Like what you see? Help keep it going! This ad-free site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
The Rolling Stones in the press: “Keith Richards – What an Insult!”
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MAYHEM: KEITH & ANITA UNFILTERED Back in the wild ’70s, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg were living on the edge—literally. From laughing off court drama to drugged-out mattress fires, cake-fueled chaos, and even a doped-up dog in the moat, their life was pure Stones madness. The British press had a field day, especially with their descent into heroin while expecting baby Dandelion. It was scandal, survival, and pure rock ‘n’ roll rebellion rolled into one.
“THE BLIND are outraged! They are furious at a court decision which punished Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards for heroin possession by having him give a concert for their benefit.”
The outrage grew to a tremendous roar. The world revealed the shocking facts about his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg. The British press, in particular, told:
How Richards laughed just after his sentencing, glad to have “beaten” the rap. About the day Anita and Keith lay naked in bed – in a drugged stupor – while the mattress burned around them. About the drug cakes at a Stones’ wild, wild party. About the drugged dog in Richards’ moat. How together, Richards and his mistress, Anita, went down the road to heroin addiction even after Anita was eight months pregnant and they feared losing their second child, Dandelion.
The conviction in Toronto, Canada – Richards’ fifth in 10 years – brought one year of probation and the requirement he play a concert for Toronto’s blind people.
“It’s degrading,” John Rae, 29, chairman of BOOST, a blind people’s self-help group in Toronto, told the Examiner this week. “The blind are reacting to the decision with outrage and disbelief.”
“Why pick on the blind? We are seeking more equality and opportunity – not handouts by public charity.”
Don McConnell, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind in New York, told the Examiner he understands why the Canadian blind people are upset at the news of a benefit concert.
“I think the thing they find offensive is that the judge immediately singled out the blind,” McConnell, 32, said. “This is a stereotype we are trying to get rid of. The blind are not the lowest of the low.”
Even more insulting, according to Charles Pothier, 43, of BOOST, is the whole idea of having the Stones associated with the blind.
“It is a condescending thing,” he told the Examiner. “I don’t want my handicap associated with a group that ridicules the whole notion of drug abuse. (Ref. Keith Richards 1978 insult)
“I see this as an example of a double standard — one for the rich and one for the poor. “If I get a ticket for that concert, I’m going to take it and scalp it. And hope I get arrested.”
Adding fuel to the outrage felt by the blind have been the other stories about the drug-filled life the Rolling Stones lead.
And they didn’t like the way Richards himself scoffed at the so-called “sentence.”
In fact, at a press conference which he held only hours after his sentencing, Richards was laughing and joking. He knew he had “beaten” a rap which might have put him in jail for life.
“Oh, it’s all show business,” the 34-year-old said with a laugh. “I didn’t give it much thought.”
Life itself is show business for the rock star and his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg.
Reality
David Powell, a former chauffeur and personal assistant, tells how far removed the two are from reality.
“I was asleep, yet I heard a voice: ‘Dave! Dave! Come quickly. Fire!’ ” Powell was reported to have said.
“It was the housekeeper at the house Keith and Anita rented in the south of France. “I rushed out of the gate-house – which had been converted into a flat for me. I could see smoke pouring from Keith’s bedroom window.
“I smashed it down. Keith and Anita were lying in bed — completely naked — with the mattress in flames around them.
“They were both unconscious. I dragged them to the floor and threw the mattress out of the window.
“At first I was afraid they had been asphyxiated. But then I realized they were in a drug-induced sleep.”
And then there were the infamous Stones’ parties where everything was allowed — from sex to booze to drugs.
“It was the opening of a new club I was to be in charge of,” Tony Sanchez, 35, who had worked with the band for 10 years, reportedly said.
“We provided huge silver bowls of methadrine-spiked punch — plus cakes full of hash.” Sanchez also talked about the time when he couldn’t keep his dog quiet.
Pills
“I was visiting Richards at his country home in Redlands, Sussex, England,” he reportedly said. “The dog kept howling and howling. “I know what,” Richards said. “Let’s give him some sleeping pills.” After ten minutes the dog could do nothing but stagger about in a doped stupor. Richards thought it was fun—especially when my dog fell to the moat. “I had to go in and get him or he would have drowned.” Even when pregnant with their second child, Anita used heroin, it is alleged. “One night during dinner at the villa Anita grabbed a huge plate of spaghetti and threw it,” Elizabeth Hiemer, their housekeeper at the time, was reported to have said. “She screamed hysterically—and sobbed. “She became more and more drawn and spent her time in the bedroom. I saw her take heroin, drink wine and take pills. She made no secret of her addiction.” (Ref. Keith Richards 1978 insult)
Like what you see? Help keep it going! This ad-free site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
