Keith Richards is to reissue his 1992 album Main Offender. The 30th anniversary version of the Rolling Stones guitarist's second solo album will hit shelves on March 18, and will include a previously unreleased live show recorded at the Town & Country Club (now The Forum) in North London's Kentish Town.
"This is the second time around & the Winos are kind of developing," says Richards. "And if I can keep those guys together for as long as I can, it’s one of the best bands in the world. It’s a very intriguing band and the potential is only just starting to show itself.
"If I hadn’t have taken the Winos on the road, this record would probably have been totally different than it is. I tried to avoid making too much sense on this record because to me that ambiguity and mystery, and a little provocation to make you think, is something far more powerful and more important than just wagging your finger and saying, ‘I know what he’s saying don’t do this, do that.’
"If you’re a musician, silence is your canvas and you never want to fill-in the whole thing because then you’ve just covered it all… One of the most interesting parts about music is where you don’t play."
The deluxe box set edition will also include the album on smoke-coloured vinyl, an 88-page book featuring never-before-seen photos, reproductions of handwritten lyrics, essays dating from the album’s release, plus an envelope containing replicas of promotional and tour materials from Richards’ personal archive.
The first track to be lifted from the Winos Live in London ’92’ Concert is a version of How I Wish (below), which first appeared on Richards' debut solo album Talk Is Cheap. That album was originally released in 1988 and repackaged in deluxe form in 2019.
Main Offender will also be available as a double CD Mediabook, a limited edition red vinyl LP, black vinyl LP and single CD digipak.
Main Offender Tracklist
1. 999
2. Wicked As It Seems
3. Eileen
4. Words Of Wonder
5. Yap Yap
6. Bodytalks
7. Hate It When You Leave
8. Runnin’ Too Deep
9. Will But You Won’t
10. Demon
Winos Live In London ‘92
1. Take It So Hard
2. 999
3. Wicked As It Seems
4. How I Wish
5. Gimme Shelter
6. Hate It When You Leave
7. Before They Make Me Run
8. Eileen
9. Will But You Won’t
10. Bodytalks
11. Happy
12. Whip It Up
