Bernard: Well the first time for me was intimidating. It was really intimidating. The first time, I was so new. It was a strange time in the Rolling Stone planet. The gravity pull in the Rolling Stone Planet is incredible. Once you’re in the planet you may be able to fly in the clouds, and up in the sky, but to get out of that gravitational pull and get to a whole other orbit is freaking hard! It got a little more comfortable when my relationships with them became tighter and we got a little closer. The only time it might have felt uncomfortable for me or for us is if Mick and Keith are bumping heads at all you don’t want to be around that. I’m sure it makes everyone a little uneasy so I just step out of it. It’s so good that those days are over. Those bumping head days are over! Those bumping head days are behind them! The last few years have just been beautiful. On the tour before last... One of the most memorable things I will never forget was…
Bernard Fowler , Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Darryl Jones Photo Credit : Jini Sachse
Seeing Mick and Keith onstage looking at each other and having a laugh about what’s happening. They were looking at each other. It almost brought a tear to my eyes to see that. Up until that point I had never seen that. I had never seen that kind of affection shared between them. I have never seen them interact like they do now as a musical family. This is why they are the greatest band in the world. They have been able to figure out, today I don’t like you, yesterday you didn’t like me, and vice versa. That shit happens, but they know that what they have created, this Rolling Stone world that they created, is bigger than either one of them. And they have been able to put the shit aside and get on with it. Even at their worst time, it may have been very fragile, but they were able to put their shit aside and get on with it. That’s why they are the greatest Rock n Roll Band in the world. Next year will be their 60th Anniversary. It’s never happened before. And it will never happen again! Kim: That is incredible! It goes to show, if you can keep your band together, that’s what creates the magic. Bernard: That’s right. That’s right! Kim: Bernard you have played in front of millions of fans. What is the feeling when you get onstage in front of that many people ? Bernard: Well, right before I get out there I’m hit with a bit of nerve. Maybe it’s just nervous energy. But once I get out there and open my mouth and I sing that first note it all starts to settle, and now I’m home. If the band is cooking, cause I’m only as good as who I’m with. If the band is cooking, oh, now the band is made perfectly. Now I can just lay in it! Kim: That’s Awesome!!! That’s Awesome!!! What are some other most memorable highlights of your 46
career playing with the Stones? Bernard: There are quite a few, but if I had to pick one the most memorable would be…If I had to pick just one of the most memorable it would be Brazil. Cuba was big. Cuba was big, and I’ll never forget that either. But if I have to pick one it would be Brazil. 1.5 Million people as far as the eye can see! I could not see the end of the people. The streets those few days were so crowded that they had to build a bridge from the hotel over the street to the stage. That is the only way we were able to get on the Stage. If they had not built that bridge there was no way! There were that many people! Kim: Was this in São Paulo, Brazil ? Bernard: No, it wasn’t São Paulo, it was Rio de Janeiro! Lots of Hotels there. The audience as far as the eyes could see! Millions of people. I have never seen people like that. The ocean! The amount on ships out on boats! It was breath taking. Every New Years people gather at that site. That’s part of a ritual that they do. But a concert? To bring that many people out? One act? One act? This was not Rocking Rio. This was a Rolling Stones show! I don’t think they get that many people at Rocking Rio! That Rolling Stones Show - 1.5 million people. As far as the eye could see! And I am gob smacked! Kim: I just have to ask one little question about Cuba: Was that an emotional experience knowing that most Cubans have never seen The Rolling Stones in their entire lives. Bernard: Yes, but I have to say that the year before that my self and Darryl Jones were there. We were playing in an outfit called the Dead Daisies and it was just the year before. We August/September 2021
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