Boogie 4 Stu

'Boogie 4 Stu' is a tribute to pianist Ian Stewart (aka Stu), founding member of the Rolling Stones and later their long serving road manager. Pianist Ben Waters, who played with Stu's band Rocket 88 and is now in The A,B,C & D Of Boogie Woogie with Charlie Watts, is the man behind the project.

Starting from humble beginnings, the project snowballed as more and more of Ian Stewart's former friends and colleagues clamoured to be involved. Ben Waters plays throughout, with both Charlie Watts and Jools Holland on many tracks. Other guest appearances come from Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, PJ Harvey and Hamish Maxwell, but for many the highlight of the album will be the bluesy cover of Bob Dylan's "Watching The River Flow" featuring Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on guitars, Charlie Watts on drums and Bill Wyman on bass - a line-up that may be familiar to you (!), and the first time Wyman has recorded with his former colleagues since 1992. The album concludes with Ian Stewart and his band Rocket 88 performing the Sam Cooke track "Bring It On Home" live at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In recognition of Ian Stewart's death from a heart attack in 1985, the 'Boogie 4 Stu' album is raising funds for the British Heart Foundation with all the musicians involved giving their services free in memory of Stu. The front cover is a newly commissioned painting of Ian Stewart by Sir Peter Blake (who designed the art for The Beatles 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' album.