone our different ways.”
Upon Beck’s death, Wood took to Twitter to write a moving tribute to the iconic guitarist. “Now Jeff has gone, I feel like one of my band of brothers has left this world, and I’m going to dearly miss him,” Wood wrote. “I’m sending much sympathy to Sandra, his family, and all who loved him.”
Wood continued: “I want to thank him for all our early days together in Jeff Beck Group, conquering America. Musically, we were breaking all the rules; it was fantastic, groundbreaking rock’ n’ roll! Listen to the incredible track ‘Plynth’ in his honour. Jeff, I will always love you. God bless.”
Earlier this month, Beck’s funeral was held in Wallington in Surrey, his hometown. Beck was one of the greatest guitarists ever and has been sorely missed ever since his passing.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.