Keith Richards said the Rolling Stones saved him from suicide after his son died

Keith Richards said the Rolling Stones got him through

 a dark time (Picture: Getty Images)

Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards said he was nearly driven to suicide after the death of his 10-month-old son.

But performing with the group brought him back from the brink.
Richard was on tour with Rolling Stones in 1976 when he learned that his son Tala had died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Keith revealed he was saved by going on stage with the band shortly after his world was shattered.

He told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs (via The Mirror): ‘It was such a shock at the time, especially (as) I’m getting a phone call in Paris and this happened in Geneva and I thought I’m going to go mad unless I do this show tonight.

Richards: ‘If I didn’t go on stage I’d have shot myself’

 (Picture: Invision/AP)

‘Maybe it was a sense of self-preservation… It was a rough, rough thing. And I had a feeling… I must go on stage now and I’ll worry and grieve and think about all this after the show. Because if I didn’t go on the stage I’d have probably shot myself.’
Richards has five children, Marlon, Angela and Tara with actress Anita Pallenberg, and daughters Theodora and Alexandra with model and actress Patti Hansen.

Keith Richards and Patti Hansen

 have two daughters together

 (Picture: Rex Shutterstock)