Ex-Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman's cars auctioned

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33291575

Version 0 of 1.

Two cars driven by Bill Wyman to and from studios where The Rolling Stones recorded some of their most successful albums have been sold at auction.

A 1971 Citroen Maserati SM fetched £61,980 and a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250 S went for £20,700 at the Goodwood sale.

Wyman drove the cars to studios during the recording of albums including Beggars Banquet in 1968, Let It Bleed in 1969 and 1972's Exile on Main St.

He said he wanted the cars to go to people who would love them as he had.

Before the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, Wyman, 78, said he owned the very first Mercedes to have blacked-out windows.

"Everyone was getting black windows - Mick Jagger and Brian Jones did in their Minis.

"Mercedes had never done black windows though, so I had to contribute to the research on how to make them. It cost me about £350.

"Then, of course, I got stopped all the time. The police usually just wanted to see who was in it."

The windows were removed in 1997 when the vehicle was restored.

Bassist Wyman, who left The Rolling Stones in 1993, drove the Mercedes in London from 1966 to 1969 and to Olympic Studios when band were recording Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed.

He drove the Maserati when he was living in the south of France from 1971 to 1982, frequently taking it to Paris where the Stones recorded Some Girls, Emotional Release and Tattoo You.

"I'd drive it to Keith Richards' place, miles away in Cap Ferrat, to record the Exile on Main Street album, and I'd drive to Paris and back, an eight-hour journey each way," he said.

"It was so easy to drive."

The retired rocker hit the headlines on Thursday when he hit out at the wording on a plaque at Dartford station that commemorates a chance meeting between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards before they joined the Stones.