ALISON BOSHOFF: Nigel Havers craves Stones film satisfaction as he plans BBC project to tell story of infamous 1960s drugs bust
Telling the full, extraordinary story of the infamous 1960s drugs bust at Rolling Stone Keith Richards’ home — when Marianne Faithfull was said to have been found wearing just a fur rug — has been a preoccupation for actor Nigel Havers for more than a decade.
Havers’ father, Sir Michael, was the most expensive barrister in London at the time and defended Richards and Mick Jagger, who were both convicted and given prison sentences, which were later lifted.
The actor, who recalls getting to know the Stones as a teen, first mooted the project with the BBC in 2004. Now it looks to be finally moving forward. Havers said: ‘We are at the point of casting — and Hugh Bonneville is playing my dad!’
The question of who will play Jagger makes Havers laugh nervously. He quips that Sir Mick is in such great shape, perhaps he can play himself.
Telling the full, extraordinary story of the infamous 1960s drugs bust at Rolling Stone Keith Richards’ home — when Marianne Faithfull was said to have been found wearing just a fur rug — has been a preoccupation for actor Nigel Havers for more than a decade
But since Jagger celebrated his 79th birthday this week, it is more likely the role will be taken by a rising charismatic young Brit, such as Anson Boon, who played Johnny Rotten in the TV series Pistol and shares a love of snake-hipped fashion with the Stones’ frontman.
The film will be called The Butterfly And The Wheel, after the famous leader column in The Times newspaper which asked (using a line borrowed from poet Alexander Pope): ‘Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?’
Havers said: ‘The Times, edited by William Rees-Mogg [MP Jacob’s dad] ran a leader column. He was the first to say: ‘Don’t go after Mick and Keith.’
‘It’s a ridiculously good article, which steered the judge.’ Havers added: ‘My father took the case on and became liberal. He never again wore a stiff collar to court. It changed his whole personality, which is amazing.
During the raid on Redlands, Richards’ country estate in Sussex, in 1967, Jagger, Richards and Faithfull were apparently coming down from an acid trip.
Havers’ father, Sir Michael, was the most expensive barrister in London at the time and defended Richards and Mick Jagger, who were both convicted and given prison sentences, which were later lifted
Idea: Actor Nigel Havers, who recalls getting to know the Stones as a teen, first mooted the project with the BBC in 2004
Police found a handful of amphetamine pills, plus some heroin belonging to a friend, as well as some cannabis. Jagger and Richards pleaded not guilty but were convicted.
Jagger was given a £200 fine and three months imprisonment for possessing four amphetamine tablets. Richards was found guilty of allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property and sentenced to a year in prison and a £500 fine. Both were released on bail after a night behind bars, pending appeal.
Two days later, the op-ed appeared in The Times, with Rees-Mogg asking whether ‘Mr Jagger received a more severe sentence than would have been thought proper for any purely anonymous young man’.
He later said: ‘Nobody else would have been sent to prison for what was essentially a sea-sickness tablet’.’
More to come: It is likely the role of Jagger will be taken by a rising charismatic young Brit, such as Anson Boon, who played Johnny Rotten in the TV series Pistol and shares a love of snake-hipped fashion with the Stones’ frontman
