All language subtitles for My Life As A Rolling Stone s01e03.eng

ARCHIVE: A matter of seconds now
and they'll be on stage,

and just listen to that audience.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, will you
please welcome,

The Rolling Stones!

RONNIE: I was lured...

..just into the atmosphere.

And that was it, it changed my life.

MUSIC: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
by The Rolling Stones

NARRATOR: The Rolling Stones
exploded into the '60s,

transforming everything
they touched...

I can't get no satisfaction...

..including a teenage boy
called Ronnie Wood.

RONNIE: I was so taken aback with
the movement and the music,

which is so infectious,
and the girls were incredible.

He watched them become the greatest
rock and roll band in the world.

I was standing before my future!

Yeah, I was standing
before what I wanted to do.

"This looks like a good job."

You know, it's the greatest job
you could possibly have.

And I thought,
"One day I'll be in that band."

This is a story about destiny,

about how one moment set Ronnie Wood
on a path

that would change not only HIS life,

but those of the band
that started it all.

KEITH RICHARDS: Ronnie has always,

or so he tells me,

knew that he was going to
be in The Rolling Stones!

CHUCKLES

MICK JAGGER: And on guitar,

Ronnie Wood!

Right from the get go, right
from...

"Ladies and gentlemen,"

you know, "the greatest rock and
roll band in the world,

"The Rolling Stones!" Boom!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Deep in leafy Richmond,
on a bend in the River Thames,

stands a house that is the centre of
the London rock scene.

It's called The Wick, and it belongs
to Mr Ronnie Wood,

lead guitarist of The Faces.

KEITH: We were all well aware of
Ronnie Wood.

MICK: He lived in a very nice
house in Richmond

with a beautiful view.

The penny went further
in those days.

I went in and I saw these beautiful
fireplaces and beautiful oval rooms,

and I went beyond my means
to get it, of course.

I sort of... I didn't have the money
for it at all,

and I just bluffed my way in

and suddenly I got The Wick.

You know, he's
never been one

to look at the
financial side.

Ronnie's Ronnie, he's care-free.
Proper old bohemian, he is.

CHUCKLES

He's a really
original guitar player.

Mick and Keith were big
fans of The Faces.

In fact, I remember taking Mick
to see The Faces play...

..can't remember if it was
The Rainbow on the North Circular.

I remember him wanging on in the car
on the way back

about how marvellous they were.

Ronnie and I were very tight
in the early '70s.

We did a couple of albums
with Ronnie,

living at his house free of charge.

Very nice. Thanks, Ron.

Keith had moved in after
his own house Redlands burned down,

only confirming The Wick
as THE place to be.

And everyone that came round would
be in the snooker room with me.

That's where the conversation was.

That's where plans were made.

That's where jokes were told.

That's where stories were told.

ROD: It was like one big pub that
anybody could go to at any time.

It did get a little out of hand
sometimes, you know,

there's just too many people
staying overnight,

sleeping on the floor.

But some great music was made
in that studio.

One of the first things Ronnie does
when he buys The Wick

is to turn the basement into a
recording studio.

ARCHIVE: Is the sound recording?

Yeah. Eh!

When I was making my first album,

there were so many musicians
coming and going.

Paul would just come down
and stay or something.

Linda! And suddenly George is there.

And Gregg Allman coming
out of the shadows.

You're like "ah!"

You name it. There's Keith Moon and
Ringo on the drums,

and there would be Jim Capaldi
there,

all these different drummers,

all queuing up, all just waiting
for a chance to play

on the next song.

So, like, all this gathering
of different musicians,

and it was a real buzz in the air.

Even Mick likes to drop by,

usually finding Ronnie
in the studio.

He's making
some sort of solo record.

And I used to go in there
and play guitar and do demos.

He'd always have a song, Mick.

We started playing around...

If I should stick my pen
in my heart...

You know, we're writing
the verses and stuff

but I was writing
I Can Feel The Fire.

And I said, "Will you sing
on this with me, Mick?"

You know, "I've already got
the track."

He's going, "Yeah, come on."

I can feel the fire,
burning and burning.

Anyway, so we had that going,

and in between songs
we'd work on this other song,

It's Only Rock 'N' Roll.

Once he built
the studio,

I gave him a drum kit.

I think it's the
worst thing I ever did.

ARCHIVE: Will we go for a take?

Here we go.

We'd worn out Andy Newmark,
the drummer.

He'd gone to sleep upstairs
and we wanted to cut the track.

So I said,
"I know, Kenney Jones will do it."

So I rang up Kenney.

He always called up when
I'd got one foot in the bed.

You know, "Mick's here, David,
blah, blah, blah."

And he said, "I'll be right there."

And, of course,
I've had a drink.

So I got really carefully
avoiding all the police.

So, about an hour later, he arrives.

So we were playing away.

By this time, it's about three
in the morning.

And we're working on this song,
just jamming away.

So it was Willie Weeks on bass,
Kenney on drums,

and then David Bowie saying,

"It's only rock 'n' roll..."

You know, singing the background
vocals.

If I could win ya,
if I could sing ya

A love song so divine

Would it be enough
for your cheating heart

If I broke down and cried?

It's just a demo,

but when Mick tries to re-record
It's Only Rock 'N' Roll

with The Stones, they can't recreate
the magic of The Wick,

so the band decide to keep
the original tracks.

Mick had taken it over to
Island Studios

and was starting to mix it.

ARCHIVE: How loud are you on it?
Here we go.

And he said, "I've got
Keith down to put his parts on."

And Keith said,
"Yes, I've taken the precaution

"of wiping all your guitar parts,"

and I said,
"Oh, thanks a lot, Keith."

I said, "But you missed one.
You've left my 12 string on there."

And he went... "Argh."

I know it's only rock 'n' roll
but I like it

I know it's only rock 'n' roll
but I like it, like it...

It's Ronnie's first appearance
on a Stones recording,

but he quickly realises he isn't
about to get

a Jagger-Wood writing credit.

Mick said, "I'll tell you what,
you keep I Can Feel the Fire,"

which, you know, skyrocketed to
oblivion, in Keith's words,

"and I'll keep
It's Only Rock 'N' Roll."

You know? And I went "O...K..."

The single eventually reaches
the Top 10 in the UK,

but Ronnie has his eyes
on a bigger prize.

I still have my sights on The Stones

and stepping stones
towards The Stones.

But in the meantime,
there's plenty of fun to be had

out on the road with The Faces.

Music: Stay With Me
by The Faces

We were a party band

cos we were all drinking.

So we were always
in a bloody good mood

all the time -

sometimes
too much of a good mood.

The Faces had caught the tailwind
of that first British Invasion,

and they're on a world tour,

to a rapturous reception.

The crowd had never seen anything
like this,

especially me and Woody coming
in with our crushed velvet trousers,

big crosses, bouffant hair
and a little bit of make-up.

"What is all this?!"

You know, the hairstyles
of The Faces alone just slayed me.

I couldn't separate the look
and the vibe from how raw

and sexy their music was.

They turned me on.

The whole audience
were full of colour.

It was like a party.

It's like you're one of the audience

while you're playing to 'em.

In the morning
don't say you love me...

There was people sitting up
on the stage with us,

and we never used to think
anything of it.

Well, I fell in the audience
on the last American tour,

seemed to go down all right.

Mind you, I've always had a few
before I go on.

Number one is
learn how to laugh at yourself.

Because if you don't know how to do
that, you are in shtook, mate.

It was all about fun in The Faces

cos we so enjoyed each other's
company and each other's playing.

On one of the early tours
of The Faces,

we all got given Super 8 cameras.

We used to film each other
all the time.

You know, we were like putting
on a show, really, to each other.

I guess you're a mean old Jezebel

Let's go upstairs
and read my tarot cards...

Hey, baby! Yeah!

Stay with me
Stay with me...

ARCHIVE: The Faces, Rod Stewart,
lead singer in his Marcos.

Ron Wood, lead guitar,
with their ladies.

I thought if I save up, buy myself
a sports car,

I'll be able to get
a nice girlfriend,

and then it will all be over,
cos it won't last long.

We didn't know where music
or rock and roll was going to go.

MICK: And I still think that you
guys who have got a little bit more

to do should go first,
but we're all in a band.

The Rolling Stones also face
an uncertain future.

Off the road for well over a year,

and strung-out on drugs,

a fog hangs over the band.

ARCHIVE: What do you see as the
future now?

I don't know, really.

I have no idea.

I don't know what to do
until we come to it, really.

I just... I can't even think about
what I'm doing tomorrow.

And I know I've got to go to London.

But that's the extent of my being
able to look into the future.

MUSIC: Angie

Angie

Angie

When will those clouds
all disappear?

By now, Ronnie is firmly part
of The Stones' social scene,

and fate provides him with a
ringside seat

for a defining moment
in the band's history.

I was sitting on this sofa
in the middle.

Mick Jagger was here
and Mick Taylor was here.

You can't say we're satisfied...

25-year-old guitar virtuoso
Mick Taylor

had replaced founding
member Brian Jones in 1969.

I'll never forget it.

You know, we were all having a chat
and a drink and then at one point,

Taylor leans over to Jagger
and says,

"I'm leaving the band.

"I'm leaving right now."

To outsiders, it seemed
like a strange moment to quit.

The band have just had one of the
greatest runs in rock history,

releasing Let It Bleed,

Sticky Fingers and
Exile On Main St.

But behind the scenes, Mick Taylor
is struggling with heroin addiction

and life as a Rolling Stone
is starting to wear thin.

Personally, do you find
that The Stones give

all the musical outlets
you'd like to have?

Oh, no. No.

There's lots
of other things

I'd like to do,
with other people,

and I will do
when I get the opportunity.

It is frustrating
on an individual level,

but I think it is for everybody
who's a part of a group, you know.

After years of relentless
touring and recording,

cracks are starting to appear.

The Stones are now tax exiles,

and on top of that, they're banned
from touring in Japan,

Australia and North America.

In France, there's even a warrant
out for Keith's arrest.

TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH:

Angie

Angie

Ain't it time we said goodbye?

We were all still roaming around the
world trying to find

which bit that we liked.

We were strictly really exiles
for real now,

you know, and everybody...

So it was very difficult
to communicate with each other.

Angie...

Oh, God. I think everyone was taking
far too many drugs then.

The band should be going into
fucking rehab, like, for a year.

All of them, including me.

Angie

They can't say we never tried.

But, you know...

You take the rough with the smooth.

Back at the party,

the impact of Mick Taylor quitting
hits home.

And Mick said,
"I think he was serious,"

and I said, "I think he was, too."

And he said,
"What am I going to do?"

And I said, "I don't know, Mick,
what do you reckon?"

And he said, "Would YOU join?"

And I went, "I thought
you'd never ask," you know!

It was so funny.

He said, "But you're already
in a band, aren't you?"

It was a big choice for Ronnie
cos Ronnie was in several bands.

Ronnie's been in quite a few bands.

I said, "Well, I don't want to split
The Faces up,"

I said, "but, look,

"if you get desperate, call me up."

The day before we started
Black And Blue,

Mick Taylor decided
to leave the band.

So we all met at Heathrow
to go to Germany

to make the record, to start the
record.

While we was there, they auditioned
all kinds of guitar players.

They actually drove me nuts.
I'd have to, you know...

I'd be sitting there and waiting to
get on with it

and they'd be auditioning some
bloody guitar player from Timbuktu.

I don't know.

The music press lights up with
speculation

over who might become
the next Rolling Stone.

Un probleme?

Jeff Beck was checked in there

and Steve Marriott
was a contender as well.

They said, "Who could be
in The Stones?"

And I know I was...
There was six of us.

Ry Cooder was one.

Mick, who played
with David Bowie, was put up.

Me. I was at least recognised
as being maybe someone

who could be in that band.

Well, for a while there

I was hoping the
phone would ring

and it would
be The Stones.

I think all of us
guitar players did.

Waddy Wachtel did,
for sure.

One man down, the band decide
to use the auditions

to fill in the missing parts
on the album.

First of all, we try people out.

A long process. I want to talk about
all these other people.

They're mad. We had a proper,
organised kind of try to find people

and they appear on the album.

With a huge American tour on the
horizon,

and the auditions a bust,

Mick decides to call in a favour.

I was on my deathbed in LA.
I was really ill.

I couldn't move. And the phone rings
and it's Mick and he says,

"Morning. I'm desperate.
I need you."

You know, like, and I was going
"All right!"

Ronnie lands in Munich and heads
straight to Musicland Studios.

The foyer is still packed
with other guitarists.

They said, OK, you're in the
studio at 2:00, you know, whatever.

So I just walked in and I said,
"Hey, guys, I've got this song."

MUSIC: Hey Negrita
by The Rolling Stones

I said "it goes like this...
Ba-de-de-de..."

And Charlie said,
"He's only been here five minutes

"and he's bossing us around."

Everybody starts to join in, right?

MICK: I had a very good rapport
with Ronnie,

you know, when I was just jamming
with him.

Mick started shouting "woo!"

Singing,
and he put some words to it.

Shake lady, way down south...

And I'm thinking,
"Man, this is the guy."

I've already been working with him,
we're already, you know, simpatico.

Hey Negrita, hey now...

Woo!

Well, I mean, we'd all played
together a lot before,

we knew each other. So that made it
quite easy, in a way,

to make that choice.

After months of trying out
different guitarists,

Ronnie fits right in.

I mean, there's not a lot of him,
just fit him in anywhere!

It is London, you know,
and we'd kind of all known...

I knew him probably better
because I'd been recording with him,

which made the thing even
more, like, obvious.

Eventually released
on Black And Blue,

the writing credit of Hey Negrita
goes to Jagger/Richards, as usual.

But this time it also says,
"Inspired by Ron Wood."

Somebody else was going
to be flying in.

And I said, "Well, cancel them.
What's the point?" you know?

And they said,
"Yeah, there's no point.

"Looks like we found what
we're looking for." You know?

And that is that.

Ronnie's fate is finally sealed.

In a moment of peril,

they didn't really want
a preening virtuoso in the band.

Eric said, "I could have had that
job." You know?

I said, "Eric, but you've got to
live with them."

Tune up, room session.

Slate one, take three.

Ow.

Always used to do that.

MUSIC: Start Me Up
by The Rolling Stones

I knew what I had to do.
You know? Even then.

I knew somebody had to kick them
up the arse, you know?

And sure enough.

Ron's my great mate.

He's a funny fucker.

If you start me up

If you start me up, I'll never
stop...

I've got to go on stage in a
minute.

If I don't get it up,
they'll never know it's me.

I mean, Ronnie is one of
the greatest

naturally funny
people alive.

And, you know, don't take
anyone too seriously.

Don't take anything
too seriously.

Ronnie's kind of
a mischief maker.

You can just tell.

Yeah. You know you're
going to have a good time

when Ronnie walks in the room.

He just had that
right kind

of London atmosphere
about him.

He was the perfect fit
for The Stones, Ronnie Wood.

He was a very different player
to Mick Taylor,

who was this rather...

A brilliant,
sort of meticulous blues player.

And Ronnie was more of a good time
English band, you know,

rock on, you know?

It's the energy
you bring

that makes
the difference.

Anybody can play
it like the record.

But when you go on stage
and you bring it

and the band goes... "Yeah!"

..because of what you brought,

that's what Ronnie did.

MUSIC: Brown Sugar (live)
The Rolling Stones

Ronnie is announced as the new
guitarist at a press event

in Manhattan, the launch
of The Rolling Stones'

Tour Of The Americas.

But unseen by the gathered
journalists,

the band set up their equipment on
the back of a flatbed truck outside.

They're about to take
the Stones circus

to the streets of New York City.

ARCHIVE: It was hard to believe,
but there they were,

right smack in the middle
of Lower Fifth Avenue.

You're suddenly out on the streets

and you're playing fucking
live music!

It was crazy.

We had all the press gathered in the
restaurant,

and they thought The Stones
were going in,

so we just drove by
playing Brown Sugar

and they're all there,

running out of the restaurant
with their pads.

Brown Sugar

How come it tastes so good?

It's more of a fun thing, I thought.

Not so dangerous.

The feeling was that you were having
a good time.

It was a bit of a lark

and I think it was very much the
Ronnie thing.

You know, every time you change
a member of the band,

it's going to take...it's going
to take on another characteristic.

And Ronnie was certainly
a sense of fun.

He was more of a showman

and I think more of a humourist.

And that really helped.

Well, you know, he came from The
Faces, where he used to jump about.

Just very funny, because
that's what he's like.

And so '75, what he brought
was a whole new sense of purpose.

We felt a coherence as a band again.

I think if you had five
Mick and Keiths,

it could have
been overload.

You know, you needed
that yin and yang.

And so, for me, that's the magic
of a band, is the chemistry.

Finally back in their groove,

The Stones set out on a monster
46-show trek

across the United States.

It was crazy. We'd have Annie
Leibovitz following us everywhere,

and there'd be journalists
and groupies and madness going on.

All these different cultures.

It's just a gathering of people.

So many different personalities.

Ronnie had spent years touring
the US with The Faces,

but the sheer scale of a Stones tour
is something to behold.

The first time I'd met a band
with any kind of organisation.

We would get newsletters,
we'd know what we were doing,

when we were doing it and we'd know
what we were going to be playing.

All the keys of the songs...
And all this was foreign to me

from The Faces, because I think
we might have just

written down a few
songs before, like, "let's do this",

just before we went on stage.

"Oh, all right, then." You know,
"We'll have a go at that."

And it was famous,
The Faces are going...

"What's next, Ron?"

With me going,
"What are we doing next, Ron?"

It was so funny to go from that
to the organisation of The Stones.

The whirlwind, the hurricane,
the tornado,

all the highs of being there and the
highs of the dope and the drink.

My feet never really touched
the ground for many years.

Ooh!

God loves you! Woo!

You know, it was like, "I'm home."

You know, I had that feeling
of coming home

when I joined the band,
you know?

All I knew when I first met Ronnie
is he could be my brother.

He found his little brother.

Scene one, act one.

LAUGHS

Now, make a cup of tea, Mother.

Ronnie is well suited to the role
of little brother in The Stones,

growing up the youngest of three
boys in Yiewsley,

a working class suburb
of West London.

Oh, dear family.

They were so broad minded, really.

Art, my eldest brother,
and Ted, the middle bro.

They were both artists,
both musicians,

both very encouraging.

Very proud of little Ronnie.

My headmaster used to call me
the artist.

And Mum, she used to love that.

He's a wonderful
spirit, Ronnie.

When he sees something

and he wants to capture
that moment, for him.

And he puts it down very beautifully
and describes it in his artwork.

I love painting.

I love combining that with music
and the other way around.

And it's...that's what keeps
my cycle going.

It's fabulous, you know?

And never a dull moment, you know,
in my life.

My family were so supportive.

My dad, when I had long hair,
he'd say,

"You want to look like that kid,
go right ahead."

And I said, "Are you sure, Dad?

"People don't know if I'm a boy or
a girl!"

And he said, you know, you're you.

Ronnie's family had a strong
identity all their own.

My mum was born on the boat
called the Orient.

My dad was born on the Antelope.

My parents and all of my family
going back to 1700s,

they're all on the water,

they're on the longboats
and the barges.

Water gypsies, really.

My mum told me,

Grandad Wood,
he had one family up north

and one in Paddington.

She said, "Dirty old sod."

I'm a nomad.

We live out of suitcases.

That's what we do.

Dad always used to tell me
all the different routes

that he would take.

If I was out of line, he'd
always say,

"Where do you think you are,
on your father's yacht?"

It's definitely a flow there that
comes with the nomadic lifestyle

of mooring up somewhere, you know,
and having vague memories as a kid

of sweet milk, the condensed milk
down in the cabin with my dad

on his...on his buggy.

It was the end of a legacy, really.

You know, my brothers and me

being the first to be born
on dry land.

My parents had this way about them
of connecting and adapting that...

..I'm sure I've inherited, you know.

KEITH: In this band, it works on two
guitars, you know?

And it's very important who
they are.

CHUCKLES

That is the basis of the band,

how these two guitars work together.

In Ronnie, The Stones finally find
a guitarist perfectly suited

to life on the road

AND playing with Keith.

And Ronnie had to
learn every Stones song.

So we know that.

But how do you fit in?

What part of you has to be
exactly like the record?

TAPE DECK CLICKS

MUSIC PLAYS

Keith would run me through a few
things of what he could remember

of the arrangements and stuff.

Because Ronnie had been boarding
our plane,

he knew it better than I did.

And I would correct him.

I'd say, "No, that song fades
out on the album.

"You haven't got an ending.
We're going to have to find one."

He's like, "Oh, yeah, you're right."

He said, "Just because I wrote them

"doesn't necessarily mean
I know them."

I've been so sad since you've been
gone.

Ronnie is dropped in
at the deep end.

It's just navigation.

The ancient mariners used
to use the stars.

We used the upcoming break.

Or you know, everyone knows
they've gotta...stop.

Or look a fool.

Navigating a live show is
all about reading the signs

and the odd bit of verbal
communication.

"I love you."

Or "what the hell do you think
you're doing?"

"What the hell was that?"

"What is he doing?!"

"What are YOU doing?!"

You know, like, what?

Oh, it was so funny.

THEY PLAY:
Hey Hey by Big Bill Broonzy

And Ronnie's other assignment
was to be Keith's buddy.

Buddy he could play with,

because that's where the ideas come
from, you know,

with acoustic guitars.

And there'd be beautiful girls
and Keith and I would forget

that they were there because we'd be
playing and playing and there'd

be these beautiful girls looking
at their watches, going...

And yawning, "Oh, fuck, I've been
here three days

"and he ain't even said hello."
You know?

"I'll be right there. I've just got
to do this." You know?

I think the music was so powerful
that it just overrode everything.

It's an obsession that started
at a young age.

When I was in short pants,
the household

was always throbbing.

Everyone was a performer.

When they played, they used to
include me,

whether it was on the comb and paper
or kazoo or...

My first instrument was
the washboard.

I don't care what Mama don't allow

Gonna play that music any old how

Mama don't allow no washboard
played in here, ba-ba-ba.

Then you take off into a solo.

You had to do a 12-bar solo
on your own.

And it was like, "Oh, my God,"
you know?

It was like, the camera's on me.

Then I'd try my luck on
the comb and paper

and I'd try and play the trumpet.

He's a good drummer as well,
actually.

Maniac type.

I mean, he's had to go at
everything, actually.

Suddenly he turns up with a cornet.

Then he was going to be
a saxophone player.

Put up with him walking about,
honking all over the place.

Ronnie Wood is one of
the most inspired,

brilliant musicians I've ever
encountered.

You know, you can put any instrument
in his hands.

I love the fact that Ronnie
is the catalyst.

You know, he's the guy that can
bring it all together

and he's the guy that can sit
down and figure it out

and make it work.

My ego has to stand aside.

I'm too busy concentrating,
you know?

I'm too busy learning
and going, like,

"OK, this needs a pedal steel
guitar.

"I'll learn how to play it."

For Ronnie, I think joining
an existing band

like The Rolling Stones

was something of an artistically
Faustian bargain that he made,

which is you get to be a part
of the greatest band ever,

and that's exhilarating,

but you also aren't going to be
allowed to do all the things

that you're capable of for the sake
of fitting into this band.

It's over there

Over there...

What's that?
Cha-cha and off.

Keith, rub your face against mine.
I forgot to put make-up on.

Hi, Peter. Yeah, sure.

Yeah, I think Keith had a
friendship with Ronnie,

more so than he had with Mick
or with Brian.

Of course, there's a lot of drugs
involved at the time.

Anyone going to go with Keith was
always going to be a problem.

It's true, Ronnie. Look.

And back on the American tour,

the Keith and Ronnie double act
is about to put on a show

for the residents of Fordyce,
Arkansas.

Tell us what happened.

Er, if I could, I would,
but I just don't believe it.

Jay, let me borrow...
I'll buy that hat from you.

The police observed a car swerving
on the road,

and police stopped him as a result.

We stopped in a roadside cafe,

and Keith and I were in
the bathroom,

high and stuff for a couple
of hours.

And people had reported that these
two guys

still haven't come out, you know?

In those little hick towns,
it caused a big stir.

When the police came in,

we were juggling different
kinds of dope

and different kinds of smoke,

doing sleight of hand and,
"Oh, look over there! Bump."

EMG is "everything must go".

That's when you're coming up
to a border.

There's smoke everywhere. And
then open a window

and chuck the rest of the stash out.

It's a rule, you know?

Toss it all.
EMG, everything must go.

Police have been very good
to us here

and treated the group with respect
and been very courteous to us.

They were not placed in a jail cell.

They were just detained in
the office for a short period

of time while the vehicle
was searched.

I got rid of all the stuff out of
the window, you know?

So, by the time we got there,
they said,

"Right, we're looking in there!"

"You won't find anything," because,
you know, it had all gone.

Then we were in the courtroom.
The whole town came out.

We took over the courtroom.

Keith and I got up
on the judge's thing.

Oh, we had the gavel.

We were swapping, doing autographs,
and swapping hats

with people and stuff.

All the shit that we take for
granted when we we're touring

and all that red carpet shit,
and hotels

and this, that and the other,

when those guys did it,

the only people that liked them
were the fans.

Nobody catered to rock bands on
the road back then, you know?

Nobody wanted them around.
They were dirty.

They did drugs.

Public enemy number one in the
United States is drug abuse.

You know, they went totally against
the grain

back in those days.

You know, they were the fucking
real deal.

The drug-fuelled misadventures
of the '75 tour

only sealed the bond
between Keith and Ronnie.

CHEERING

I started this, The Rolling Stones,
with Brian Jones,

a certain kind of guitar player.

And we developed a sort
of sound there.

Then came Mick Taylor.

Totally different guitar player.

We had to separate the rhythm
from the lead.

And then I started to work with
Ronnie and I am thinking,

"Man, this is the guy."

You know, when you think about
Ronnie and his ability

to intertwine with what it is
that Keith does,

I think that that's a great gift.

If God himself created the perfect
foil for Keith,

it had to have been Ronnie Wood.

I don't need no beast
of burden...

Ronnie's ability to play both rhythm
and lead

creates endless possibilities
for Keith,

and their friendship becomes part
of their sound.

You know, you still think of Ronnie
as the new guy,

and I'm sure that's just the
way it is with the band.

But when Ronnie came into it,
I think he pushed Keith

back out into the front again.

I think he inspired Keith
to start playing again.

They play very well together.

Keith loves Ronnie playing
because he could...

It's like interchanging.

I don't know. I don't listen
to either of them!

GUITAR RIFF

We are the axeman and we cometh.

That relationship is really special.

It's really special because they are
actually feeding off each other.

It's kind of a call and a response.

Keith calls, Ronnie responds.

Ronnie calls, Keith responds.

When you hear them, I'm not sure
which guitarist

I'm hearing at any given time.

It's all chords hitting
guitar rhythms,

guitar riffs,

and good old Ronnie probably
played a lot of the stuff

that Keith gets credit for.

They become one person
with four arms.

They are weaving this guitar web.

The ancient art of weaving is
a matter of give and take.

It's the space between
what you play.

It's the meaning of what you play.

And no overindulgence.

And when you get two basket cases
working with each other,

you have an early form of weaving.

I love watching Ronnie
and Keith weave.

It's so interesting to me the way
that they rehearse.

It's not like they're looking
at charts.

They're not chart guys.

That is not what they do.

They are feeling, breathing,

living through the fingers guys.

And so they're free enough
to not care about making

what would be considered a mistake
with normal human beings.

GUITAR RIFF

We have a knack of, if one goes
this way,

the other one is sliding this way.

It's like, if a solo comes up
on a certain number,

we don't even look at each other.

If I want to take the solo,
I'll take it, right?

And if he wants to take it,
he'll take it.

Really? You leave it as loose
as that? Oh, yeah.

Are there ever any nights
when neither of you take it?

Yeah, that's when he's knocked
me out

or I've knocked him out.

The beauty of The Stones is
that you never know.

They're always walking a tightrope.

Expect the unexpected.

But that highwire act isn't
just down to natural chemistry.

When the drugs worked,
you had a line

of really good pharmaceutical,

you had a great song coming out
of it, you know?

Or a great painting.

A lot of it was the ritual -
the rolling of the joint,

the filling of the pipe.

And then that would be set
against the ritual

of the way the music was structured.

That gave you
the feeling of invincibility,

that you could tackle anything.

But off stage, some start
to refer to Ronnie

as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

I think Sorcerer's Apprentice
is quite a compliment.

Er, because I was in a way...

I was being broken in
to really dangerous ground.

People really were dying,
you know,

to try and keep up with Keith's
drug intake.

We used to party heavy.

There was a whole series of decades
where we were all really high.

Even in our most spaced-out days,
there was like a little switch.

We'd go, "OK, I've got to go
on stage now."

Like, "I've got to get it together."

I think that's what saved
my life a lot,

and all of our lives during the
heavy using years,

was the actual focus
of having to get it together,

to be in front of an audience
and give them what they wanted.

Obviously the downside...

It depends what drugs
you're talking about.

It depends how they react on you.

The hard stuff - it ain't called
the hard stuff for nothing.

And you better be hard enough
to deal with it, that's all.

In 1978, Keith narrowly escapes
a heavy prison sentence

in Canada for heroin possession
and decides to clean up.

But just as he's turning away
from hard drugs,

Ronnie sinks further into addiction.

In the crazy days,

it got out of hand when it was
the base pipe.

Freebasing crack cocaine became
a dangerous obsession

in the LA music scene
in the late 1970s.

I used to quite innocently think
it was the best thing going.

I used to take it to parties
and go,

"Everybody, you've got to try this!"

But within a few years,
freebasing becomes an epidemic.

Crack cocaine.

It's as innocent looking as candy,

but it's turning our cities
into battle zones.

It got to the point where it wasn't
funny any more, you know?

It was just that getting high
with that pipe was frightening.

Do anything for it.

When it came to freebasing,
I was like, "This is nuts!"

You know? It had to stop.

Easier said than done.

By the summer of 1981,
The Stones are preparing

for another huge tour
of the United States.

There's only one problem -

finding an insurance company
that will cover

an increasingly out-of-control
Ronnie.

Faced with the very real prospect
of his sideman being left behind,

Keith makes an offer.

There were some problems
with Ronnie.

"I'll cover it."
KEITH LAUGHS

Because to me, Ronnie's out of
Rolling Stones.

I need that man like, you know,
I need breathing.

The '81 tour starts well,

but ten days in,
Keith gets news that Ronnie

is freebasing crack
in his hotel room.

Ronnie was on the other side
of the hotel

and somebody had come up, I think,
"He's doing the stuff up there."

You know? He'd promised me
he wouldn't

because I'd been guaranteeing
that he wouldn't, da-da-da.

So he was sort of letting me down
a little bit.

I was just up there getting high,
you know?

In the way he didn't like it.

He didn't agree with the pipe.

The whip comes down, yeah.

And he thought I had another woman,
because he's terribly moral.

I flew into a rage...
KEITH LAUGHS

..and zoomed through the hotel.

There's a whole posse of people
going around the corridors

searching for me.

So I get to Ronnie's room
and knock on the door.

I finally came out.

I smell the stuff coming out.

"You cu..."

So I gave him some back.

We all fall into Ronnie's room.

He tries to land one on me.

The couch goes over.

Bam, Ronnie's about to fall out
the window,

so I grab him and
then everything stops.

And then laughter,
and that was that.

Yeah, that was the one bundle.

We laughed it off, and I went
into the next room

and there's Mick and Charlie
on the floor.

They're playing some game
on the floor.

And I went, "Look at me,
I'm covered in blood!"

And they just sort of went,
you know, like,

"OK, right, your move."

And that's brothers.
They are brothers.

Like it or not,
that is your brother.

Keith can talk shit about Ronnie,

but you can't.

"No, I'LL do that."

"That's my place."
Nobody's place but his.

Ronnie eventually manages
to quit smoking crack,

but his drug taking and drinking
will go on for another 30 years.

The pot calling the kettle black
is one thing,

but sometimes I thought he was
a little reckless with it.

Mick and Keith stuck up for
Ronnie through a lot.

You know, when Ronnie was drinking.

Like we all were, but Ronnie
was more.

Everything's more with Ronnie.

Mick said, "Do you think you might
need a little help?

"Do you think you would do that?"

And I said,
"Sure, I'll give it a go."

He said, "When do you want
to do it?"

And I said, "Oh, a couple of weeks."

He said, "What about tomorrow?"
You know?

And I said, "OK, I like
a challenge. Let's start."

That was my first rehab.

He had so many goes at kicking
whatever it was. Drinking.

I mean, he must have had
so many counsellors.

Being Ronnie, of course, "Come in!"

And you'd meet this bloke
you'd never met.

And then there'd be another one
three months later.

"Come in!" And you'd all have
to say hello.

After doing it for so many years,

your body thinks it needs it,
you know?

Well, your body is saying,
"Give me some,

"but I can't handle it any more."

It was the beginning of me
seeing the light.

You know, he really wanted
to be a sober person,

but it was very difficult to do,

and it is difficult to do if you've
been doing it all your life.

GUITAR RIFF

It's very difficult. You go through
a dry period and you go,

"I've done it! I've cleaned up!
So now I can have just one!"

And that's the big mistake,
cos you can't have just one.

But in 2010,
Ronnie finally gets clean,

aged 63.

I did it with the help of people -
with the Fellowship, they call it.

It's a wonderful thing.

I did 90 meetings in 90 days,

and I did 90 meetings
in 90 days again.

I loved every minute of it.

I've never come down from
the serenity

that I got from that since.

I don't think I ever will.

I mean, it's a good feeling.

And now Keith Richards is going
to sing for you Little T&A!

She's my little rock 'n' roll

Oh

Oh, she's my little
rock 'n' roll...

But in the aftermath of Ronnie's
fight with Keith,

it's the other relationship at the
heart of The Rolling Stones

that's in need of rehab.

Keith, tell me a little bit about
your relationship with Mick.

Er... You're celebrating the 20th
anniversary of the band.

Yeah, I've known him since
he was about four or five.

When we first went to school.

The most recent information is

the pair of them last night,
in his room, fantastic.

I left them alone. I thought,
"If you can get on

"this well, knowing each other
from four,

"and now you're both 80!

"I mean, that's an amazing thing!"

No, they get on great.
Oh, you are a wit.

She's my little rock 'n' roll...

Ronnie's a great mediator
between the two.

He notices frictions and things
and likes to heal the wounds.

You know? Ronnie's always been
emotionally sensitive.

You know? Ronnie doesn't like
confrontation, I don't think.

Don't like aggro.

There's all kinds of girlfriend,
management rumours,

people putting the spoke in,
saying,

"He said this about you, you know?"

You know? We have to let
all that ride.

You know? You can't be affected
by all that.

She's my little rock 'n' roll.

Bill, come in a little bit.

The band had been together
for 60 years.

But there were moments
when The Stones came

very close to breaking up.

Yeah, there have been a couple
of spots

where it was quite possible.

There was a possibility, I suppose,
around the time Ronnie joined,

when Mick Taylor had left.

And there was a possibility
in the '80s

when Mick wanted to do solo work.

Thanks, Mother. Love you.
KEITH LAUGHS

Mick releases his first solo album,
She's The Boss,

in February, 1985.

A few weeks later, The Stones go
into the studio

to start sessions for the album
that would become Dirty Work.

Yeah, remember tempo. Because
it's the second only one

on the album that's slow.

Hold it down. No, let's take
it easy.

We ain't trying to cut a track.

All we're trying to do is keep
an idea on tap.

This time, even Ronnie isn't able
to lighten the mood.

When I got there, it was bad.

It was bad.

Stop passing the buck.

Speed it up right away
and you fuck the notes up.

Do you have the desire to go
back on tour for a while?

I love to go on the road,
but right now, I think,

to be perfectly honest,

after a year in the studio
with The Rolling Stones,

I could do with a little time
away from them. Right.

I mean, you know, I think it's
a little bit...

The relationships are a little
bit fragile and, I think,

to go on the road, that would show
on stage. OK.

I've heard them have arguments.

I could hear the screaming
through the door.

Yeah, it was the hatred from Keith
that was really severe.

Didn't want his name mentioned,

didn't want to ever see him again,
and blah blah blah.

And...it was just bad vibes.

And the pair of them were not
going to make up this time.

The Stones are off the road
indefinitely.

Those around the band wonder if
this might finally

be the end of it all.

We've read a great deal about your
relationship with Mick recently,

that you want to go on tour and Mick
doesn't want to go on tour,

and that's the cause of tension.
Is that the case?

Yeah, but I mean...

I mean, you don't do a gig like this
without having fights occasionally.

This one just happened to pop out
into public, you know?

It's another moment of destiny
for Ronnie.

You know, I've got to keep
this institution going,

so, you know, I've got to act now.

So I rang up Mick and I'd said,

"If I got Keith in 15 minutes,
would you talk to him?"

And he said, "Yeah, I would."
You know?

So I prepared the ground
and I said OK.

Before I know it, I'm calling Mick,

saying surely we've got to do
something, man, you know?

And suddenly it all falls back
into place again.

And it's almost as if you're...

I hate this with saying all about...

..authority and everything,

but it's as if
some higher authority...

"Uh-uh, Keith. Go on."

That was a higher power moving
there, you know?

Ladies and gentlemen,

will you please welcome
The Rolling Stones!

CHEERING

After a deep, cold winter,
spring will come.

I think they love him for that,
you know?

They probably hated him
at times, too,

because they want to be mad
at each other.

And then Ronnie comes in and makes
them laugh about something

and it's like, "Get out of here,
Ronnie!"

Childhood living...

I've got to keep this thing going -
in motion, you know?

Whatever it takes.

..is easy to do...

Over 60 years, Ronnie Wood has never
let that spark die.

From first sight of The Stones
as a teenager

to still touring with them
into his 70s.

Did Ronnie save The Stones?

Course he did.
KENNEY LAUGHS

No matter what's going on,
he'll say, "You know,

"we'll be all right. We'll get
through that. It'll be fine."

And I really would go so far
as to say

no Ronnie, no Rolling Stones.
Not now.

He's amazing.

He is the glue that binds them.

Yeah

Cos the wild horses

Couldn't drag me away

Cos the wild horses

Couldn't drag me away...

Ronnie's the MSG.

He's the sticky stuff that's
keeping it all together.

I watched you suffer

A dull, aching pain...

There was a tough glue
with two horses

trying to pull it apart.
That's what it reminds me of.

There's a bond, anyway. There's
a bond that can't be broken.

Araldite? Araldite!

LAUGHTER

Cos the wild, wild horses

We'll ride them some day

Wild horses

Couldn't drag me away

Wild, wild horses

We'll ride them someday

Yeah!

CHEERING

Thank you!

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