Bill Wyman turns OAP

Bill Wyman celebrated his 65th birthday with his family

Former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman can draw his pension for the first time on Wednesday, after hitting the grand old age of 65.

He becomes one of the first great British rockers to reach pensionable age.

It means the thrice-married bass player will be eligible for a concessionary bus pass.

Bill Wyman left the Rolling Stones in 1992

His former band members and Beatle Sir Paul McCartney are catching up but have yet to gain OAP status.

The ex-rocker is said to be celebrating his landmark birthday on holiday with his young family.

Notoriety

He is married to his third wife Suzanne Accosta and the couple have three children Katie, seven, Jessica, five and Matilda, three.

Wyman joined the Rolling Stones after replacing the original bassist in 1962 and helped the band achieve worldwide fame from the mid 1960s, often rivalling The Beatles.

Hits from those days included It's All Over Now, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, and Let's Spend The Night Together.

But the band's notoriety was as much for the off-stage wild antics of its members as it was for their music.

Wyman was no exception and among the bad boy incidents was an episode in which he, singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Brian Jones were all arrested for urinating in public.

In later years Wyman's off-stage love life made more headline material.

Bill Wyman's former Stones' colleagues are not yet at pensionable age

His marriage to a teenage Mandy Smith, when she was 19 and he was 53, kept the tabloids busy in the late 1980s.

Musically, Wyman first branched out with his own solo career while still with the Stones.

No regrets

In 1981 he had a surprise hit with the bizarre Je Suis A Rock Star, which reached number 14 in the UK charts.

Wyman eventually left the group in 1992, after 31 years and later said he had no regrets about departing.

He continues to tour, these days with a 12-piece band called the Rhythm Kings, performing covers and his own material.

Sir Paul McCartney is still writing and performing at 59

He is quoted as saying he wanted to keep on playing "until he dropped".

He has also turned to writing and his book Blue Odyssey, chronicles a personal history of the blues and the musicians who first inspired him.

Youngster

His former Stones colleagues, once famed for their hell-raising image, are approaching pensionable age.

Jagger, 58, has appeared on the front cover of the magazine for over-50s, Saga.

Meanwhile guitarist Keith Richards is 57 years old, drummer Charlie Watts is 60, and Ronnie Wood is 54.

Among other 1960s rock and pop stars soon to receive their pension books include former Beatles Sir Paul McCartney, 59, and Ringo Starr, 61 and The Who's Pete Townsend who is 56 years old.

Wyman reaches 65 years of age ahead of 1950s favourite Tommy Steele who will reach pensionable age in December.

But he is still a youngster compared to artists Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, at 75 and 74 respectively, both of whom still perform live.