By Brad Gallagher:
It is no secret that the life of a rock star includes the use of alcohol and drugs. As a mater of fact, over the years, and especially in the era of what we now refer to as the “classic rock era”, the vast majority of rock stars used and abused these substances. Several of these stars, like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse abused drugs and alcohol to the point of their own demise. Others not only used, but also wrote songs about drug use, like “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton, or “That Smell” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and of course Ian Dury’s 1977 depiction of the rock and roll life in “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”.
Over the years stories have been told about members of groups such as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Doors even being arrested for the use of drugs. These arrests usually took place while on tour, being as most groups would stage after show parties for some of their crew and fans, and drugs were almost always part of these parties. And today’s story is about one of those groups, The Rolling Stones, who not only wrote songs about drugs, like “Mother’s Little Helper” (about addiction to Valium), but who also made drug use a part of their image. And of course got themselves arrested on several occasions.
As The Story Goes:
The Rolling Stones were known for their substance abuse, and in many of the cities where they played, the authorities were on high alert even before the Stones arrived in town. In 1969 Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones died of a drug and alcohol overdose and became a forever member of “The 27 Club”. But it was lead guitarist Keith Richards who was probably the most prolific drug user of the group, and authorities all over the globe began to introduce themselves to him.
In 1967, after getting tips from both the FBI and MI5, the British police raided Richards’ apartment in West Sussex and arrested both he and Mick Jagger for LSD, Heroin, and Marijuana use. They were sentenced to several years in prison, but after an appeal they wound up only serving 3 days. Then in 1972 they were arrested in Boston, but fortunately for them, they had a concert scheduled for later that night, and since the Mayor of Boston was a huge fan of theirs, he got them released into his own personal custody.
Then in London in 1973, Richards’ apartment was once again raided. This time the police found marijuana, cannabis oil, heroin, syringes, pipes, and loaded guns. He claimed that all of the drugs and guns actually belonged to his tenant , and then accused the police of setting him up, and eventually all of the charges against him were dropped. Then, two years later in 1975 while driving through Fordyce Arkansas, Richards and Ron Wood were pulled over for erratic driving. The officers smelled pot, and went on to search the car. In the search they found two grams of cocaine and the arrest was on. Richards, however, claimed that the drugs belonged to their passenger Fred Sessler, and was able to get himself released when he somehow proceeded to pass a sobriety test.
Fast forward to a Rolling Stones show in Toronto Canada in February 1977. The Canadian authorities raided Richards’ hotel room and found a large quantity of heroin and arrested him for drug trafficking. He was facing seven years to life in a Canadian prison. He was released, however, two months later in April on medical grounds for addiction treatment. Apparently there was a blind woman who came forward as a character witness who said that Richards had made special arrangement that allowed her to attend his concert. He was released under the condition that he came back to perform a benefit concert for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
But of all the run-ins Keith Richards has had with the law over the years, there was one incident in the early 1980’s that was particularly memorable. As Ron Wood later recalled in an interview:
“We were doing drugs in the dressing room,” he said, “when suddenly the tour manager stuck his head around the corner and said, ‘The police are here!’ … We all panicked and threw our drugs in the toilet. And then Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland walked in.”
I guess there are “Police”, and then there are “The Police”.
So now you know. Please come back and see me next time on As The Story Goes.
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