“A sense of self-preservation”: The concert that saved Keith Richards’ life
Rock and roll is the only lifestyle that Keith Richards has ever known. Joining the ranks of The Rolling Stones at the age of 18, the blues disciple has lived almost his entire life at the centre of this musical phenomenon, which has seen him become one of the most lauded guitarists and songwriters in rock and roll history. As such, writing and performing are two of Richards’ only coping mechanisms when it comes to dealing with hardships and dark periods throughout his life.
Although Richards is, in countless ways, the archetypal rock star, that does not mean that his existence has been without struggle. If you strip back all the gold records, iconic concerts, and trashed hotel rooms, the guitarist has experienced some incredibly dark moments over the years, from battling through the dark depths of addiction and substance abuse to the dissolution of various personal relationships that could not survive his extensive schedule. The Stones songwriter even had a near-death experience in a Los Angeles house fire at one point.
Without a doubt, the most difficult period Richards has ever had to overcome was the death of his son, Tara Jo Jo Gunne, in 1976. For any parent, the death of your child is an unimaginable hardship and one which very few people can come to terms with. Adding to the tragedy, Richards was away on tour with The Rolling Stones when the two-month-old Tara – named after Richards’ close friend Tara Browne – passed away as a result of sudden infant death syndrome.
If there was ever a valid reason for an artist to cancel or postpone a tour date, the death of one’s son would certainly qualify. At the time Richards was informed of his child’s death, the Stones were in France gearing up for a show at Pavillon de Paris. “It was such a shock, at the time especially,” Richards later recalled on Desert Island Discs. The guitarist has spoken extensively about the unimaginable heartbreak he experienced upon learning of Tara’s death.
Nevertheless, the guitarist chose to continue on with the Stones’ European tour, which would see them travel throughout France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Yugoslavia, before ending in a huge show at Knebworth in England. In fact, the very same day that Richards was informed about the death of his infant son in Geneva, he performed that exhaustive concert in Paris. At the time, the guitarist was heavily criticised for playing the gig, with accusations of heartlessness thrown his way.
In spite of this heavy criticism, Richards later claimed that he only played the show out of necessity for his own mental well-being. “I thought, ‘I am going to go mad unless I do this show tonight. If I don’t do something that I am supposed to do, if I just sit here with this idea, I don’t know what I’d do,’” he shared. “Maybe it was just a sense of self-preservation.”
What’s more, Richards’ first son, the seven-year-old Marlon Leon Sundeep, was on the road with the band at the time. “I also wanted to shield Marlon from it at that moment,” the guitarist explained, “It wasn’t necessary for him to know immediately because we were on the road. It was a rough, rough thing.”
According to the songwriter, playing the gig in Paris was instrumental in preserving Richards’ own life. “I had a feeling,” he said, “‘This is a show. I must go on stage and I will worry, and grieve, and think about all this after the show.’ If I didn’t go on the stage, I would probably have shot myself.” So, arguably, that concert in Paris in 1976 was a life-saving moment for The Stones’ guitarist, even if the death of his infant son was still painfully fresh in his mind.
