IF ever a man looked like the face of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll it is Keith Richards.

The Rolling Stones' lead guitarist has the ravaged appearance of a man who has worn out a couple of bodies. His excesses and eccentricities prompted confident prediction that he would never reach his 30th birthday, but next month he celebrates his 60th.

The musician and hell-raiser has always done things his own way. But, as a fascinating new book, Satisfaction by rock biographer Christopher Sandford (headline, £17.99) reveals, he has also proved pivotal to the Stones' worldwide success.

The shy, half-educated boy from Dartford wrote the pop classics (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Ruby Tuesday and Brown Sugar. Yet if you are looking for articulate gems of observation on life, Richards' own musings appear to be of the one-line variety, usually ending in "man" and punctuated by lengthy bouts of silence.

He was a Blitz baby with all the deprivations that meant during his early years. But the lad was "totally musical" and became an outstanding chorister.

When he joined the boy scouts he met young Mike Jagger, forging a lifelong friendship. They grew up to bond over Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters, as young Keith was introduced to the guitar and soon created a distinct style of his own.

The rest is history, with the Rolling Stones becoming musical icons with success spanning several decades... and of course, they are still going strong having celebrated 40 years of rock 'n' roll this year.

Sandford chronicles the rise and rise of this eclectic group of contemporary musicians in revelatory style -- Richards' life has been one of brilliant invention coupled with a talent for self-destruction and excess. Certainly, he will be like no other pensioner.

Gigs followed as manager Andrew Oldham kickstarted the Stones. But while Richards was not the most outstanding personality in private, "quiet, shy, the runt of the pack", his stage persona was developing into something wilder.

The group released an obscure Chuck Berry ditty "Come On" in June, 1963, and the scene was set for stardom. Their reputation was set with fans squealing, police chiefs rumbling "disgraceful!" and newspaper headlines shouting "thugs... cavemen... apes".

Satisfaction by Christopher Sandford, published by headline, £17.99