Keith's memoirs will fetch £3.5m...if he can remember what happened

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

But if Keith Richards can actually manage to remember his life story, it will certainly make a rollicking read. Which is why he is expected to pick up a £3.5million publishing deal for his memoirs.

London literary agent Ed Victor has been auctioning the English language rights in New York this week.

The translation rights could bring in another £1million, according to industry insiders.

The Richards book would be likely to cover his two arrests and his relationships with former models Anita Pallenberg and Patti Hansen, now his wife, and that fall from a coconut tree. Not to mention the occasional musical moment.

But his drug taking will have to take centre stage. He has been treated for heroin addiction and admitted he is lucky to be alive after years of drug abuse. Last year he claimed he had finally quit drugs - because they weren't strong enough any more.

Mr Victor has already insisted that memory won't be a massive problem. Richards, 63, will collaborate with friend and non-fiction author James Fox. Just three publishing houses are understood to have been invited to bid for the memoirs, with only HarperCollins and Little, Brown still thought to be in the running.

Although the Richards book could be the most expensive musician's memoir, it is easily outdone on the political front. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton sold the rights to his memoirs in a record deal of nearly £6million in 2001.