Page 76 - Classic Rock (January 2020)

“Give it to 'em, Ron!”
Mick Jagger and Ronnie
with the Stones.

meant to be. We were very disappointed, because creative side of Rod’s solo albums. But I knew it before my body shut down. It was purely a selfish
we knew Woodstock was looming, but at the time couldn’t last forever. Tetsu [Yamauchi] was a real decision to save my life. I cleaned up merely to
it was just a rumour that it was going to be that wild card after Ronnie Lane left the band, too stay alive [laughs].
big. Festivals were still quite a new thing. We did crazy, and I was bumping into the Stones more
a few gigs with Hendrix that were open-air. He was and more often. Is life within the Stones’ bubble akin to living a life
always good to me. He’d always say to Jeff: “Let the in suspended animation, where no one need ever
bass player have a solo.” Was there anything you heard from Mick Jagger get old?
or Charlie Watts in Mike Figgis’s Somebody Up My brain stopped telling me : “You’re getting older”
A big part of the Faces’ appeal was that from the There Likes Me documentary that surprised you? around thirty. I remember my fortieth birthday,
outside you looked like a tight-knit gang that It was nice to hear Charlie say that Mick never gave my fiftieth, milestones, but even then I was like:
everybody wanted to join, a band of brothers. up on me. I thought: “That’s lovely”, and it made “I’m not forty”… Seventy-two? Forget about it!
What went wrong? me look back, and Mick has supported me through
We were a band of brothers, and we Your lung cancer diagnosis must have
did love going on the road. Didn’t like turned your world upside down; you’d
the recording studio much. Everybody only just become a father again, to your
was jangling their keys as soon as they “As a live rabble the Faces had great twins. The outcome was ultimately
walked in, and that was our downfall. camaraderie, but we knew it positive but it must have been
We should have spent more time a terrifying period.
on the creative side. I learned that wasn’t going on forever.” Yeah, in the few days of not knowing,
from the Stones. That’s how they’ve I thought: “Oh dear. Well, I’ve had
maintained their high standard, all the time spent lots of times when I was trying to straighten up. He a good innings.” When I got the news it could be
songwriting and in the studio. As a live rabble was very supportive of my rehab stuff. removed and that there’s no cancer in the rest of
the Faces had great camaraderie between us, but my body, I was like: “Somebody up there likes me
we knew it wasn’t going on forever because the Admitting you’re an addict is one thing, but even more!” After all the years I smoked so heavily,
management structure favoured Rod’s solo career. cleaning up? to just get off with cancer in the left lung that they
Which we can’t blame him for. Rod was always It’s a very individual thing. It’s a realisation that: were able to remove was just fantastic, a blessing.
very good to me, taking me with him, giving me “Oh God, this is going to kill me if I carry on.”
the freedom to play the guitars and bass on his It’s basically common sense. Some people didn’t You’ve given up the fags now, but quitting any
solo albums. I had the best of both worlds there. have that cut-off valve, and they just carried on addiction is especially hard if you don’t find new KEVIN NIXON
I was enjoying being in the Faces and on the until their body shut down. I wanted to stop challenges to fill the void.

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