NEED TO KNOW
- Ronnie Wood has fond memories of spending time with Tina Turner backstage
- The “Proud Mary” singer toured with the Rolling Stones several times throughout their respective careers
- Wood called her a “beautiful spirit”
Ronnie Wood still thinks Tina Turner is simply the best.
The Rolling Stones guitarist reflected on his life and career in an interview with Irish chef Clodagh McKenna for the Daily Mail‘s You Magazine, published on Oct. 11.
When asked who his favorite celebrity that he drank with backstage was, he mentioned the “lovely” Bob Dylan. “The cowboy hat he gifted me on stage is on display in my café in Ireland [Yer Father’s Yacht],” he recalled.
Ultimately, he landed on the Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll, whose real name was Anna Mae Bullock, as his “favorite.”
“I was the only one she’d let visit her dressing room straight after a show,” Wood, 78, said. “And she’d say, ‘Come here!’ and give me a huge sweaty hug. We stayed friends and she came to watch us on tour in [Europe] shortly before she died [in May 2023].”
The Rolling Stones, made up of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the late drummer Charlie Watts, were on their No Filter Tour from 2017 until 2022, and then embarked on their SIXTY Tour in 2022 throughout Europe.
The musician mentioned that the “What’s Love Got to Do with It” singer met his twin daughters Alice and Gracie, along with his wife, Sally. “[She] couldn’t believe how my life had changed and I’d become a family man,” Wood added. “She was a beautiful spirit and I loved her.”
Wood also mentioned that he knew her ex-husband, Ike Turner, but wasn’t a fan of his. “I knew Ike, too, but didn’t like him quite as much. I lent him $100 in the 60s and never got it back.”
Turner, along with her ex-husband, who died in 2007, supported the Rolling Stones during the UK leg of their 1966 tour. Three years later, they opened for the British rock band on the North American leg of their 1969 tour.
She also opened for three of the Rolling Stones’ concerts while they were touring in November 1981, joining them onstage for “Honky Tonk Women.”
The Stones’ frontman Jagger, 82, and Turner famously performed together at the 1985 Philadelphia Live Aid concert at Veterans Stadium, singing “State of Shock” and “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It).” Jagger also famously tore off Turner’s skirt while onstage during their set.
Wood paid tribute to Turner when she died in 2023 following “a long illness.”
“🙏💕God bless you Tina, the Queen Of Rock And Soul and a dear friend to our family. Love and prayers to all of Tina’s family, friends and loved ones,” he wrote on X, sharing photos of himself and Turner through the years.
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