National Nitwit

(London) Unknown vandals defaced the grave marker of sometime Rolling Stones member Trevor Whittaker today, spraypainting derisive comments toward the late musician.

Friends and acquaintances of the so-called "Eighth Rolling Stone" said that they were shocked at the vandalism, which read: "WANKER! NOT A ROLLING STONE."

"Trev got the shit end of the stick all his life, and now this," muttered Stones drummer Charlie Watts. "I can't imagine someone thinking this was funny. Trev was a gentle soul, a kind man who always tried to improve himself and those around him. Plus, he was never without a good source for dope. You need that in a friend, you know - you have to surround yourself with people who can score a half-ounce at a moment's notice, and Trevor Whittaker was that man."

A multi-instrumentalist, Whittaker sometimes filled in for Stones members on tour, and performed on a number of the band's recordings. Former bassist Bill Wyman said that Whittaker had other important duties.

"He never failed to help me find the youngest groupies," Wyman recalled. "There'd be some 15-year-old budgie swinging around, and he'd always send her to me, never bagging her for himself. Regular standup guy, that Trevor. Shame about his grave and all."

Whittaker: Disrepected even after death

Guitarist Keith Richards said that Whittaker went "above and beyond" the call of duty in his day-to-day dealings with the band, even for an unofficial Stone.

"One night the cops raided my flat, and they found a couple of grams of smack. I thought I was completely fucked," he admitted. "Trev steps up, tells the copper it was his, and took the rap for me. That's a true friend, although I felt bad about the whole prison bitch thing he had to go through. Some blokes just never seem to get a break. That was Trev."

Labels: Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones, Trevor Whittaker

(London) While most of the current and former members of the Rolling Stones - official and unofficial - arrived for the funeral of Trevor Whittaker today, there was one noteworthy absence: Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger.

Attendees at the closed-casket service of the so-called "Eighth Rolling Stone" said that Jagger likely is still angered about a 1974 incident that caused Whittaker to sever all ties to the Stones.

"Trev had nailed this bird, see, that Mick was all about," said Keith Richards, cigarette dangling from his lower lip. "And as Mick was always big on being the 'first in,' well, he got a bit cheesed and took a swing at Trev. It was all rather stupid, really, but that was how we were back then."

A multi-instrumentalist, Whittaker occasionally filled in for Stones members on tour, and performed on a number of the band's recordings. Richards said that Whittaker's contributions have long been overlooked by the music industry.

"He was always in the background, never really comfortable in the spotlight, but he always seemed to be the bloke who could break a logjam," he said. "Take 'Get Off of My Cloud,' for example. We were playing it in the key of C, and having trouble getting it to work, when Trev walks by and says: 'Play it in fucking E. That's more in Mick's range.' So he grabs an Ovation and nails it. Dead to rights. That's what Trevor Whittaker meant to the Stones, and fuck Mick for not showing up today, the bloody div."

Jagger: "Unavailable" for funeral

A spokesperson for Jagger said that the singer was out of the country and did not hear of the funeral until it was too late. Richards took issue with the statement.

"We all knew Trev was in bad shape, he'd been in the hospital for two weeks. That was the height of disrepect," he said, of Jagger's absence. "Ever since 'Sir Mick' donned the fucking royal coronet and sported the old knight's ermine he's been more full of his own arse then ever before. I'm just glad everyone else showed up to see Trev off."

Labels: Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones, Trevor Whittaker

Whittaker (far left)in 1964 with the Rolling Stones on the set of Top Beat

(London) British musician and sometime member of the Rolling Stones Trevor Whittaker died today of pneumonia. The unofficial "Eighth Stone" was 64 years of age.

Whittaker was active in the London rhythm and blues music scene that spwaned the Stones and many other sixties rock acts. A multi-instrumentalist, Whittaker occasionally filled in for members on tour, and performed on a number of Stones recordings.

"He always chose the songs he wanted to play on," Keith Richards remembered. "He chose. And if he didn’t like a song, he would just up and walk away from it, saying 'I’m not playing this, it’s got Japanese chords and shit in it.' Trev was a regular stickler about these things."

Whittaker in an undated picture

Piano player Ian Stewart is often credited as being the "sixth Stone," while multi-instrumentalist Nicky Hopkins garnered the label "seventh Stone." Whittaker - less known than his unofficial compatriots - often "carried the water" for the Stones, said Richards.

"That guy," recalled Richards, “had the biggest damned heart that I’ve ever known. A guy that hangs around a band, does everything they ask, and then gets kicked out of it, and then says, 'I'll drive the bus' or 'I'll get the fucking coffee.' I don’t think it was ever obvious but he was the best of us all. He made the fucking band what it was and still is."

Labels: Rolling Stones, Trevor Whittaker