Bill Wyman doesn't think conscription would be a "bad idea" for young people.
Bill Wyman thinks young people should enlist in the military
The 87-year-old rock star took up National Service with the Royal Air Force in the late 1950s before finding fame with the Rolling Stones and explained that his time in the military taught him how to "respect" others at a young age.
He is quoted by The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column as saying: "I think it would not be a bad idea. When you are in your early teens as a boy, you are a bit of a loose cannon sometimes, and you learn to respect people when you go into the military. I wasn’t afraid to go into National Service. I spent two years in Germany and the amazing thing was that was where I heard the beginnings of rock ’n’ roll."
The 'Ruby Tuesday' rocker has documented his time in service in his new memoir 'Billy In The Wars' and explained that he will always be "thankful" for those years because otherwise his rock and roll career may never have come to fruition.
He said: "I was a bit ahead of the time. I went out and bought a guitar and formed a little skiffle group.When I came out, I put a band together and that is where my musical career began.
“I have to be thankful for being called up because otherwise that would never have happened.”
Bill previously recalled that during World War II when he was growing up, he thought it was an "amazing time" because of the community spirit he witnessed as those around him rallied together to get through the tough years.
He said: "Everybody being so good to each other, helping each other. In our street, you could walk into anybody's house. Everybody helped everyone else. They shared food, they shared clothes. It was amazing and if anybody got ill, they would make a collection all round the street."
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