An electrifying performance
There are some concerts more memorable than others. And when we call each other Keith Richards and that we are legendary guitarists, notably for les Rolling Stoneswe might as well tell you that we regularly see scenes passing by. However, Keith, now 80 years old, must remember the evening of December 3, 1965while the group played Sacramentoin California.
That evening, like every evening for several months, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts et Keith Richards ignite their American audience Memorial Auditorium. After a first concert given on October 29 in Montreal, the group will end its tour on December 5. There are two dates left, and the 5 musicians are fully engaged.
But as the group begins “The Last Time“, Keith Richards will accidentally hit his guitar with a microphone stand. A seemingly minor incident, except that this time unfortunately, there was an electrical surge, which sent a strong shock to the musician…
More fear than harm
Everyone is in shock: between the speed of the scene and the dull noise caused by electrocutionthe public doesn't really know how to react. Especially since we ask ourselves a question: the sound was so muffled that we thought it was a gunshot. Could Keith Richards be the victim of an attack? ?
Present in the crowd, a journalist named Mick Martin testified to the violence of the scene:
-“I saw the blue light. I literally saw Keith flying through the air backwards. I thought he was dead. I was horrified. We all were. Silence settled over the crowd. They brought him out with oxygen tubes, and he was semi-conscious.” – Mick Martin
An impressive incident, which fortunately ended in the best possible way: after a few moments in a daze, the musician finally woke up. Some rumors say it's thanks to his pair of new boots with rubber soles, known to be a good electrical insulatorthat Keith escaped the worst. If the musician was one of the first to have failed die on stage due to electric shockthe mishap also happened to another rock star, guitarist Ace Frehley of the group Kiss, electrocuted 11 years later on stage.