In 1976, Keith Richards' 10-week-old son, Tara, died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

The baby's mother, actress Anita Pallenberg, and his son were in Geneva at the time and Keith was in Paris, set to perform that night when he got the news. In his book, Life, Keith had previously stated that Tara's death has haunted him his entire life.

Keith tells the BBC, "Maybe it was a sense of self-preservation. … It was a rough, rough thing. And I had a feeling [that] I must go on stage now and I'll worry and grieve and think about all this after the show. Because if didn't go on the stage I'd have probably shot myself."

Richards says he made the difficult decision to soldier on and perform despite his devastation from the news. He felt it would be the only thing that could keep him sane in light of the news. At the time, Keith was widely criticized for his decision to perform and not immediately return home to Anita.

"It was such a shock at the time, especially [since I was] 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," he said.

During the revealing interview, Keith also discussed his brotherly relationship with his fellow Glimmer Twin. He compared their often very public rivalry with that of brothers.  "Mick and I have a great relationship, except when we don't, which is when everybody hears about it.

"With Mick, I always felt it was a brother thing and what brothers don't fight occasionally? And we're always fighting for the right reasons. We just think that our version is more right than the other's."

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