All language subtitles for My.Life.as.a.Rolling.Stone.S01E03.WEB-DL.1080p.VO

(upbeat rock music)

- [Journalist] It's a
matter of seconds now

and they'll be on stage.

And just listen to that audience.

(audience cheering)

- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,

will you please welcome
the Rolling Stones!

(audience cheering)

- [Ronnie] I was lured
just into the atmosphere

and that was it,

it changed my life.

(audience cheering)

- [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.

- I was so taken back with the movement

and the music which was so infectious.

And the girls were incredible.

- [Narrator] 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.

(audience cheering)

This looks like a good job.

This is the greatest job
you could possibly have.

And I thought one day
I'll be in that band.

- [Narrator] 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.

- Ronnie has always, or so he tells me,

knew that he was gonna
be in the Rolling Stones.

(Keith laughs)

- [Announcer] And on guitar, Ronnie Wood!

(audience cheering)

- Right from the get-go,

right from, "Ladies and gentlemen,

the greatest rock and
roll band in the world,

the Rolling Stones!"

(audience cheering)

(ethereal music)

(birds chirping)

- [Narrator] Deep in leafy Richmond,

on a bend in the River Thames,

stands a house that is the
center 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 J] He lived in a
very nice house in Richmond

with a beautiful view.

- A 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.

- [Rod] You know, he's never been one

to look at the financial side.

Ronnie is Ronnie, he's carefree.

A proper old Bohemian he is.

(audience cheering)
(mellow rock music)

- [Glyn] 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.

It was the Rainbow on the North Circular.

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

about how marvelous 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.

- [Narrator] Keith had moved in

after his own house,
Redlands, burned down,

only confirming The
Wick as the place to be.

(dog barking)
(mellow rock music)

- 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 any time.

It did get a little out of hand sometimes.

There was just too many
people staying overnight,

sleeping on the floor.

But some great music
was made in that studio.

- [Narrator] One of the
first things Ronnie does

when he buys The Wick,

is to turn the basement
into a recording studio.

- Sound recording?
- Yeah.

(indistinct)

- When I was making my first album,

there were so many
musicians coming and going.

Paul had just come down
the stairs with Linda,

and suddenly George is there

and Gregg Allman coming
out of the shadows.

Ahhh! You name it.

There's Keith Moon and Ringo on the drums,

and there would be Jim Capaldi.

All these different drummers,

all queuing up, all different,

waiting for a chance to
play on the next song.

So yeah, it was like all this gathering

of different musicians,

and it was a real buzz in the air.

- [Narrator] Even Mick likes to drop by,

usually finding Ronnie in the studio.

- [Mick J] He was 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.

And we started playing around.

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

You know, we were 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 was going, "Yeah, come on.".

♪ I can feel the fire,
aah, burning, burning ♪

Anyway, so we had that going,

and in between songs,

we'd work on this other song,
"It's Only Rock and Roll".

- [Kenney] Once he built the
studio I gave him a drum kit,

and it's the worst thing I ever did.

- 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.

- [Kenney] He always called up

when I'd got one foot in the bed.

- [Ronnie] You know, Mick's here, David.

Blah, blah, blah.

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

- [Kenney] And of course I've had a drink,

so I had to go really carefully,

avoiding all the police.

- [Ronnie] So, about an
hour later he arrives.

- [Kenney] So, we were
playing away at this,

by this time it's about
three in the morning,

and we were working on this song,

just jamming away.

- [Ronnie] So it was Willie Weeks on bass,

Kenney on drums.

And then David Bowie saying,
"It's only rock and roll".

You know, singing the background vocals.

♪ If I could win ♪

♪ If I could sing ♪

♪ A love song so divine ♪

♪ Would it be enough for
your cheating heart ♪

♪ If I broke down and cried ♪
- [Narrator] It's just a demo,

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

with the Stones,

they can't recreate the magic of The Wick,

so the band decide to
keep the original tracks.

- [Ronnie] Mick had taken
it over to Island Studios

and was starting to mix it.

And he said I've got Keith's
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've missed one,

you've left my 12th string on there."

And he went, "Ah!"

♪ I said 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 ♪

- [Narrator] It's
Ronnie's first appearance

on a Stones recording,

but he quickly realizes,

he isn't about to get a
Jagger/Wood writing credit.

- [Ronnie] Mick said, "I tell you what,

you keep 'I Can Feel the Fire'."

Which, you know, it
skyrocketed into oblivion

in Keith's words.

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

You know, and I went, "Okay."

- [Narrator] The single
eventually reaches the Top 10

in the UK.

But Ronnie has his eyes on a bigger prize.

- I still had my sights on the Stones,

and stepping stones towards the Stones.

- [Narrator] But in the meantime,

there's plenty of fun to be had

out on the road with the Faces.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Rod] We were a party band
'cause we were all drinking,

so we were always in a bloody
good mood all the time.

So, it was sometimes
too much of a good mood.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] The Faces
had caught the tail wind

of that first British invasion.

And they were on a world tour

to a rapturous reception.

- [Rod] The crowd had never
seen anything like this,

especially me and Woody coming out

in our crushed velvet trousers,

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

What is all this?

- [Bonnie] 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.

- [Kenney] The whole
audience were full of color,

it was like a party.

It's like you're one of the audience

while you're playing to them.

♪ In the morning ♪

♪ Don't say you love me ♪

- [Rod] There's 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.

It seemed to go down alright.

Mind you I always have
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 schtuck, mate.

- [Kenney] It was all about
having fun in the Faces

because we were so enjoying
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.

- [Ronnie] We used to film
each other all the time.

- [Kenney] We were like
putting on a show really,

for each other.

♪ I guess you're a mean old Jezebel ♪

♪ Lets go up stairs and
read my Tarot cards ♪

- Yeah, incredible, baby!

- [Newsreader] The Faces,

Rod Stewart, lead singer in his Marcos.

Ron Wood, lead guitar, with their ladies.

- [Rod] 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,

'cause it won't last long.

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

(indistinct chatter)

- [Narrator] The Rolling Stones also faced

an uncertain future.

Off the road for well over a year

and strung out on drugs,

a fog hangs over the band.

- [Journalist] What do
you see as the future now?

- [Mick J] I don't know really.

I've no idea.

I don't know what to do

until it becomes it.

Really, I just don't...

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.

(mellow rock music)

♪ Angie ♪

♪ Angie ♪

♪ When will those clouds all disappear ♪

- [Narrator] 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.

- We're sitting on this sofa.

In the middle,

Mick Jagger was here

and Mick Taylor was here.

♪ But you can't say we're satisfied ♪

- [Narrator] 25-year-old
guitar virtuoso, Mick Taylor,

had replaced founding
member, Brian Jones, in 1969.

- And I'll never forget it.

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."

- [Narrator] To outsiders it
seemed like a strange moment

to quit.

The band had 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.

- [Journalist] Personally, do you find

that the Stones give
all the musical outlets

you would 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.

- [Narrator] 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.

(Journalist speaking in French)

(Mick Jagger speaking in French)

♪ Angie ♪

♪ Angie ♪

♪ But 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 what I mean.

So, it was very difficult to
communicate with each other.

♪ Angie ♪

- (chuckles) My god!

I think we were...

Everyone was taking far
too many drugs then.

Like, the band should have
gone into fucking rehab

like for a year.

All of 'em, including me.

♪ Angie ♪

♪ They can't say we never tried ♪

But you know,

you take the rough with the smooth.

- [Narrator] 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 gonna do?"

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, and it was so funny.

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

- It was a big choice for Ronnie

'cause 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."

(upbeat rock music)

- [Glyn] 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.

It actually drove me nuts.

I'd have to...

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.

- [Narrator] The music press
lights up with speculation

over who might become
the next Rolling Stone.

- [Journalist] Is it a problem for you?

(Mick Jagger speaking in French)

- [Keith] Jeff Beck was checked in there

and Steve Marriott was
a contender as well.

- [Andy] 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 recognized
as being maybe someone

who could be in that band.

- [Joe] Well, for a while there,

I was hoping that the phone would ring

and it would be the Stones.

I think all of us guitar players did.

Waddy Wachtel did for sure.

- [Narrator] One man down,

the band decide to use the auditions

to fill in the missing parts on the album.

- [Mick J] First of all
we tried people out.

Little bit long process.

I want to talk about all these
other people that are mad.

We had a proper organized
kind of try to find people,

and they appear on the album.

- [Narrator] With a huge
American tour on the horizon

and the auditions a bust,

Mick decides to call in a favor.

- I was on my death bed in L.A.

I was really ill.

I couldn't move.

And the phone rings and it's Mick.

And he said, "Ronnie, I'm
desperate, I need you."

And I was going, "Alright."

- [Narrator] Ronnie lands in Munich

and heads straight to Musicland Studios.

The foyer is still packed
with other guitarists.

- They said, "Okay, you're
in the studio at 2 o'clock."

You know, whatever.

So anyway, I just walked in,

and I said, "Hey guys,
I've got this song."

(mellow rock music)

And I said, "It goes like this."

(Ronnie vocalizing)

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

and he's bossing us around."

Everybody started to join in, right.

(mellow rock music)

- [Mick J] I had a very
good rapport with Ronnie

when I was just jamming with him.

- [Ronnie] Mick started
shouting, "Whoo!", singing,

and he put some words to it.

(Mick singing)

- [Keith] And I'm thinking,

"Man, this is the guy,

and I've already been
working with him, yeah,

we're already, you know, simpatico."

(mellow rock music)

- 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.

- [Narrator] After months of
trying out different guitarists

Ronnie fits right in.

- I mean there's not a lot of him,

you can just fit him in anywhere.

(Keith laughs)

It is London

and we've kind of all known...

I knew him probably better

because I'd been recording with him,

which made the thing even more obvious.

- [Narrator] Eventually
released on "Black and Blue",

the writing credits of "Hey Negrita"

goes to Jagger/Richards as usual,

but this time it also
says inspired by Ron Wood.

- Somebody else was gonna be flying in.

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

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

It looks like we've found
what we're looking for."

- [Narrator] And that is that.

Ronnie's fate is finally sealed.

- [Andy] In a moment of peril,

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

- Eric said, "I could have had that job."

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

- Tune out room session.
- Ow.

(all laugh)

- [Crew] Slate 1. Take 3.

- Ow! Always used to do that.

(mellow rock music)

I knew what I had to do, even then.

I knew somebody had to
kick them up the arse.

And sure enough.

- [Keith] Yeah, Ron's my great mate.

And he's a funny fucker.

(Keith laughs)

(mellow rock music)

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

If I don't got it up,

they'll never know it's me then.

- [Dan] 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.

- [Chrissie] Ronnie's
kind of a mischief-maker.

You can just tell.

Yeah, you know you're
gonna have a good time

when Ronnie walks in the room.

- [Andy] 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, rock on.

- [Joe] 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.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] 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 the flatbed truck outside.

They're about to take the Stones circus

to the streets of New York City.

- [Reporter] It was hard to believe,

but there they were right smack

in the middle of Lower 5th Avenue.

- [Ronnie] You're
suddenly out on the street

and you're playing live music.

It was crazy.

We had all the press
gathered in a restaurant

and they thought the Stones were going in,

and so we just drove by
playing "Brown Sugar"

and they were all there
running out of the restaurant

with their pads.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Mick J] It was 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.

Every time you change
a member of the band,

it's gonna take on another characteristic,

and Ronnie was certainly a sense of fun.

He was more of a showman

and I think more of a humorist,

and it really helped.

- [Charlie] Well, he came from the Faces

which used to jump about,

and just very funny,

'cause that's what he's like.

- [Keith] And so in '75,

what he brought was a
whole new sense of purpose,

and we felt a coherence as a band again.

- [Jon] I think if you
had five Mick and Keiths,

it could have been overload,

You needed that Ying and Yang.

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

is the chemistry.

- [Narrator] Finally back in their groove,

the Stones set out on
a monster 46 show trek

across the United States.

- [Ronnie] I mean it's 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.

(mellow rock music)

- [Narrator] Ronnie had
spent years touring the US

with the Faces,

but the sheer scale of a Stones tour

is something to behold.

- It was the first time I'd met a band

with any kind of organization.

We would get newsletters,

we'd know what we were doing,

when we were doing it

and we'd know what we
were gonna be playing,

all the keys of the songs.

And all this was foreign
to me from the Faces,

'cause I think,

we might have just written
down a few songs before,

like, "Let's do this",

just before we went on stage.

"Oh, alright then. We'll
have a go at that."

And it was famous with the Faces

who would be going, "What's next, Ron?"

We'd be going, "What
are we doing next, Ron?"

(Ronnie laughs)

It was so funny to go from that

to the organization 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.

(audience cheering)
- God loves you!

It was like, I'm home.

I had that feeling of coming home

when I joined the band.

- [Keith] All I knew
when I first met Ronnie,

is he could be my brother.

- [Ronnie] He found his little brother.

(Ronnie chuckles)

Scene one. Act one.

(both laughing)

- [Narrator] Ronnie is
well suited to the role

of little brother in the Stones.

Growing up, the youngest
of three boys in Yewsley,

a working class suburb of West London.

- Aw, 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 artiste,

and mum she used to love that.

- [Kenney] 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 disguises it in his artwork.

- I love painting.

I like combining that with music

and the other way round.

And that's what keeps my cycle going.

It's fabulous.

And never a dull moment in my life.

My family were so supportive.

My dad, when I had long hair,

used to say "You wanna 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're you."

- [Narrator] 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 were on the long
boats and the barges,

and water gypsies really.

My mum told me granddad Wood,

he had one family up North

and one in Paddington.

She said, "Dirty old sod."

(Ronnie laughs)

I'm a nomad.

We live out of suitcases,

that's what we do.

Dad always used to tell me
all of 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."

There's definitely a flow there

that comes with the nomadic lifestyle

of mooring up somewhere.

And having vague memories as a kid

of sweet milk,

the condensed milk,

down in the cabin with my dad on his boat.

It was the end of a legacy, really.

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 worked on two guitars.

And it's very important who they are.

It's the basis of the band,

how these two guitars work together.

- [Narrator] In Ronnie,

the Stones finally find a
guitarist perfectly suited

to life on the road,

and playing with Keith.

- [Joe] 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.

- [Ronnie] Keith had run
me through a few things

of what he could remember of
the arrangements and stuff.

- [Keith] Because Ronnie
had been boning up,

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 gonna have to find one."

And he'd go, "Oh, yeah, you're right."

He said, "Just because I wrote them,

doesn't necessarily mean I know them."

- [Narrator] Ronnie is
dropped in at the deep end.

- It's just navigation.

The ancient mariners
used to use the stars.

(Ronnie chuckles)

We use the upcoming break,

or where everyone knows
they've got to stop,

or look a fool.

- [Narrator] Navigating a live show,

is all about reading the signs,

and the odd bit of verbal communication.

- "I love you."

(Ronnie laughs)

Or, "What the hell do
you think you're doing?"

"What the hell was that."

"What is he doing

or what are you doing?"

Like, "What!"

Oh, it's so funny.

(film rolling)

- [Joe] And Ronnie's other assignment,

was to be Keith's buddy,

a buddy he could play with,

'cause that's where the ideas come from,

with acoustic guitars.

(mellow guitar strumming)

- And there'd be beautiful girls

and Keith and I would
forget that they were there,

'cause 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,

he ain't even said hello."

Like, "I'll be right there,
I've just got to do this."

I think the music was so powerful

that it just overrode everything.

- [Narrator] It's an obsession
that started at a young age.

- [Ronnie] 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 mamma don't allow ♪

♪ I'm gonna play that music any old how ♪

♪ Mama don't allow no
washboard played in here ♪

(Ronnie vocalizing)

And then you take off into a solo.

You'd have to do a
12-bar solo on your own.

And it was like, "Oh, my God."

It was like the camera's on me.

And then I'd try my luck
on the comb and paper

and I'd try and play the trumpet.

- [Charlie] He's a good
drummer as well actually,

a maniac type.

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

Suddenly he turns up with a cornet.

Then he was going to
be a saxophone player,

had to put up with him walking about

honking all over the place.

- [Don] Ronnie Wood is
one of the most inspired,

brilliant musicians,

I've ever encountered.

You can put any instrument in his hands.

- [Chuck] I love the fact
that Ronnie is the catalyst.

He's the guy that can bring it altogether,

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.

I'm too busy learning and going like,

"Okay, this needs a pedal steel guitar,

I'll learn how to play it."

- [Don] 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 gonna 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 ♪
- [Keith] We cha-cha and off.

- Keith, rub your face against mine,

I forgot to put make-up on.

Hi, Peter.
- Yeah, sure.

- [Jane] I think Keith had
a friendship with Ronnie,

more so than he had
with Mick or with Brian.

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

- [Mick J] Anyone going to go with Keith,

there's always gonna be a problem there.

- It's true, Ronnie. Look.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] 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.

- [Reporter] Can you
tell us what happened?

- If I could I would,

but I just don't believe it.

(indistinct chatter)

- The police observed the
car swerving on the road

and the police stopped him as a result.

- We stopped in a roadside café

and Keith and I were in the bathroom,

high and stuff for a couple of hours.

And people had reported this,

"These two guys still haven't come out."

In those little hick towns
it can cause a big stir.

When the police came in,

and we were juggling
different kinds of dope

and different kinds of smoke,

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

- [Keith] EMG is everything must go.

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

Let's smoke a bit

and then open a window

and chuck the rest of the stash out.

It's a rule.

Toss it all.

EMG, everything must go.

- The police have been
very good to us here

and they've treated the group with respect

and been very courteous to us.

And 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 the window.

So by the time we got there they said,

"Right, we're looking in there."

I said, "Well, you won't find anything."

'Cause it had all gone.

And then we were in the
courtroom, unbelievable.

The whole town came out.

We took over the courtroom.

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

and we had the gavel.

We were swapping.

We were doing autographs

and swapping hats with people and stuff.

- [Slash] All the shit
that we take for granted

when we're touring.

And all that red carpet shit in 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.

Nobody wanted them around,

they were dirty,

they did drugs.

- Public Enemy No.1 in the
United States is drug abuse.

- [Slash] They went
totally against the grain

back in those days.

They were the fucking real deal.

- [Narrator] The drug-fueled
misadventures of the '75 tour

only sealed the bond
between Keith and Ronnie.

(audience cheering)

- [Keith] I started this
group with the Rolling Stones

with Brian Jones, a certain
kind of guitar player,

and we developed a sort of sound there.

Then came Mick Taylor, a
totally different guitar player.

We had to separate the
rhythm from the lead.

And then I start to work with Ronnie

and I'm thinking, "Oh,
man, this is the guy."

- [Jon] 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.

- [Narrator] Ronnie's ability

to play both rhythm and lead,

creates endless possibilities for Keith.

And their friendship
becomes part of their sound.

- [Chrissie] You know,
you still think of Ronnie

as the new guy,

and I'm sure that it'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.

- [Charlie] 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.

(Charlie laughs)

(mellow rock music)

- We are the ax men and we cometh.

(audience cheering)

- [Bernard] 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.

- [Stewart] 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.

- [Bernard] They become
one person with four arms.

They are weaving this guitar web.

- The ancient art of weaving,

it 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 over-indulgence.

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

you have an early form of weaving.

- [Lisa] 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' guise,

and so they are free enough

to not care about making what
would be considered a mistake

with normal human beings.

(mellow rock music)

- We have a knack of

if one goes this way,

the other one will slide in this way.

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

we don't even look at each other.

If I wanna take the solo,

I'll take it, right.

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

- [Journalist] Really, you
leave it as late as that?

- Oh, yeah.

- [Journalist] 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.

- [Bernard] The beauty of the
Stones is that you never know.

They're always walking a tightrope.

Expect the unexpected.

- [Narrator] But that high-wire 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,

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.

- [Narrator] But off-stage
some start to refer to Ronnie

as the sorcerer's apprentice.

- I think sorcerer's apprentice
is quite a compliment

because I was, in a way,

I was being broken in to
a really dangerous ground

where people really were dying

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

We used to party heavy.

There was that whole series of decades

where we were all really high.

Even in our most spaced out days,

there was like a little
switch that would go,

"Okay, I'm gonna 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, the top of it,

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

- [Narrator] 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.

- [Narrator] Freebasing crack cocaine

became a dangerous obsession
in the L.A. music scene

in the late 1970s.

- [Ronnie] 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."

- [Narrator] But within a few years,

freebasing becomes an epidemic.

- [Newsreader] Crack cocaine,

it's as innocent-looking as candy,

but it's turning our
cities into battle zones.

- Then it got to the point
where it wasn't funny anymore.

It's just that getting high
with that pipe was frightening,

you'd do anything for it.

When it came to freebasing,

like this is nuts.

It had to stop.

(audience cheering)

- [Narrator] 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 a very real prospect

of his side man being left behind,

Keith makes an offer.

- There was some problems with Ronnie.

"I'll cover it and leave it at that."

Because to me, Ronnie's
now a Rolling Stone,

I need that man like I need breathing.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] The '81 tour starts well,

but 10 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 in saying,

"He's doing the stuff up there."

And he'd promised me he wouldn't

because I'd been guaranteeing
that he wouldn't.

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

- I was just up there getting high

in the way he didn't like it,

he didn't agree with the pipe.

(upbeat rock music)

And he thought I had another woman.

Because he's terribly moral.

- I flew into a rage

and sort of zoomed through the hotel.

- There's a whole posse of
people going round 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 cunt." Bam. (laughs)

- So, I gave him some back.

- We all fall into Ronnie's room.

He tries to land one on me,

the couch goes over.

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 there,

they're playing some game on the floor.

And I went, "Will you look
at me, I'm covered in blood."

And they just sort of went like,

"Okay. Right, it's your move."

(upbeat rock music)

- [Bernard] 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.

(audience cheering)

- [Narrator] 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.

- [Charlie] Mick and
Keith stuck up for Ronnie

through a lot.

When Ronnie was drinking
as like we all were,

but Ronnie was more,

as 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 wanna do it?"

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

He said, "What about tomorrow?"

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

That was my first rehab.

(guitar strumming)

- [Charlie] He had so many goes

at kicking whatever it was, drinking.

I mean he must have
had so many counselors.

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.

Well, your body is saying give me some,

but I can't handle it anymore.

Which is the beginning
of me seeing the light.

- [Mick J] 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.

(mellow guitar strumming)

- 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 a big mistake
'cause you can't have just one.

- [Narrator] But in 2010 Ronnie
finally gets clean, age 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.

(audience cheering)

- And now Keith Richards is
gonna sing for you "Little T&A".

(audience cheering)
(upbeat rock music)

♪ She's my little rock 'n' roll, oh ♪

♪ Oh, she's my little rock 'n' roll ♪

- [Narrator] 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.

- [Journalist] Keith, tell me a little bit

about your relationship with Mick.

- Um.

- [Journalist] You're
celebrating the 25th anniversary

of the band.

- Yeah, I have 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,

that's fantastic, I left them alone.

I thought if you can get on this well,

you've known each other from
four and now you're both 80.

I mean that's an amazing...
(Keith laughs)

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

- [Kenney] Ronnie's a great
mediator between the two.

He notices frictions and things,

he likes to heal the wounds.

Ronnie's always been
emotionally sensitive.

Ronnie doesn't like
confrontation, I don't think,

he don't like aggro.

- There's all kinds of
girlfriend/management rumors,

people putting their spoke in saying,

"He said this about you."

You have to let all that ride.

You can't be affected by all that.

- Bill, come in a little bit.

- [Narrator] The band had
been together for 60 years.

But there were moments when
the Stones came very close

to breaking up.

- Yeah, there had been a couple of spots

where it was quite possible.

There was a possibility, I suppose,

when 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 brother, I love yer.

(Keith laughs)

- [Narrator] 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".

- Remember tempo because it's
the second only on the album,

it's love.

(guitar strumming)

- Hold it down. Let's take it easy.

We ain't trying to cut a track now.

All we're trying to do,

is keep an idea on tap.

- [Narrator] This time,

even Ronnie isn't able
to lighten the mood.

- [Bernard] When I got there it was bad.

It was bad.

- Stop passing the buck, Wood.

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

- [Journalist] Do you have the desire

to go back on tour for a while?

- I'd 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.

- [Journalist] Right.

- I mean, I think it's a little bit...

The relationship's a little bit fragile,

and I think to go on the road
that would show on stage.

- Okay.

- [Bernard] I've heard
them have arguments.

I could hear them
screaming through the door.

- Yeah, there was 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 gonna make up this time.

- [Narrator] The Stones are
off the road indefinitely.

Those around the band wonder

if this might finally
be the end of it all.

- [Journalist] 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 it's...

I mean you don't do a gig like this

without having fights occasionally.

This one just happens
to pop out into public.

- [Narrator] It's another
moment of destiny for Ronnie.

- I've got to keep this institution going.

I've got to act now.

So, I rang up Mick and I had said,

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

And he said, "Yeah, I would."

And so I prepared the ground,

and I said, "Okay."

- Before I know it,

I'm calling Mick saying,

"Surely we could do something now",

you know what I mean.

And suddenly it all falls
back into place again.

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

I hate this,

with saying it all about the
authority and everything,

but it's as if some higher authority is,

"Ah-ah, Keith. In. Go on."

- That was a higher power moving there.

(audience cheering)

- [Announcer] Ladies and gentleman,

would you please welcome
the Rolling Stones!

(audience cheering)

- After a deep, cold
winter, spring will come.

- [Bernard] I think
they love him for that.

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.

It's like, "Get outta here, Ronnie!"

- [Ronnie] So, I've got to keep
this thing going in motion,

whatever it takes.

- [Narrator] 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.

- [Kenney] Did Ronnie save the Stones?

Of course he did. (laughs)

- [Joyce] No matter what's going on,

he'll say, "We'll be alright,
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.

♪ 'Cause the wild horses ♪

♪ Couldn't drag me away ♪

♪ 'Cause the Wild, wild horses ♪

♪ Couldn't drag me away ♪

- [Chrissie] Ronnie's the MSG.

He's the sticky stuff that's
keeping it altogether.

♪ 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.

- [Interviewer] Araldite.
- Araldite!

(Ronnie laughs)

♪ 'Cause the wild, wild horses ♪

♪ We'll ride them some day ♪

♪ Wild horses ♪

♪ Couldn't drag me away ♪

♪ Wild, wild horses ♪

♪ We'll ride them some day ♪

- Yeah!

(audience cheering)

Thank you.

(upbeat rock music)