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Keith's the Stones'family man (10 years),but will Mick getpast seven with Bianca?
Wh
en the Rolling Stones jammed inthe rare intimacy of Toronto's El Mo-cambo last February in preparation fortheir latest LP,
Love You Live,
it wasMargaret Trudeau's attendance thatset the press and paparazzi abuzz. ButStones fans the world over ponderedthe weekend's hard news: guitarist/composer Keith Richard, 33, wasbusted and charged with possessingheroin—$4,000 worth, allegedly—withintent to traffic. It was Keith's fifth andmost serious drug bust in 10 years,carrying a maximum sentence, if
convicted,
of life imprisonment. Thequestion was undeniable: Was thisthe end of the road after 15 years forthose firebrands of the '60s culturalrevolution?With Mick Jagger, Richard co-writesmost of the band's material and provides the instantly identifiable andmatchlessly raw, rhythmic funk onacoustic and electric guitars. Withouthim there would be
no Stones. But as
he approaches a crucial December2 pretrial hearing (which could drop thecharges altogether), Keith is a rejuvenated man. Just after the bust heunderwent a newly developed three-day detoxification program in Pennsyl
vania.
The procedure is calledneuroelectric acupuncture but doesnot involve needles. He chose it, says
Keith,
because there is no painful
with
drawal and the method worked forvirtuoso friend Eric Clapton severalyears ago. Speaking of his court appearance next month, Richardfeels "the hearing is about whetherthey're happy to go along with the factthat I'm rehabilitated—it's a matter ofmaking as positive a case as we
can."
Certainly, Keith has not lookedhealthier, more alert or confident inyears.Out on $25,000
bail,
he has livedmuch of this year in a pastoral retreat45 miles north of Manhattan. With himare his common-law wife of 10years, Anita Pallenberg, 34, a German-born sometime actress
[Barbarella,Performance),
and 8-year-old son Mar
lon.
Their daughter, Dandy, 5, is backin school in London with Grandma Rich
ard.
Keith's domiciles include, inaddition to the rented 1790 manse in
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Photographs by Ken Regan/Camera 5
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