Jerry: Keith is 'doing very well'

Last updated at 12:09 10 May 2006


Rolling Stone Keith Richards is "doing very well" following surgery after his fall from a palm tree, model Jerry Hall said today.

The former wife of Stones front man, Mick Jagger, said she was in email contact with Richards' family, who are with him in hospital in New Zealand.

The 62-year-old guitarist had an operation on Monday to relieve pressure on his brain, but has already been "up and about chatting, and phoning New York" according to a spokesman for the band.

Hall, 49, speaking at the London launch of a helpline for victims of child abuse said: "I heard that he is doing very well.

"We are very upset about it. Mick is on holiday at the moment so he is hearing the same news as we are."

Hall, who said she originally introduced Richards to his wife, Patti Hansen, added that she had not been on the phone to New Zealand.

Accident

Richards underwent his operation at the Ascot Hospital in Auckland after suffering a brain haemorrhage following the accident in Fiji two weeks ago.

The operation involved drilling a hole in the skull to drain blood from the brain.

A spokesman for the band said last night: "Contrary to stories in newspapers in New Zealand and the UK, Keith Richards did not undergo a second operation.

The first and only operation was done on Monday May 8, and was 100 per cent successful. There was no brain damage. He continues to improve as expected.

The Rolling Stones "A Bigger Bang European Tour' will begin in June with details to follow shortly.

Dates for the Continental leg of the tour have been put back, with the late May opening gig in Barcelona now set for June.

Richards' spokesman previously said the operation was a "complete success" and that the rocker would need a "few weeks' recuperation".

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