Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood has told how he and the band were “gobsmacked” when Mick Jagger told them he was having a heart op.
Sir Mick, 75, was due back on stage in Chicago on Friday night, his first gig since he had a heart valve replaced in April.
Ronnie, 72, recalled how Mick had summoned Keith Richards, 75, Charlie Watts, 78, and himself to his hotel room to tell them about his surgery.
Ronnie said: “We knew it was something serious. I think he needed a bit of support, which we gave him. We thank our lucky stars.
“This was certainly a swerve, a left-hand ball, for us. We weren’t ready for this.”
As doctors ordered Mick to postpone gigs in the US and Canada to recover from the surgery, Ronnie said the band had rallied around their frontman.
But Ronnie, his wife and children had gone to the Turks and Caicos Islands in the West Indies along with Keith Richards and his family to “get over the shock”.
Ronnie said: “We just tried to stay positive and wait until the surgery had been done.
“When we got a big thumbs-up from that, and from Mick, we breathed a sigh of relief and were able to carry on with our lives again.”
The Rolling Stones have been busy rehearsing ahead of the gig in Chicago, the first night of their rescheduled No Filter Tour.
Speaking last week, Sir Mick said: “I’m feeling pretty good. Been rehearsing a lot lately in the last few weeks.
“This morning a bit of gym. Nothing crazy. Then I go into rehearsal with the band.”
The singer, who has eight children with five women, said he loved being on the road, but cutting touring to three or four months a year was “quite a good balance” for him.
He said: “I don’t do it 12 months a year. When you’re young, that’s what you do.”
He said fans could expect to hear “one or two” of their most popular tunes on the tour dates in the US and Canada.
Sir Mick said: “I don’t know how people would feel if you didn’t do any of them.”
