The founding member of the Rolling Stones is working on two projects which will air on BBC this coming autumn. Keith Richards will be the subject of the BBC2 documentary, narrating his childhood and the effects of growing up in post-war Britain.
On another BBC project, the 72 year old will curate a weekend of films and live performances which will air on BBC4. There will be a film dedicated to his honour entitled Keith Richards: The Origins of the Species. This film will be the pinnacle of BBC's My Generation special which will explore the history of pop. The film will be handled by director Julien Temple and the BBC boast the Keith Richards project would "reclaim on film for the first time” Richards’s roots growing up in south-east London.
It's a highly charged and passionate film for both the subject and the director. Richards was enticed to do the project to emphasize the winds of change in pop-culture society after WWII; "Harold Macmillan actually said it – ‘The winds of change’ and all that – but he didn’t mean it in quite the same way. I certainly felt that my generation and what was happening and the feeling in the air – was it’s time to push limits. The world is ours now and you can rise or fall on it."
For director Temple, the Rolling Stones was definitive in how he constructed thoughts and consumed art; "Listening to the early Stones as a kid changed everything for me. I felt a new way of living emerging, a new kind of person becoming possible – something I wanted to be a part of. And without a doubt I thought Keith Richards was the origin of the species. This film sets out to explore how both he and the ‘60s in England came about.”
Keith Richards: The Origins of the Species will borrow heavily no doubt from Richards' 2010 autobiography Life. The biopic is expected to air on BBC2 this autumn. Meanwhile over on BBC4, Richards will contribute extensively to that weekend's lineup. He has hand-picked his favourite live-performances and films and will introduce each piece and its impact on him.
Despite the 72 years on the clock, Richards and his fellow band members show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They're due to release an album full of new material later this year and are still touring globally.
No exact date has been assigned to the airing of this BBC/Keith Richards extravaganza but we will notify you accordingly. Now, for anyone debating Richards' acting abilities, here he is back with Johnny Depp in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.