What do you get a multi-millionaire who has everything? The answer, according to Ronnie Wood's wife Jo, is a £40,000 gipsy caravan. The Rolling Stones guitarist, who turns 60 next week, woke up on Thursday to find the surprise early birthday gift parked on his front drive. "Ronnie rolled out of house in the morning and burst out laughing when he saw it," a source told The Sun. "He's delighted with the caravan. He has Romany gipsy roots and always said he wanted one. He was joking that he'll have to go on tour this summer in it with Jo."
Born on June 1, 1947, in Hillingdon, Middlesex, Ronnie was the first member of his family to enter the world on dry land. "All of my family, right back to the 1700s - as far as I've traced them so far - have been on the barges, as navigators or helmsmen," he has said in the past. His father Arthur, who was born on a barge called The Antelope, stayed in touch with the barge people and used to take his young son fishing on the canals.
The rocker's gipsy beginnings will no doubt feature in his autobiography which is due for release before Christmas. Unlike his band-mate Mick Jagger, who once turned down a seven-figure advance for his life story as he claimed to be unable to remember much of significance, the guitarist's agent promises: "Ronnie remembers everything."
He started work in April 2002 on the book which is expected to bring readers up to speed on his 30 years with the Stones, his time with Rod Stewart and The Faces, plus his recent painting career. "It is going to be pretty juicy," says one source, "not one of these rock books that sits unopened on your coffee table."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
