Ian Stewart Born July 18, 1938

Biography

Like Pete Best in The Beatles, Ian Stewart was pushed out of The Rolling Stones just as they reached the cusp of adulation and success. Unlike Pete Best, it had nothing to do with musical ability, and unlike Pete Best, there was no getting rid of 'Stu' as easily as that.

It was Andrew Loog Oldham who forced him out, claiming that six band members were too many, and that Stu's face didn't fit anyway. It's true that the lantern-jawed Scotsman, who looked more like a bouncer than a performer, was a different kind of animal to the skinny, shaggy-haired, pretty boy characters around him. It's hard to see how he would have fitted into the rebellious visual concept that Oldham crafted for the band as a counterpoint to The Beatles' clean-cut look.

Stu himself went on to admit that Oldham's instinct was right, and that his talent for publicity and image was essential in the building of The Rolling Stones myth. Stu also went on to say that he wouldn't piss on on Andrew Loog Oldham if he were on fire; which probably resonates more with fans who know the esteem in which Mick, Keith and Charlie held and continue to hold Stu.

Ian accepted the role of road manager and session pianist as an alternative to full band membership. In addition to maintaining keyboard duties in the studio, Stu found himself loading and unloading gear, driving the group to gigs, replacing guitar strings and setting up Charlie Watts' drums.

And he stuck with it.

The Rolling Stones grew in popularity; changed musical direction and found themselves in a tripped-out psychedelic cul-de-sac; came back to their blues rock roots and hit the big time *properly*; and became the biggest band in the world in the early seventies. Stu was there all along, an undisputed part of the band, if not always in the front line.

He played on every Stones album between 1964 and 1983, with the single exception of Beggars Banquet, sometimes adding marimbas and percussion to his core keyboard skill, which were augmented by some other great players, notably Jack Nitzsche, Nicky Hopkins and Billy Preston.

His musical credibility in the company of these legends of jazz/rock/pop piano makes clear his talent on the instrument - as does the list of credits he accumulated working on side projects with luminaries like Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Steve Winwood and Led Zeppelin, the title of whose 'Boogie With Stu' from Physical Graffiti tells its own story.

Always the down-to-earth, no-bullshit human being - as opposed to a Rock Star/Glamorous Entourage cartoon character - Stu was adored and respected by the band right up until his shockingly sudden and young death, at the age of 47, in 1985.

When the Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame four years later, they requested Stewart's name be included in their citation, final proof positive that Ian Stewart was, despite Andrew Loog Oldham's cruel, acute take on the demands of teen and musical fashion in the early sixties, very much a member of the band.