Falling out of a tree doesn’t usually become one of life’s defining moments. But for the Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards, that was just what happened after he took a tumble from a coconut tree in Fiji in 2006. What resulted was a severe injury that almost took his life, a surprise surgery halfway around the world from home, and a media community that went wild with speculation. So what really happened on that day in April 2006, and why was it so significant?
Videos by American Songwriter
Climbing Trees
In April 2006, Richards was touring with the Stones. During a break in their touring schedule, he took a trip to a small island near Fiji to enjoy a vacation with his wife Patti and bandmate Ronnie Wood. At one point, he took a break from the beach to sit in a small tree.
When Richards attempted to climb down, he slipped, falling about seven feet to the ground and striking his head. He shook it off and seemed fine, even continuing the afternoon’s activities.
It wasn’t the first time the guitar legend had been seriously injured after a fall. In 1998, he damaged his chest and ribs after falling from a ladder in his home library. The injury forced the Stones to delay their tour while he recovered.
An Emergency
Several days later, Richards was still suffering severe headaches. It was evident that something wasn’t right. A visit to the hospital confirmed it: he had a skull fracture and an enormous brain bleed. The problem was that the closest qualified neurosurgeon, Dr. Andrew Law, was about 1,700 miles away in New Zealand.
“They rang me from Fiji,” Law told Louder Sound, “saying they had someone with an intracranial hemorrhage, and it was quite a prominent person. Could I cope with that?”
Richards was admitted to the hospital in Auckland and placed under observation in the hope that the blood clots in his brain would dissolve without surgery. But a few days later, things had only gotten worse: the rock star was in enormous pain, slurring his words, and was disoriented.
They decided that surgery was the way to go. It was a massive ordeal, requiring the surgeons to drill into his skull and vacuum out the clots. But the surgery was a success, and Richards showed immediate improvement.
Media Frenzy
The media went wild with speculation. Some outlets reported that Richards had a concussion, with some saying that he had fallen from a tree and others claiming he had been in a Jet Ski accident. It wasn’t until he published his autobiography in 2010 that Richards thoroughly explained what happened that day.
“Forget any palm tree. This was some gnarled low tree that was basically a horizontal branch,” he wrote. “It was obvious that people had sat there before because the bark was worn away. And it was, I guess, about seven feet up.”
Someone called for him, and Richards attempted to climb down.
“There was another branch in front of me and I thought I’ll just grab hold of that and gently drop to the ground,” he wrote. “But I forgot my hands were still wet and there was sand and everything on them and, as I grabbed this branch, the grip didn’t take. And so I landed hard on my heels, and my head went back and hit the trunk of the tree. Hard. And that was it. It didn’t bother me at the time.”
An Unlikely Friendship
It must have been a surreal moment for Law. The neurosurgeon was a long-time Rolling Stones fan, even having a poster of the band on his wall when he was young. After performing the life-saving surgery, Law and Richards struck up an unlikely friendship. Amid continuing health concerns, insurers asked Law to join them on tour to ensure the rocker’s safety.
[RELATED: Keith Richards Discusses Sober Life Ahead of New Rolling Stones Album]
It was a shocking life change for Law, who found himself living a celebrity lifestyle for several years. Richards even thanked him publicly during the Stones’ concert at Dodger Stadium in November 2006, calling him his “head man” in front of a crowd of 50,000.
Law said that their bond came from the seriousness of the surgery, during which Richards understood he was putting his life in the doctor’s hands. During their time together, he even lived with the Richards family, dividing their time between Connecticut and the UK.
Richards returned to touring in July 2006, two months after his accident. During his first show, Law watched him anxiously from backstage. There were concerns that he might have a seizure—or that he might have even lost some of his musical abilities. Luckily, he was in perfect form.
Richards also said he didn’t plan to let the surgery slow him down.
“It was what I needed to do,” he wrote in his autobiography. “I was ready to go. Either you become a hypochondriac and listen to other people, or you make up your own mind. If I felt that I couldn’t make it, I’d be the first one to say so.”
For what it’s worth, the rocker also says he’s never had another headache.
Photo by Sven Hoogerhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images
