On November 3, 2010, the Waterstone’s store location in London’s Piccadilly Circus neighborhood looked more like the site of a rock concert than a bookstore. That’s because Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was doing a rare book signing there for his memoir "Life" — and not surprisingly, his appearance drew a crowd of hundreds.
The first 450 people in the queue got wristbands which guaranteed an autographed copy of the book. Due to time restrictions, not all of the 450 people were guaranteed to meet Richards in person at the event. Several people were camped out at least two days ahead of time, according to Internet reports.
Richards spent about an hour signing books and taking photos with fans. Waterstone’s posted updates and photos on its Twitter page.
The night before his Waterstone’s autograph session, Richards hung out with his wife, Patti, and his eldest daughter, Angela, at the Ivy Club in London. Some business associates were also part of the Richards group that night. Just a few weeks earlier, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and some friends had a party at the Ivy Club after Wood’s Ambassadors Theatre solo show on October 19, 2010.
As previously reported, "Life" (which was released on October 26, 2010) debuted at No. 3 in the United Kingdom. The book is also expected to debut in the Top 3 of the U.S. book charts when those numbers are published later this week.
Update: Sky News interviewed Richards at the Waterstone's book signing. Richards said, "Part of the whole reason for this book is to dispel some of that junkie, dopey rock’n’roll [image]. This is not like that at all. Hey, I can get crazy but I’m not stupid." The rock legend commented on the reaction that his memoir has gotten from the public: "I’m quite amazed by the response. It’s crazy."
When asked about Richards' revelation in the book that he wrote to then-U.K. prime minister Tony Blair about the Iraq War, Richards said, "I sent him a letter saying it was 'too late to pull out now, baby. Better stick to the guns.' So I just sent him a note about that. 'Don’t let anybody flake on it.'" When the interviewer jokingly suggested what would happen if Richards went into combat during the war, Richards replied with a laugh, "If I had the spare time, I’d give 'em a shot or two myself. I’d terrify them."
Richards also commented on the idea that people might want to emulate his rock-star lifestyle: "What I do is not necessarily good for anybody else, but I know myself. And so maybe the most important thing is if you want to do this sort of stuff, know yourself first. That’s my advice."
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