The Sun, as well as all major British news papers, are reporting that Keith will have surgery today to drain the blood that's leaked into his skull and built up pressure around his brain causing on going headaches and other minor problems. Keith also swears his days of cigarettes and alcohol are over. He also plans to be ready for the European tour as scheduled.

I have no reason what-so-ever to doubt any of this. The deafening silence from the official Stones camp only shows they're not saying anything because they're probably scared sh*tless. Brain Surgery is NEVER a small matter and on top of that because of Keiths lifestyle this is probably a bit more iffy then it usually would be on a person that took better care of themselves. The fact that it's impossible to get any information on this what-so-ever speaks for itself IMHO. Secrecy is NEVER a good sign.It's usually a sign that things are being hidden (which makes total sense in this case)

YAHOO SEARCH- "Keith Richards Brain Surgery" Front page full of the same NEWS, ON FOR TODAY - drilling a hole, draining excessive blood.....



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-04 21:20 by MicksBrain.

Just wish the guy the best wishes......

I was quite noit convienced with The Sun reports, but it went too far in my opinion. There's no official note from Stones Inc. which probably means that they're gonna release something after the fact. Keith is reported to be still in the hospital in Auckland. Why did they say he was discharged? Was he really?

A surgery?

Lord, have mercy on Keith. If anything here is true he must be scared, really. Ah, f***. poor Keef...

but HE's gonna ba alright, HE's gonna be alright.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-04 16:01 by PiotrRSpl.

My feeling is Stones Inc. is just waiting hoping everything goes smooth and then, as you mentioned, will make a statement after it's all over. My concern (besides Brain Surgery) is the changes Keith's body must be going through must just be massive considering all the alcohol and nicotine it's used to on an hourly basis - major withdrawls for sure...

I can't see why Keith is going to give up smoking and booze now.I mean how is related the smoking to his accident.That guy has reached death countless times.I mean he would have thought that decades ago and not now.

I've posted this once more but I am still wondering, is it possible that Keith will have the surgery and be ready to tour in about 20 days? I am not concerned about the tour, I just want to figure out what I should believe from everything that I 've read and what not to...Isn't that what the Sun suggests or other sources quoting the Sun's story? It Does seem like a long shot, doesn't?

Who the f*ck is Mick Jagger?

If this information is correct we just can hope everything is going fine.
And maybe there's something good coming out of it: Keef realize he can't go on living like he does. And the European ABB tour offers a sober and even better human riff...

I wonder if the Stones would ever, figuring it was only on a temporary basis, have a guest guitar player stand in for Keith if he needs longer than 3 weeks to recover. Perhaps Keith would approve of this, given that they're in the middle of a tour.

triplelicks Wrote:
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> I wonder if the Stones would ever, figuring it was
> only on a temporary basis, have a guest guitar
> player stand in for Keith if he needs longer than
> 3 weeks to recover. Perhaps Keith would approve
> of this, given that they're in the middle of a
> tour.


Seems very doubtful, 3xlicks. But, the logistics and financial implications associated with canceling or rescheduling say, 3 weeks worth of shows, would be enornous, too. Perhaps this lends credence to the "San Diego Jeff Beck" rumor. Let's put it this way - if KR were to be replaced for any shows (and I already indicated that was a dubious proposition), it would probably have to be someone with at least the cachet of a Jeff Beck

[featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com]

DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE!!

i am so done listening to bs & rumors, he is FINE!! this is a REAL reported who spoke directly to Fran Curtis...

That doesn't mean a thing to me.
What else could she possibly say?

StratoGR Wrote:
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I can't see why Keith is going to give up smoking and booze now.I mean how is related the smoking to his accident.That guy has reached death countless times.I mean he would have thought that decades ago and not now.

Perhaps he enjoys life more now, therefore it's more valuable to him.

However as for him giving up booze and smoking, we'll see about that.
My father had a heart attack, then had quintuplet by-pass heart surgery. He was in so much pain he swore "never again". 3 weeks later....

whatever, it is good enough for me, the Sun is BULLSHIT, if the story was true it would be all over the internet by now on legit news wires...cnn, ap, reuters, etc it has been well over 24 hours since that article, dont think even the Stones camp could keep something like that quite forever...

i am done worrying, but i will keep sending get well vibes keefs way ...

I'd like to believe this but why has there been no official word to scotch all the out of control rumours? This reporter spoke to Fran Curtis (whoever she is) who supposedly spoke to Keith's manager (who isn't named) a day ago... I'm not convinced.

she's the Stones spokeperson...

dont wait for anything breaking on rs.com, you wont get it...

i dont know, maybe the Stones dont care about the rumors ...

as for surgery, if this really will happen...

Doug's info says Keith is feeling Ok and he will leave the hsopital next week, right? Now, I talked to some doctor about this kind of surgery and as far as it sounds so horrible and really scary...patient after having this surgery done can leave the hsoipital within the week time. Drilling the hole, sounds horrible I know, but in fact it is very small hole usually and they have to cut the all hairs around the hole, not the whole hairs on head. After the surgery is done you have to wait until the wound is healed.Within the week you can go out and live normally. Sometimes you can suffer headaches for about month after surgery.

I don't want to talk about it really, we don't know nothing and as with sssoul posted - we are probably supposed to know nothing more about it. It's about Keith, not us.

But if The Sun surgery story is partialy true, it is horrible and for sure must scare Keith, it would scare everybody, but above I just wrote how medically it looks.
One of my father's neurologist said "if the surgery story is true than don't panic. Keith should be OK."

WE MUST BELIEVE AND WAIT PATIENLY PRAYING FOR KEITH.

Mah I think that everything is fine!!!!!!!!

Medical problems, like any crisis, sometimes motivates people to commit to making significant changes such as quitting drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.
As a drug/alcohol counselor I see people come in all the time after a legal/medical/interpersonal crisis. The short term motivation fueled by such a crisis fades as things settle down and is - or is not - supplanted by long term motivation, depending on the individual's capacity to cope and change.

I am hoping that everything is Ok with Keith. If the surgery story is true, no matter how straightforward it is, I can't see the tour starting in 3 weeks. With recovery time, I bet we are looking at a July 2 start in Paris. The Stones camp is probably rebooking the early gigs right now and that is why they are not commenting. No way the Stones would roll on without Keith, that is just ridiculous.

Better cancel the tour rather than seeing another guy taking Keith's place.KEITH is not a back up musician people.

Yeah, I can see that John. He might well have been wanting to make a fresh start for some time but didn't know how or where to start. Unlike Joe Public he is also shackled with the whole extra burden of the public image. Hi is 'Keef' the 'human laboratory', 'the most elegantly wasted man in the world' the man 'blessed with two livers', half expected to survive Armageddon along with the rats & the roches. How do you give that up and disappoint half the world (this image has permeated through to all areas of society in the last 20 years or so: I have heard amused but admiring comments from even policemen & prime ministers).
Luckily Keith is a very bright man and was aware of the double-edged sword of his image decades ago & I think has been largely acting a role for many years. Having said that his drink consumption is clearly still huge even if the class A's are just an occasional treat. Perhaps despite his pisstakes of Ronnie's spells in rehab he secretly, or unconsciously, craved the same thing...

Come on, give us a break! No more speculations, PLEASE!

Latest update - see original post

An official statement would be more then helpful for people who are about to book their flights and hotels. To me there is too long silence behind the scenes...

Anyway it would be greaty if all of us
sent Keith a greeting thru this board.

That can be done thru the thread "We wish you a speedy recovery"
which I started here just som hours ago!

You can read the idea i have for this thread in my first post there!

Go look and write a greeting to him!

Been Stoned since 1964 and still am!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-05-04 19:47 by Fan Since 1964.

A friend of mine, (a Norwegian hard core Stones fan, and the most successfull Stones-collector in Norway) had the same type of surgery three years ago. The surgeon drills a hole in the skull and removes the blood. Afterwards, there's no alcohol for 3 months, and no flying for 3 months. Because the hole in the skull needs to heal before it's wise to try out the differens preassures one's brain is exposed to during the take-off and landing procedures.
Anyway, Jørn from Halden made it to the three shows in Stockholm in July 2003. That was his goal. A speedy recovery and a pure Stones-heart - I hope Keith recovers quickly and will live and enjoy living and playing for at least 100 more years!

the "no flying" part makes sense, shidoobee, which could clearly suggest a red flag for 2006.

An official statement is past-due - the Stones management is (should be) a professional organisation, that must not act like that. These news/rumours are probably a great booster for sales - but it's just not alright anymore to see that Sun story being picked up by the media all around the world and no one knows what it is really about.


Belgrade-Bucharest-Budapest-Brno

T&A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> the "no flying" part makes sense, shidoobee, which
> could clearly suggest a red flag for 2006.

I know this is really serious matter but still I have to lighten
up the day with a little tiny just a tiny joke!

Oh he'll be fine he will just sneak in UNDER THE RADAR!

Ooops sorry

Been Stoned since 1964 and still am!

To be honest, I 'm not that worried about the surgery. What happens to a guy that's been high (drugs/alcohol to deal with the stresses of his success) his entire adult life once he stops? His whole personality and outlook is changed. Will Keith be able to handle the road and everything that goes with it straight? This is the big question - people go through MAJOR CHANGES. Our Keith might not be Keith anymore......