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James Fox, Keith Richards: Life (2010, Little Brown & Co) 4 stars

Review - Life, Keith Richards

5 stars

I've had this book in the queues for such a long time, one to dip in and out of at those moments when a bit of amusement was required, I thought. Until the day I wasn't dipping, and couldn't put it down.

Told very much in his own voice (I think there was a ghostwriter involved / not sure), this is a rollicking roam through the life, times, trials, triumphs and tribulations of the (to my ears at least) greatest band ever. Full of very funny one-liners and some utterly brutal honesty about a life that's been lived to the edges always.

There's plenty here for music lovers, music players, the reminiscers and the "would remember it all but for being there" readers. There's some slashing down of some of the myths and legends around the Stones and there's some from their side telling of the various drug busts, arrests, court cases and trouble that followed all of them over the years. He's honest about the estrangement with Mick Jagger, his friendship with current and past members of the Band, and the music legends, and everyday people that he's come across in his life. He's brutally honest about past relationships and somehow he comes across as less of a playboy music legend, and more of a really decent bloke who thinks about stuff, loves his family, and keeps it as real as you can when you're Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

One for a lot of readers - not just fans of the Stones.