As
the years have passed with increasing speed, there is little fresh to say about
Keith Richards. He has surpassed his status as fair game for the British
tabloids and survived, and in the new century has emerged with considerable grace.
His autobiography was published five years ago, and it has taken that long for
me to get around to reading it.
It
is a well written book. It is obvious which passages were written by Keith himself,
and which have the added gloss of James Fox. Fox is skilful in that he does not
impose his own style on the book but allows the language and unique viewpoint
of Keith to shine through. He must have faced a major challenge for some of the
sections, especially those that deal so well with the important relationships
of Keith’s life. Each one, with the possible exception of the writing about
Anita Pallenberg, is spot on.
It
is not light reading, and in paperback comes in at six hundred pages. There is
much for Keith to say.
Some
crucial insights relate to his early life. Like many musicians he was
influenced by family, and his grandfather Gus seems to have played an important
part in his early development. His mother’s family are described as free
spirited and open minded, which may have been an advantage to young Keith when
growing up in the stifling mid-1950s in the London suburbs.
I
would like to know whether the sensitivity that Keith shows when writing about
former relationships is his doing or the effect of having a collaborator. I
would like to think that it is Keith who is kind to the majority of the
significant number of women in his life. He certainly describes several
(including an early admirer in pre-Stones Kent called Haleema, and Ronnie
Spector) with warmth and generosity. He is less gentle when describing the
breakdown of his long relationship with Anita Pallenberg, at a time when drugs
were consuming both of them. He is equally brutal earlier when he describes the
downfall of Brian Jones.
A
large chunk of this book is dedicated to another great love of Keith Richards.
He analyses his relationship with drugs, and in particular heroin, with clarity
and frankness. He gives little snippets of survival techniques, and as a
reformed character and long-time survivor he is in a good position to warn
others of the dangers.
Keith
writes with pride about the major successes of his life, including his son
Marlon. As a seven year old the son accompanied the father on tour in the USA
and acted as a gentle go-between when Keith was slow to respond to the demands
of turning up on stage.
Keith’s
many friendships give an insight into his generous spirit. He is loved and
respected in one of the tougher neighbourhoods of Jamaica. He lost a great
friend when Gram Parsons got his drugs wrong at the start of the seventies. He
had strong bonds with Etta James and the saxophonist Bobby Keys. Johnny Depp
and Tom Waits are close friends. Perhaps most charmingly of all, he has
developed a late friendship with Paul McCartney, which began when they both
retreated to Parrot Cay in the early noughties.
One
friendship looms over all others. Most of the success of the Stones comes from
the Jagger / Richards writing partnership. More than fifty years have passed,
and what was once a firm friendship soured, seemed over forever, and started to
reform as they both approached old age. At the end of his book, Richards writes
with warmth about his old friend.
I
am glad Keith made it so far and was able to remember everything. His book is a
jigsaw of wonderful insights into the madness of the Rolling Stones. Keith has revealed
himself and done himself many favours in the process.
And
he didn’t really snort his father, but explains how the misunderstanding came
about.
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