Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings

YOU MIGHT imagine that travelling the world in a top band would be every musician's dream.

But for former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, it all got to be a bit too much.

"That was one of the reasons I left the Stones," he says of his globetrotting days.

And his current band, The Rhythm Kings, is a decidedly more low-key affair.

"We haven't got three articulated lorries worth of equipment and we're not away for months on end touring South America, Japan or Australia with an entourage of 50 people. It's just the guys in the band and four crew members in the back of a bus - the way it was when we started. Which is great, because we're all friends, just playing great music together."

And Bill is under no illusion that The Rhythm Kings will bring him the kind of success that he enjoyed with the Stones.

"There are no record companies, no singles having to be pushed, no video shoots," he explains.

"It's not a career anymore, that's the beauty of it. None of us are in it for the money but that was never the idea, we just focus on all that's great about being in a band."

But that's not to say that he doesn't have some high-profile fans.

"Charlie Watts has been to a few shows and loves the band. I got a message from Mick Jagger the other day saying he didn't realise how great the band was," he says.

"I was talking to Pete Townsend recently who said he was jealous of the band. And I remember when I asked George Harrison to play on Love Letters, he said he didn't know why I was asking him to join because I already had two of the greatest guitarists in the world in the band!

"When people say that you tend to think you're doing something right."

Bill's former band-mates might like The Rhythm Kings, but what of his old fans?

"It's been nothing but positive," he says of the reaction of Rolling Stones fans.

"I've had loads of e-mails and letters from people saying how much they love the band and there are some really positive messages on the fans' websites and magazines.

"Maybe they respect the fact I have tried something completely different," he muses.

And The Rhythm Kings are completely different. Stones fans who go to their gigs hoping to hear old hits from Bill's days with Jagger and co will be disappointed.

"I never felt any pressure to play Stones material because at first we were just doing this for ourselves, it didn't really matter what anyone else thought," he explains.

"It's difficult when you come out of a big band, there's an expectation. When Ronnie Wood does stuff, it's a mixture of The Stones and The Faces, for instance, which is fine, but that was never my intention."

So, how big does Bill see the Rhythm Kings becoming?

"It's difficult to say, but I wouldn't want to get a lot bigger than we are now.

"The beauty of this band is that we can normally get back home after shows or if we're away it's only for a night or two," he says, proving that even if you are the most hardened rock and roller, there's still no place like home.

Bill Wyman and The Rhythm Kings will be at Salisbury City Hall on Monday and The Anvil, Basingstoke on Tuesday. Salisbury City Hall: performance: 8pm. Tickets: £22.50. Box office: 01722 327676. The Anvil: performance: 7.45pm. Tickets: from £20. Box office: 01256 844244.