Why Ronnie Wood was “so jealous” of The Who
It’s hard to imagine The Rolling Stones being jealous of anyone. They’re undoubtedly one of, if not the biggest, bands in history. Their sound utterly redefined rock and roll into the bluesy, seductive form it is today. But as they were coming up, so were plenty of other legendary acts. Ronnie Wood remembers the feeling of looking around at the success of their peers with a little green monster on his shoulder.
There’s also the fact that Wood wasn’t in the band from the start. While Mick Jagger or Keith Richards might have been able to keep their eyes firmly locked to the singular road they were walking, able to see their own upward trajectory without distraction, Wood had to be more aware. Throughout the 1960s and early ‘70s, the guitarist dipped between a few groups like The Jeff Beck Group and the Faces.
Both were legendary in their own right, but as he moved around acts waiting to get that big breakthrough moment as a band member, it’s bound to leave more room for envy to creep in.
He was also moving around a scene that was heavy with icons. Now, the London crowd of the 1960s and ‘70s is looked back on with complete awe as the city’s local venues seemed to be hosting history-defining acts on every corner. Wood and his friends were watching that happen minute by minute, week by week, as the songs that are now timeless anthems first got released and saw success.
One song he remembers well is ‘I Can’t Explain’, The Who’s second single in 1964. It was released the same year the band formed as Pete Townshend, and his quartet seemed to be able to smash through the doors to the big time with ease. Just as quickly as they entered the music industry, they appeared to be dominating it. Ronnie Wood and his own band watched on, seething with jealousy.
“I first met Pete, who is still a neighbour of mine, back in the old Ealing Club days when The Who first had ‘I Can’t Explain’ in the charts,” Wood told Louder Sound. “I was in The [Yard]Birds, and they were going: ‘We’re number one!’ And we were going: ‘Fuck off back to Acton!’” he continued.
“We were so jealous,” Wood said, humble enough to admit it. But it’s important to note that The Who weren’t, in fact, number one. ‘I Can’t Explain’ peaked at number eight in the UK chart, and the band wouldn’t get a number one spot until 1971 with their album Who’s Next. They’d come close, though. In 1965, ‘My Generation’ proved to be a huge hit, landing at number two. But their original celebration in the face of Wood and their peers was really little more than a laddish wind-up designed for some healthy competition.
Wood sees that, able to look back on those years and bands with nostalgic love. “The High Numbers were brilliant, and the early Who, especially at the Marquee, were incredible,” he remembered, “They’re still great today, but there was nothing quite so electric as the original line-up.”
However, he’d definitely have the last laugh. In 1975, Wood joined The Rolling Stones as a core member. In total, the band have bagged eight UK number-one singles and 12 number-one albums, so no doubt Townshend is the jealous one now.
