KEITH'S
RING (1)
Happy
Halloween! I'll spare you the story of our pre-Halloween nightmares, but
will try to pass along any happy post-Halloween memories at a later
date.
In honor of the holiday, I
just wanted to share (it's a weird form of holiday
celebration/notation, I know, but what the hell) my long-term, persistent
negative feelings about Keith Richards' "trademark" skull ring.
This
hideous, depressing piece of jewelry was, apparently (I never knew this until
today) designed by the London jewelers Courts and Hackett for Keith as a
birthday present in 1978. Others may not share this
opinion, but I feel strongly that Keith's ring is one of the stupidest, ugliest items ever to appear on human hands anywhere at any time in history.
Keith's fashion sense
has always been imperfect, as has Mick Jagger's. Brian, Bill and (quite a bit later) Charlie were always "streets ahead", as they say, of their
bandmates in this regard. That's ok. Whatever his shortcomings
(including not releasing a decent Rolling Stones record in about 40 years),
Keith's talent and cool is undeniable and, as Ray Davies said about him a
couple of years ago, he's the only member of his musical generation and British
Invasion set who can still fit into all his old clothes (which he still
apparently owns.)
Happy
Halloween! Keith, please lose the ring.
KEITH'S
RING (2)
"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.
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."
