Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, The Marquee Club, London, 1971
About this photograph
Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones during the sound check at the Marquee Club in London, photographed by Alec Byrne.
“But there was definitely something going on with Keith. There was a classic moment during sound check when Jagger was watching Keith, then turned to Mick Taylor, and they both started laughing. While the band was playing one song, Keith had seemingly started another, departed for his own world—somewhere else entirely. Then, after a few moments of this, Keith staggered back against the amplifiers and slumped down onto the stage. It felt like a serious moment to me, but Keith was laughing. Jagger and Wyman just went over and started chatting with him and pulling him round. They picked Keith up and he was helped off stage. I thought that was the last we’d see of him, but after a little break he was back to finish sound check and pulled it together entirely for the show, a total professional.” - Alec Byrne
Featured in LONDON ROCK: The Unseen Archive
Print size and edition
16” x 20” - Edition of 75
20” x 24” - Edition of 25
30” x 40” - Edition of 10
40” x 60” - Edition of 5
Print type
Archival pigment print
Paper type
Canson Infinity Fibre Rag paper
Signature
Hand signed in ink by photographer
About the photographer
Alec Byrne began covering the British music scene in 1966 at age 17 and went on to work for New Musical Express. He photographed legendary artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and David Bowie. His archive, stored for close to four decades, was reintroduced in 2012 with a legendary one-night exhibition in Los Angeles. His work, now featured in major exhibitions and the National Portrait Gallery in London, is highly sought after by collectors. Alec’s first book, LONDON ROCK: The Unseen Archive, was published in 2017.
© Alec Byrne. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without permission.