Like a lot of Keith fables, the 'Blind angel' story from the drug bust in Canada seems to have become a bit exagerated over the years. Does anyone know what really happened and who the 'blind angel' was/is?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-17 01:11 by bv.

Here's one version of the truth;

[centerfieldmaz.blogspot.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-08 15:05 by Britney.

I have a boot compilation of Keith/Barbarians material that shows a Canadian News b 'cast with an interview of the girl herself on it so I guess I have to believe the story. For the life of me I cant understand what it says her name is but she rode the bus everyday he had a court appearance. Keith says he had known her for a couple of years and Charlie claims Keith still talks to her when he can.

Maybe it's more interesting to claim that a devoted, blind fan swung the judge's opinion. But it's far less rock n roll if the judge actually based his decision, shock horror, on The Law and decided that 22gms is not really that much and that real traffickers import a lot more than that.

What would she have actually said to the judge? Please don't send KR to jail because....er...he's written some great music...and uh....well....hmmm. Being nice to a fan is hardly relevant to a drug trafficking case!

In summary, I find the aforementioned rendition of events in the oft-told "Blind Angel" anecdote to be highly embellished at best, the defendant's mind being clouded by opiates at the time in question!

Yours legally,
FT



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-08 17:50 by Father Ted.

Well, I agree the Judge might not have based his decision on the blind girl BUT it may have played a big part in what community service he assigned. The story it self is true as the Canadian News broadcasted it as part of their reporting.

The DVD-9 is on the "Lonesome Soerm In Purgatory" Label called Keith Richards/Ronnie Wood The New Barbarians 1974-79 which includes Stereo and Mono versions of Kilburn, Gimme Some Neck promos, news bcasts and filmed segments of the Blind Benefit performances(not great quality) and complete Largo performance.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-08 18:20 by scottkeef.

Who was this girl
Is she still around when the Stones come to Canada ?

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

Here´s the protocol from the trial of Keith from the Ontario Supreme Court 1979:
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Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings

Whouh!
Many thanks for the documents,mickijaggeroo!!!

A broadcast from the Canadian radio archives,1978,october the 24th (in french,unfortunately,I'll try to translate it later.)

[archives.radio-canada.ca]

The name of the blind angel is Rita Bedard
It's in the radio canada article

She has been invited to meet the Stones in Toronto in 1994
There's nothing more

Is she still a fan ?
How old is she now ?
There isn't any interview of her avaiulable anywhere, as far as i know

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

I myself have often wondered about the veracity of this tale.
No doubt, there is some connection since the idea for Keith's 'sentence' to perform for the blind had to have occurred as a result of something outside the normal range of penalties for drug offenses.
Yet, I think perhaps the truth has been stretched a bit in this matter.
I seem to remember an interview with Keith in the (now out-of-print) documentary "25x5" in which he addressed the issue.
He said something to the effect that 'she used to come to all the gigs and I made sure the people looked after her to make sure she got home alright" or something like that. The viewer is left with the impression that these events were frequent.
My question is: all what gigs? the 2 small, surprise 1977 El Mocambo dates? the one where tickets were scarcer than hen's teeth? Or does his memory go back to June of 1975 at Maple Leaf Gardens, the last time the Stones performed in Toronto? Or did she fly around to shows all over the world? Or was she just present at El Mocambo and/or some court hearings?
At any rate, if the story is true, it was she who went to the judge, the judge was 'inspired' to sentence Keith accordingly and Keith was only to happy to pick up the ball and run with it....

Theres an interview of her on the dvd I mentioned done at the time of the concert announcement.

Some more here.

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It should be made clear that less than half the people convicted in Canada of simple possession of heroin go to jail.

But it was the concert for the blind that raised most eyebrows. How had the judge reached that idea? Onestrong rumour was that Cooper had suggested it, but this was tracked down to blind superfan Rita Bedard,who attended the trial every day and was invited in by Cooper to meet Richards and get his autograph. It turned out that she was responsible for the story; Cooper dismissed it.

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Quote
scottkeef
Well, I agree the Judge might not have based his decision on the blind girl BUT it may have played a big part in what community service he assigned. The story it self is true as the Canadian News broadcasted it as part of their reporting.

The DVD-9 is on the "Lonesome Soerm In Purgatory" Label called Keith Richards/Ronnie Wood The New Barbarians 1974-79 which includes Stereo and Mono versions of Kilburn, Gimme Some Neck promos, news bcasts and filmed segments of the Blind Benefit performances(not great quality) and complete Largo performance.

Torrent it!

Vilhelm
Nordic Stones Vikings

I second this request.
Please torrent it
The RocksOff tracker would probably do the job...

[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

Yes, Rita Bédard (a French Canadian from Quebec City) is still around, or at least, she was during the Licks tour 2002-2003.

I was at the 01-08-2003 show in Montreal' Bell Centre and Keith dedicated his song (Slippin' Away, I think) to his 'blind angel' who was in the audience.

There was an interview and pictures of her in the Montreal newspapers the following day.

Daniel (wattswood)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-08 19:19 by daniel t.

And Keith fell out of a Cocos nucifera.

RIGHT.

It is true that she went to all the court hearings. I dont know much about torrents but I dont mind dubbing the dvd-9(although these blanks are about 6-7$ apiece HAHA) and maybe urbansteel will post it. Unless one of you is in the states and could torrent it quiker! Anyway, per "According To The Rolling Stones"
Chronicle Books(www.chroniclebooks.com) page 202:
KEITH:And then there was a blind girl,bless her,from Montreal,my blind angel.I had known this girl for a couple of years.She came to as many gigs as she could;
she'd say she was determined to make it to the next show and of course we were worried about her.I'd speak to the truckers and ask them to drop her off at the next show and to make sure she got there safely.And to me that was it.She came forward and went to the judges house,after office hours and at night,and told him this story....
CHARLIE: Keith got saved by some blind girl he knew. And he still sees her.He never forgets. He's a wonderful bloke like that.

Keith and Rita Bedard. "My blind angel from Toronto."



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"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-16 21:35 by Deltics.

Gold rings on ya, Keith!

That is so lovely!

thanks for sharing !
made my day

very sweet. he doesn't forget.

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alieb
very sweet. he doesn't forget.

nor did she when it was very much needed

i ditto christiano's sentiment

Good on yer Keith and Rita.

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CloudCat

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alieb
very sweet. he doesn't forget.

nor did she when it was very much needed

i ditto christiano's sentiment

yes. this is the important point. a true friendship.

Sweet ........



ROCKMAN

That's nice, Keith has a kind soul and it shows here. Thanks

Awesome!

Talk about resurrecting an old thread.

The story about Rita is quite true.
I spent a bit of time with her back in April of 1979.
At the courthouse in Toronto the morning after the "Blind Date" in Oshawa.

Some times, but not often, an old, very old thread is the right place for a new one. It is good to be any place!

Bjornulf