Tara died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1976 and Richards tells BBC's Desert Island Discs (via ABC Radio) that having to play a concert in Paris right after he received the news saved him from a drastic reaction to the tragedy.

"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.

"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 also discussed his relationship with Stones singer Mick Jagger, comparing the sometimes heated rivalry to 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."