Alrighty, so since posting this quiz, consensus both here and over the the Manhattan Before 1990 group on Facebook asserts that the estimable Mr. Richards is striding with characterstic loucheness, in David Gahr's pohtograph, past the facade of 122 St. Marks Place. Let's look again, shall we?
Today, that very spot would look like this....
...and being that I just got a new iPhone 5S, here's that same spot with the PAN function (click on it to enlarge)...
Of course, in 1981 (when the video for "Waiting on a Friend" was shot), 122 St. Marks Place probably wasn't anything especially notable. If this address is the correct spot, though, eight years after this photo was taken, 122 St. Marks Place opened as Sin-E, a lovely little coffee shop/bar/performance venue that I spoke about back here.
As I stated in that post, I had some great times at Sin-E, ranging from a rollicking live performance by Gavin Friday through a random spotting of Iggy Pop (who shot me a deranged grin and an enthusiastic thumbs-up when I spotted him and exclaimed "IGGY!"). Sadly, the incarnation of Sin-E on St. Marks Place closed in 2000 (it moved down to Attorney Street, if memory serves, and closed some years later).
In the wake of SIn-E, though, 122 St. Marks has become a bar called Bua Bar. I couldn't possibly know less about it, I'm afraid. Honestly speaking, once Sin-E vanished (along with Alcatraz down the street, and now the Yaffa Cafe), my reasons for spending any time on that particular strip largely faded away.
Just for laughs, here's a shot by storied photographer Richard Corkery for the NY Daily News of Keith walking back to the fabled stoop.
Meanwhile, here's the great Kris Needs (a great gent I very briefly worked alongside) speaking about his first meeting with Keith Richards in 1980.
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