The Sound of the Stones

ALL THROUGH THE night while they rehearsed for the European tour, Keith Richards stood there in a trance with himself, rocking slowly backwards and forwards, playing the same riff again and again. He has a mean face anyway, but he puts meanness and physical menace – the old Stones' flavour – into his movements as he plays. He cultivates it nicely, showing the whites of his eyes like a frightened horse as he lays it down, hitting the guitar downwards with a movement of his whole arm.