Thursday, November 17, 2011

Keith Richards’ famous skull ring. How the obsession began. ...

Keith Richards’ famous skull ring. How the obsession began.

handsnew09

Over the past 30 years Keith Richards silver skull ring has taken on its own mythology and iconic status. The most famous ring in the world has come to signify not only Keith Richards the man – seen wearing it at every gig and in every photograph – but Rock and Roll itself. The ring has inspired both an international cult following and unlimited fake copies. There have been countless claims as to who designed and made the original but this is the true story.

Keith_Invite

In 1978 the celebrated London goldsmiths David Courts and Bill Hackett were working on a small scale silver sculpture of a human skeleton. Using a real skull for reference they carved a perfect miniature replica which they then moulded. When the hollow wax skull was removed from its mould the inspiration for the ring was born. Further experimentation led to the creation of the original silver skull ring. At the same time an invitation arrived from Keith Richards to his birthday party in New York – so Bill and David decided that the new ring would make a fantastic present. From the moment he put it on his finger, the magic began and he has worn it ever since.

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Since Keith put on the original Courts and Hackett skull ring in 1978, David and Bill have received countless requests for a copy but their original decision that the ring should remain unique has meant that there is no replica mould and no duplicates.

Now, for the first time and only available from them is a magnificent new deaths head ring sculpted from the same human skull used for the original.

Using unique techniques developed in their workshop they have created the ultimate skull ring. Exquisite details include an immaculately carved bone structure, individual teeth and finely engraved cranium.

Crafted in solid 925 silver each ring will be stamped with the Courts and Hackett hallmark guaranteeing authenticity, date, materials used and country of origin.

http://www.courtsandhackett.com/new_ring.html

http://members.tripod.com/blue_lena/new

***************THANKS TO GARY ROCKS.************************************

STONES ON THE WEBSITE.....





Rolling Stones launch StonesArchives.com website

The Rolling Stones have launched the website StonesArchives.com for fans to buy or get access to rare music and memorabilia from the Rollling Stones. The band made the announcement on November 17, 2011.

Many of the items at StonesArchives.com were previously unreleased, include the live album "The Brussels Affair," a recording of an October 1973 Rolling Stones concert in Brussels, Belgium. As previously reported, Google Music's Android Market is also selling "The Brussels Affair" in the United States.

This statement was posted on the official Rolling Stones website about StonesArchives.com:

The Rolling Stones have unlocked the door to their archive, full of music, film and memorabilia from their incredible, almost 50 year career. At www.StonesArchive.com you can listen to unheard music, view unseen photographs and films, and look at rare merchandise. Fans have the opportunity to buy items such as signed lithographs, deluxe box sets, even personalised merchandise and tour gear in the shop.

The first item the band are releasing is the long-awaited download of a legendary 1973 concert, recorded at the Forest National in Belgium. Long hailed by die-hard Stones fans as one of the band's greatest live performances, The Brussels Affair has been a mainstay in the underground
music world for years. The original bootlegs, sold under such titles as Europe 73, Bedspring Symphony and Brussels Affair, were cobbled together from assorted radio broadcasts, including the syndicated radio programme King Biscuit Flower Hour, and usually contained songs performed at other venues. The new edition, pulled exclusively from the two Brussels gigs, was taken from the original multi-track masters recorded by Andy Johns on the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Longtime Stones collaborator Bob Clearmountain applied the final mix.

Brussels was the penultimate stop on a European tour that the Stones embarked upon in the autumn of 1973 to promote the album Goats Head Soup. At the time, the Stones were by far the biggest stars on the planet, and the 21-city tour was met by ecstatic crowds, causing the band to frequently perform two shows a day, as they did at the Forest National arena in Brussels. Despite the frenetic pace, the road trip yielded some of the band's greatest music on stage.

The Brussels Affair captures that greatness. From the opening chords of "Brown Sugar" to the closing crescendo of "Street Fighting Man", the Stones were firing on all cylinders: Keith and Charlie churning out a locomotive-like rhythm section (can any song be played faster than this
rendition of "Rip This Joint"?), Mick Taylor delivering a barrage of blistering leads, and Jagger growling and grinding in his blue-sequined best.

Although the Stones began readying a live album of the show for commercial release, the idea was ultimately shelved - a tragedy given the ferocity of the set and the definitive live versions of Stones classics that it presents. Fortunately, that has all changed today. If there was one Rolling Stones bootleg that needed to find its way into the mainstream, Brussels '73 was it.

The bootleg is available to American fans at the new Google Music site.


'Some Girls' 2011 reissue tracks get preview during Facebook listening party...



'Some Girls' 2011 reissue tracks get preview during Facebook listening party

Select tracks from the 2011 reissue of "Some Girls" will be previewed to the public on November 17, 2011, at a live Facebook listening party at 6 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time/1 p.m. Eastern Time/10 a.m. Pacific Time.

The 2011 "Some Girls" remastered reissue is set to be released worldwide on November 21, 2011, in various formats. The album was originally released in 1978. The 2011 reissue includes 12 previously unreleased bonus tracks.

(Click here to read a review of the "Some Girls" reissue bonus tracks.)

The Rolling Stones concert film "Some Girls Live in Texas" is set for a worldwide release on DVD and Blu-ray on November 21, 2011. The movie had a limited release in cinemas, beginning in October 2011.

STONES BOOTLEG SERIES DEBUTS...


Rolling Stones bootleg series debuts on Google Music's Android Market

Google Music's Android Market has debuted a series of Rolling Stones bootlegs that are now getting their official release. The first release in the series is an October 1973 Rollng Stones concert in Brussels, Belgium, titled "Brussels Affair (Live 1973)." Details on future releases are to be announced.

Android Market is currently available only in the United States.

(Click here to watch an interview video with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards about their memories of the 1973 Brussels concert.)

The songs are for sale at 99 cents each, and the entire album is $4.99. "Mr. D" (or "Dancing Wiht Mr. D") is available as a free preview.

The track listing is as follows:

Mr. D

Brown Sugar

Gimme Shelter

Happy

Tumblin' Dice

Starfucker

Heartbreaker

Angie

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Midnight Rambler

Honky Tonk Women

All Down The Line

Rip This Joint

Jumping Jack Flash

Street Fighting Man

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charlie Watts...

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charlie Watts

Charlie Watts
Dave Hogan, Getty Images

Happy 70th birthday to Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts! Despite being in one of the biggest bands in rock ‘n’ roll history, the stylish stickman has managed to live a relatively quiet life outside of the spotlight. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been filled with its share of interesting tidbits. So, in honor of the dapper drummer’s 70th birthday today (June 2), we present you with 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charlie Watts:

10.-Watts was a graphic designer prior to joining the Rolling Stones.

Watts worked as a graphic designer in Denmark and then at the British advertising agency Charles, Hobson and Grey before joining the Rolling Stones. He has used those skills to help design the sets for several of the Stones’ tours, as well as a few of their early album sleeves.

9.-He played in the group Blues Incorporated, which featured a cast of future rock legends.

Watts played in an outfit called Blues Incorporated, which was led by influential musician Alexis Korner. He played alongside future Cream bassist Jack Bruce in the outfit, and was replaced by future Cream drummer Ginger Baker when he joined the Stones.

8.-Watts has been married to the same woman since 1964.

Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964, and they have one daughter, Serafina. While his bandmates partied on the road, Watts remained faithful to Shirley. However, he had trouble sleeping in hotel rooms without the comfort her being next to him.

7.-He has consistently sketched each hotel room he stays in when on tour.

The drummer once told an interviewer that he has a habit of sketching each hotel room in which he stays. Watts didn’t give a reason for the compulsive behavior, but apparently he has held on to all of the renderings. Perhaps, they’ll make a good coffee-table book someday.

6.-Sure, he’s rock royalty, but Watts’ true passion is jazz and big band music.

Watts has always professed his love for jazz music, even penning an illustrated tribute to Charlie Parker. He has formed a number of jazz, boogie-woogie and big band outfits, including Rocket 88, the Charlie Watts Quintet and the Charlie Watts Tentet.

5.-A ‘midlife crisis’ led Watts to a bout with drugs and alcohol in the ’80s.

Despite living a relatively clean life, Watts did have a period in the ’80s when he had a serious drug and alcohol problem. He attributes the spell to a midlife crisis that resulted from a feeling of panic. He went cold turkey after he broke his ankle in a drunken stupor.

4.-He chose the Rolling Stones’ new bass player after Bill Wyman left.

After Bill Wyman left the group in 1993, the band held auditions for a new bassist. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards left the decision up to Watts, who ultimately chose Darryl Jones to replace Wyman. Jones had played with such acts as Miles Davis and Sting.

3.-He and his wife own a horse-breeding farm.

Watts and his wife, Shirley, own a farm on which they breed Arabian horses in Devonshire, England. One reason that Watts isn’t always thrilled with touring is that he does not like leaving the farm for long periods of time. The couple also have taken in a number of rescued greyhound dogs.

2.-He battled throat cancer in 2004.

In the summer of 2004, it was revealed that Watts was battling throat cancer. The drummer, who quit smoking when he gave up drugs and alcohol in the ’80s, underwent a course of radiotherapy and thankfully the cancer has since gone into remission.

1.-Watts once punched Mick Jagger in the face for calling him ‘my drummer.’

Keith Richards told Esquire magazine that Mick Jagger once pushed the mild-mannered Watts over the edge. Jagger, after a few drinks in a hotel, phoned Watts and asked, “Is my drummer there?” Watts, dressed in a full suit, knocked on Jagger’s door, told him “Don’t ever call me your drummer,” and decked him in the face.
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Bill Wyman - Bill Wyman To Host Radio Show. 16 November 2011 19:09


Bill Wyman - Bill Wyman To Host Radio Show

16 November 2011 19:09
Bill Wyman and Guest

Picture: Bill Wyman and Guest UK Premiere of 'George Harrison: Living In The Material World' at BFI Southbank - Arrivals London, England ....

Bill Wyman To Host Radio Show












Former Rolling Stones star Bill Wyman is set to join ex-bandmate Ronnie Wood on the radio after signing on to host his own three-part music series.

The bassist will front new SiriusXM programme The Bill Wyman Show, which begins on Thursday (17Nov11).

As part of the project, the rocker will air his favourite songs, discuss his own musical inspirations and share stories from his illustrious career.

The Je Suis un Rock Star hitmaker says, "I hope that the listeners of SiriusXM have as much fun listening to my three shows as I had making them!"

Former bandmate Wood hosts a radio show on Britain's Absolute Classic Rock station.

Patti Hansen reveals being diagnosed with breast cancer 'wasn`t a shock'...


Patti Hansen reveals being diagnosed with breast cancer 'wasn`t a shock'

By Isla Harvey Nov 10, 2011, 19:53 GMT

Celebrities from fashion and entertainment arrive an event at the Urban Zen Center in the West Village in NYC, during a heavy downpour of rain. - Johns PKI/Splash News

Celebrities from fashion and entertainment arrive an event at the Urban Zen Center in the West Village in NYC, during a heavy downpour of rain. - Johns PKI/Splash News

Keith Richard’s wife Patti Hansen has revealed that she was determined not to feel sorry for herself when she discovered that she had breast cancer.

The 55-year-old former supermodel speaks candidly about her battle with the deadly disease in the latest issue of Town & Country magazine, in which she is interviewed alongside her daughters Theodora, 26, and Alexandra, 25.

“It was depressing,” she says. “But it wasn’t a shock that I had cancer. I wasn’t like, ‘Oh woe is me’, you know? I just felt, ‘OK, well that’s my number [sic]’.”

But for her daughters, the discovery that their mother had the disease was petrifying.

“It was absolutely terrifying. Really, Mum is the glue that holds us all together,” Theodora tells the magazine.

Her sister Alexandra reveals that the Rolling Stones guitarist, 69, also fell to pieces at the news.

“Dad did not take it well,” she says. “We all wanted to stay strong for him.”

Luckily, Hansen has since made a full recovery and has recently launched a range of handbags with her best friend.

“Keith’s very amused by it,” she reveals. ”He’s like, ‘Oooh, you can be the breadwinner’.”