Ronnie Wood played his first full concert as a member of the Rolling Stones on June 1, 1975, in Baton Rouge.

It was his 28th birthday.

At 71, he's now the longest-running Rolling Stones guitarist not named Keith Richards, with whom he's enjoyed an uncanny rapport that predates his having signed on to replace Mick Taylor.

But more on that later.

Wood is on the phone to talk about the Rolling Stones' No Filter Tour, which goes on sale this week.

"I'm looking forward to this next adventure," he says, quickly adding that he never gets a real sense of how things will go until they've had their first rehearsal.

"The whole vibe is set for the tour at rehearsal," he says. "And nine times out of 10, it’s a really good start. Once we get over all the hellos and catching up on the time we haven’t seen each other, it’s back to the grindstone and, hopefully, things come flooding back to us, all the arrangements and chords."

Last year, he told the Telegraph, “The Rolling Stones will never retire.”

He's always felt that way, he says, but especially now.

"After touring the U.K. and Europe this year," he recalls, "I thought, 'Oh well, maybe we’ll have a rest for a while.' And then you get your call-up papers. 'Do you fancy going to America?' 'Sure thing. Let’s go! It’s about time. It about time!”

He's in good spirits, laughing often as the interview creeps gently past the designated time slot. When it's pointed out this will be the Stones' first Phoenix-area concert since 2006, he responds with a joke about how long it's been since he's spent time in Cottonwood Tucson, a rehab clinic.

"It’ll bring back some special memories," he says with a laugh.

Among the topics he weighs in on are sobriety and cancer, the tour, how his time in the Faces with Rod Stewart compares to being in the Stones and an upcoming visit to Paris to talk new music with Mick Jagger.

Tickets for the Rolling Stones' May 7 concert at State Farm Stadium in Glendale go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 30, at ticketmaster.com.

Q: Your latest album, “Blue & Lonesome,” was a collection of blues covers. How did you decide that would be the way to go and what do you think of it?

A: It was incredibly spontaneous, which we all love, especially me. I love going in the deep end, the surprise of the unknown and taking risks. That’s what the whole thing was. Blues is what we do anyway. But some of the songs I'd never played before. Some of them I’d never even heard. But I said, 'Well, just play me the song.' And once I’d heard the original for a reminder of the way it was when I was growing up – I hadn’t heard some of these songs for many years – I fell straight into it. We all did. It’s a wonderful togetherness we feel when we’re all getting back to the essentials and the basics.

Q: Do you see you guys doing another album of original material at some point?

A: Yeah, we’ve been hacking songs into shape. I’m gonna go off to Paris and see Mick next week and see what his latest thoughts are after he’s got together with Keith. It’s an ongoing thing of comparing what is on the cooker at the moment and some ideas we’ve had for years that we may embellish upon. It’s quite interesting building this new album. You can’t say there’s a title for it. The tracks haven’t actually been chosen yet.

Q: Do you think diving back into your roots will have an impact on this new one?

A: It was an incredibly successful album and incredibly enjoyable to make. So we’ll take some of that into the studio with this new originals album.

Q: You’ve been a Rolling Stone for more than 40 years. What were your thoughts as you entered that world, coming off the Faces? You obviously had your own thing going on.

A: Well, it was a highly polished ramshackle machine, you know? Compared to the Faces, which was just ramshackle, it was quite a change for me to get into an organization, you know. Because the Faces were anything but organized. So it was a lovely change for me, even though the challenge was incredible, the amount of songs in the back catalog that I had to learn.

Even though I’d listened to these songs, I’d never actually played most of them. So it was quite a challenge. I had to get together at Andy Warhol’s place in Montauk in ’75 just prior to going onstage on my birthday in Baton Rouge on June 1. That was the first live show we did, apart from the flatbed truck with “Brown Sugar” going down Fifth Avenue (laughs).

Q: Did you have to adapt your playing style much when you joined them?

A: Not really because we all share that blues and soul and riffing. You know, me and Keith had that – we were the riff brothers. That was more or less built in because when he came to work on my first album, “I’ve Got My Own Album to Do,” he didn’t intentionally come to work on it, actually. We had met at a club in London and he came back to my house and stayed for a month. We just hit it off (laughs). And then being in the Stones and joining them was just like a continuation of that vibe, because I’d known Mick as well on a social and partially musical level. So it was a natural coming together.

Q: You've said you wanted to be in the Stones as far back as the '60s, when you had the Birds going on. What was it about them that felt like a natural fit?

A: The way that they presented their music, the type of music, their choice of songs, the whole image. I thought, “That’s the kind of band I want to be."

Q: What was it like to step into Mick Taylor's role?

A: Mick being a good friend of mine, he always lacked confidence. I used to say, “C’mon, Mick, you can do it,. Don’t worry about it.” He’d say, “I can’t do this.“ I’d say, “There’s no such word as can’t. Get on with it. You’re brilliant.”

We still get on great. And his prowess on guitar was nothing short of genius. I loved his phrasing and everything. I thought, “How am I ever going to live up to that?” But you know, like I say, I always love a challenge and I stepped right up to the plate. It was very creative.

Q: Your first album as a Rolling Stone was “Black and Blue.” What do you think of that album?

A: Looking back, I really like that album, yeah. I have some very special memories and some special favorite songs on there.

Q: Do you have a favorite album you’ve done with the Stones?

A: Well, for spontaneity, I do love “Blue & Lonesome.” And I suppose that over the years, “Some Girls” has proven to be something of a milestone that I was happy enough to be involved in.

Q: You’ve been sober for nine years. Has that had an impact on touring for you?

A: Yeah. Yeah! Being clean and serene has definitely helped my attitude and clarity. I think that’s the magic word, being able to jam and still get loose but having the control of knowing exactly where I am and surprising myself with the amount that is still left to the gods. The amount that still comes out that I don’t know where it comes from. I’m still blessed with that kind of, “Wow, did I play that?! That’s really good.”

Q: You think that kind of spontaneity is something that the Stones have come to thrive on live?

A: Definitely. And I think it spreads into the audience. You know, they can tell and maybe if we goof and make some mistakes. They’re witnessing that particular goof at the gig. They're going, “Wow, I saw Ronnie hit a bum note” or “I saw Keith f--k up an intro or something. Wow! Brilliant!” I get lots of people saying, “Oh man, I couldn’t believe that beginning. We wondered what the hell it was!!” (laughs)

Q: There’s been talk lately – well, there’s always talk – about the possibility of a Faces reunion. Do you see that ever happening?

A: Well, I saw Rod last week, actually. I did a little Chuck Berry tribute gig last week at Ronnie Scott’s. And Rod turned up and he was diggin’ it in the audience but he had his leg in a cast. And then he appeared behind the piano and started singing “Sweet Little Rock & Roller.” (laughs). He was embarrassed because he had his leg in a cast. But we always stayed quite close, Rod and I. We’ve stayed in touch. So nothing would surprise me.

Q: You had a cancer scare last year. Is that anything you’d care to talk about?

A: Well, that was a gift in a way from some form of higher power. You know, I smoked for all those years, about five decades, and I thought, “I must have something going on.” And sure enough, it was no surprise when I found out it was in my left lung. But the thing is, it was contained there. There was a supernova burning away inside. I said, “Well, What can we do? Can we get it out?” They said, “What are you doing next Wednesday?” And I said, “C’mon. Let’s go.” Luckily it hadn’t spread anywhere else in the rest of my body. It just came out and I was up and running the next week. I consider myself very fortunate.

Q: Last year, you published a book of your paintings. Could you talk a little bit about the role that art has played in your life?

A: I’m actually painting right now. I’m in my country studio in the north of London. It’s a fabulous studio and I’m doing this whole new body of work – landscapes and abstracts. I’m really enjoying painting. It’s a great thing that keeps my head focused between tours. It’s a wonderful way of carrying on a creative thing between the music. I’ve also got a book of set lists that’s about to come out.

Q: Is there anything you look back on, at 71, with regret?

A: Not really. You can’t change the past, you know. You live through loss and move on. And then you get gifted – like I had the gift of my new wife Sally and our wonderful twin girls. It’s wonderful. And they’re such lovely little spirits. They come to soundcheck all the time and they love it. They’re so wonderful. So are my other kids. They’re really supportive and they turn out to see dad at work, still.

Q: Do any of your older kids play music?

A: Yeah, Jesse, my first-born. He’s in a band called Reef. I’m going up to guest with them next Saturday. They asked me to play a gig with them in London. Just one song. I said, “What do you want to play?" They said, “Would you please come and play (The Faces') ‘Stay With Me’ with us.” (laughs)

Q: Hey what was that Chuck Berry tribute all about?

A: A friend of mine, Ben Waters, he got together with Sally and said, 'What are you producing at the moment?' She said, 'There’s a vacancy at Ronnie Scott’s in November.' Ben said, “Do you think Ronnie would come and join me? Why don’t we do a tribute to Chuck Berry?” He plays just like Chuck’s piano player Johnnie Johnson. And I thought, “Hmm, that sounds good.” So I started with “Almost Grown” and “Back in the U.S.A.” And before I knew it, I had a whole repertoire. So I sang some. Imelda May sang some. It came out really wonderful. We did three gigs. And on the last night, Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck got up and we played a few together. Jeff Beck, I used to play bass with.

Q: So you’ve kept in touch with Jeff as well?

A: Yeah, we always meet up around Christmas.

Q: You mentioned how you and Keith hit it off right away. What do you think it is that keeps that chemistry alive?

A: I just think there’s no bulls—t. It’s a genuine relationship. We’ve been through a lot together and we’ve seen a lot. We’ve seen people come and go and we’re still plugging along there. We love it. I don’t know what we’re doing right but someone’s looking after us.

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