Beggars Banquet Photo Gallery

This is a personal scrapbook of some of my experiences with the Stones through the years. I hope you enjoy some of the stories that go with the photos. I think it's a testament to the Stones' kindness and generosity that they let a young kid like me hang out with 'em for so long and do some growing up in front of them. --Bill German

London, 1986. Me and Keith leave the Roof Garden club, where the Stones had just received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. After the event, Keith grabbed me: "William, you're coming with me." He took me in a limo with Ronnie over to Clapton's flat, where we stayed past sunrise. Clapton was getting ready to move, so his house was virtually empty, save for a few chairs and a case of Jack Daniel's.

"Grab a few bottles," Eric suggested as we left, "because if you don't take them, I'm gonna leave 'em for the landlord." Keith and Ronnie walked over and started stuffing bottles into their coat pockets. "Glad to be of service," said Keith.

I hooked up with Ronnie one night at the Limelight nightclub in New York, 1984. It was for some kind of benefit, and Ronnie was thrown together at one point with Willie Stargell, the legendary baseball player. "Star Gel!" exclaimed Ronnie. "That's what I use in my hair!"

Party for the "Let's Spend The Night Together" film, 1983. Warhol, Christopher Reeve, and Billy Joel were all there. Mick wanted to cut out early (note bodyguard at left), but, 20-year- old geek that I was, I picked that moment to ask Mick to pose for a photo. (For promotional purposes, I'd often get the Stones to pose with BB.) He literally stopped for one second, and this is what I got.

Keith appeared on the NBC-TV program "Friday Night Videos" in 1986, with Paul Shaffer as host. Keith forgot the words to "Sleep Tonight," so I brought him a copy of the "Dirty Work" album sleeve to use as a cheat sheet. (It's got the lyrics printed on it.) After the taping, Paul got Keith to autograph an issue of Beggars Banquet (which is what we're looking at).

The left one is the American cover (published 1987). The right one is the British cover (1988). Guess which one I like better.

Keith attended the Beggars Banquet Tenth Anniversary Party in New York, 1988. He was the only Stone in town and he had to play hooky from an X-Pensive Winos rehearsal in order to attend. He stayed for about an hour. I was so occupied during it all that it didn't even occur to me to introduce him to my parents. But at one point during the party, I looked over at the other side of the room, and there were my folks--imagine the Costanzas!--just yukking it up with Keith. I later found out what transpired. My father introduced himself: "Hey, Keith, we're Bill's parents." And Keith answered: "Well, you've got quite a boy there!"