Keith Richards-itis

[Adam Blake]

Is there any cure for Keith Richard-itis? It seems to infect males of a certain age, roughly 45-65 years of age. A spell of heroin addiction, from which the sufferer may or may not have fully recovered, seems to bring it on but there are other symptoms: a softening of the double T to a D sound - as in shaddered for shattered - rendered not so much in an American accent as a kind of breathless broken down stage school cockney; a firm belief that success in the music business is just around the corner despite any number of obviously fatal setbacks; an abiding interest in the minutiae of the recording process; substituting the word 'shit' for 'stuff', 'things', and also using it to describe actions both actual and abstract; an indulgent but mystified attitude to women; a fondness for alcohol; an inability to sleep or hold down a job. I could go on. But I wonder if such people are beyond help. Seriously.

[AndyM]

Completely beyond hope. I've met a few who are on even lower rungs of the 'career' ladder, nowhere near ever getting to record anything, spending weekend evenings in awful pubs in tribute bands or somesuch. When a sallow, straggled, shambling schmuck (often called Derek) says into the mike "AnnoweegundoPplHaze", you know it's time to leave.

[Adam Blake]

That is sad indeed. It is a strange syndrome, though, isn't it? An all-encompassing worldview and lifestyle that seems to be completely satisfying to those who suffer from it. Are there any other musicians who have inspired (if that is the word) such afflictions? I suppose David Bowie did for awhile but he seems to have rather faded in influence whereas Keith, or Keef as his disciples so lovingly call him, just goes on and on.

[AndyM]

I think KR's still-not-being-dead-yet has a lot to do with it. Along with the bewhiskered and bullshitty outlaw-chic sticking-it-to-The-Man mythology, which of course is so convincing given he's a multi-millionaire.

[Adam Blake]

Sufferers from Keith Richards-itis are invariably penniless. Wealth beyond the dreams of avarice is an aspect of their mentor's lifestyle they somehow seem to have overlooked.

Not long ago The Economist magazine had a promotion whereby they gave the magazine away free alongside the Evening Standard. Flicking through, I found an article on Mick Jagger and Keith Richards business partnership. The writer felt that such a long lasting and immensely successful business partnership should be rightly celebrated as being something of a rarity in British enterprise. After examining the ups and down of the nearly 50 years the partners have worked together, the conclusion was drawn that, despite their enormous personal differences - which had indeed nearly destroyed their business on more than one occasion - they had stayed together for that oldest possible reason that businessmen have: a mutual love of money. The article was only partly tongue in cheek. I wish I'd kept it.

[Rob Hall]

the bewhiskered and bullshitty outlaw-chic sticking-it-to-The-Man mythology, which of course is so convincing given he's a multi-millionaire.

Thank you Andy, you have put your finger on one of the things that annoyed me about his book.

[NormanD]

Not long ago The Economist magazine had a promotion whereby they gave the magazine away free alongside the Evening Standard. Flicking through, I found an article on Mick Jagger and Keith Richards business partnership...The article was only partly tongue in cheek. I wish I'd kept it.

Here 'tis:
http://www.economist.com/node/17461585

[Adam Blake]

Thanks Norman. He doesn't only stick it to the man, he and Mick stick it to their own. Did Brian Jones get a credit for "Ruby Tuesday"? Did Bill Wyman get a credit for "Jumpin' Jack Flash"?

But I didn't start this thread for a whinge at Keith. I really am genuinely interested in the syndrome of Keith Richards-itis, having seen many examples first hand over the years. In the 70s I was impressed by it, in the 80s I was amused, in the 90s and noughties disgusted by it, now I am just amazed at its durability. Maybe Andy is right about it being to do with the fact that Keith is still alive. (And I'm so glad I'm not the only one who had no patience with his self-aggrandizing biography. "Oh take a day off!" I said aloud more than once. But he never does.)