Keith Richards’ 2006 Palm Tree Fall: Head Injury and Recovery in Fiji

In April 2006, Keith Richards took a nasty fall from a palm tree while vacationing in Fiji. He was trying to pick a coconut when the branch snapped and he dropped headfirst onto the ground, fracturing his skull and causing a subdural hematoma. He reportedly lay unconscious for a while before being airlifted to a hospital in New Zealand for emergency surgery — doctors drained the blood clot and removed part of his skull to relieve pressure.

Recovery took months, but Richards was back on stage before the end of the year. He famously wrote about the incident in his autobiography Life, calling it “one of the most stupid things I’ve ever done.” The missing piece of skull was later replaced with a titanium plate, and he joked that the only lasting side effect was a slight metallic taste when he played guitar near a microwave.