What would Keith Richards do_ - Jessica Pallington West [0]
KEITH
RICHARDS
do?
What Would
KEITH
RICHARDS
do?
DAILY AFFIRMATIONS
FROM
A ROCK 'N' ROLL SURVIVOR
JESSICA PALLINGTON WEST
Copyright © 2009 by Jessica Pallington West
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address Bloomsbury
USA, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Published by Bloomsbury USA, New York
Keith’s mum’s shepherd’s pie recipe reproduced by permission from Wendy Diamond, A Musical Feast: Recipes from over 100 of the World’s Most Famous Musical Artists, (New York: Global Liasons, Incorporated, 1995), 83.
All papers used by Bloomsbury USA are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in well-managed forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Richards, Keith, 1943–
What would Keith Richards do?: daily affirmations from a rock and roll survivor/ [collected by] Jessica Pallington West.—1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-1-60819-108-6
1. Richards, Keith, 1943—Quotations. I. West, Jessica Pallington. II. Title.
ML420. R515A25, 2009
782. 42166092—dc22
2008048220
First U.S. edition 2009
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Design by Lauren Monchik
Typeset by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh
Printed in the United States of America by Quebecor World Fairfield
By the same author
Lipstick
For the two Keiths
“I’ll see
my name in
bookshops,
and I’ll
think, ‘What
am I doing
here?’ … It’s
like knowing
everybody.”
— KEITH RICHARDS: IN HIS OWN WORDS, 1992
“If Keith
Richards
didn’t exist,
Rock ’n’ Roll
would have
to invent him.”
— CHATELAINE MAGAZINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE:
KEITHISM: THE TWENTY-SIX TEN
COMMANDMENTS OF KEITH RICHARDS
Or: How Keith Richards Can Save Your Life
CHAPTER TWO:
WHAT WOULD KEITH DO?
Living Life the Keith Richards Way
CHAPTER THREE:
KEITH AND NIETZSCHE
Or: The Philosophy of Keith as Viewed in Relation
to the Great Philosophers
CHAPTER FOUR:
PROPHETWEAR: URBAN GURU
FASHION & STYLE
Or: When You’re Consubstantial, the Clothes Make
the God and the Man
CHAPTER FIVE:
THE WIT AND WISDOM
OF KEITH RICHARDS
The Daily Affirmations
CHAPTER SIX:
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS
(MAYBE) WANTED TO KNOW
ABOUT KEITH RICHARDS BUT
WERE (MAYBE) AFRAID TO ASK
THE KEITH TIMELINE
A Chronology of Trouble
IN CLOSING:
A RECIPE FOR SHEPHERD’S PIE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
Somehow he’s managed to survive.
But it hasn’t been easy:
Beaten up every day coming home from school. A move to the wrong side of town. A little addiction to heroin. Arrested. Arrested again. Court. Court again. Accused of being Satan’s right-hand man. A night in jail. A broken finger. Three broken ribs. A broken nose. A punctured lung. A crashed car. Another crashed car. Brain surgery. Cold turkey. Cold turkey again. Attacked by a fan. Electrocuted on stage, saved by a pair of Hush Puppies. Knocked unconscious by ,flying garbage. Disowned by father. Turned in to police by a company insider. Bilked out of millions by a sleazy manager. The loss of a child. The loss of a friend. The loss of another friend. Blamed for a friend’s death. Framed. Stoned. Did I mention getting arrested? Another crashed car. The house is broken into by cops. The house is broken into by vandals. The house goes up in flames. The other house goes up in flames. Hauled into court. Acquitted, there’s a celebration party at a hotel, and the hotel room is accidentally set on fire. The bed goes up in flames. A hit song is unwittingly stolen from another artist. The recording studio goes up in flames. The evil twin misbehaves. The evil twin gets knighted.
What does all this add up to?
Keith Richards.
And this is only a fraction of the story, just a snip off the timeline of trouble.