Age has not diminished Keith Richard’s image as Mr Rock & Roll – quite the reverse. The creased face, the wiry frame, the chaos of increasingly silvery hair, the eternal cigarette, the ever-present skull ring ... This, my favourite picture of Keith, was taken the day after I'd had an altercation with a French security man. As I got on the bus to the airport Keith greeted me with a jolly "Yob!", which clearly amused wife-to-be Patti Hansen. The altercation the night before had come about when an over-enthusiastic security man had pushed me from my photo platform just below the level of the stage - despite my Access All Areas laminate. I hit the ground, dusted myself off, then punched Mr Security, following whch his colleagues in the pit piled in. As Bill Wyman threw water at my attackers, followed by the bucket, Bob Bender, the tour's head of security told me to climb up onto the stage - which I did. Keith was already busy swinging his guitar at my aggressors, and Mick didn't miss a beat as I ambled past him with blood tricking from my mouth ... |
