7. The Rolling Stones Frank ZappaSome Girls
When I came to England and had a full time job at Sounds my first assignment was a seven page feature on the Rolling Stones, a combination of luck and fate. Being in the studio with The Stones was beyond my wildest dreams. The first time was when they were making Black And Blue in Munich in 1975, but I picked Some Girls because I was there during the recording of that album, living in Paris working on the Keith book, doing interviews with the band and just getting lots of colour. It was just after Toronto when Keith got arrested for drug possession. It’s also probably the last great Stones album, so it figures brightly in my life…
Keith is incredibly smart and funny. He always loved Derek and Clive and Monty Python and that smart British humour. I saw The Stones live for the first time in 1972 when they released Exile On Main Street and I always thought it was Mick Jagger’s group, because the frontman’s the group. But when Keith came in the room my whole perception of the music just changed. I wrote: ‘When Keith walks in the room, rock’n’roll walks in after him.’ And that’s exactly how it feels. It’s like watching him play guitar on stage.
Keith and I got on because I talked about the music. You know, with Madonna, people go to interview her and I always say talk about the music, and they walk in the room and all common sense leaves their head. I suspect Keith was very underestimated and not given enough credit for his role in the Rolling Stones. And there was me, a little bandit journalist, waving the flag for Keith. Now of course everyone knows it’s Keith’s band.
