It was Ted who gave the future Rolling Stone his first professional gig in 1957 - playing washboard in his Original London Skiffle Group at the Regal cinema in Uxbridge. Signing up at Ealing School of Art in 1963, Ronnie Wood started his first rock and roll band - The Thunderbirds, later shortened to The Birds - with school friend Tony Monroe. The Birds built a following through live gigs, but they never made much money.
After a brief spell with The Creation - an influential pop art band with a massive following in Europe, Ronnie Wood joined The Jeff Beck group in 1968, where he met Rod Stewart. In late 1968, Ronnie Wood moved on with Rod to form The Faces.
Ronnie Wood first saw the Rolling Stones at the Richmond Jazz Festival back in 1964. As he was going inside, he saw a van open up and the five of them tumbled out of the back. "I knew I belonged in that band" he says, "I've always been a believer in fate. I counted on it happening... I just had to wait it out."
By 1975 Mick Taylor wanted to leave the Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were looking for a replacement. Ronnie Wood flew to Munich to audition. He got the job and despite more recent jibes about their ages, thinks he and the Rolling Stones have only improved over the years.
As his musical career has progresses Ronnie Wood has continued his passion for painting and drawing. His subjects range from immediate colleagues in the rock and roll band, to other famous rock and roll musicians he has admired, known and has sometimes played with. Family, friends, animals and of course the self-portraits perhaps show a more private side.
