Long-serving Leicester Mercury snapper Neil Medhurst has had some scrapes snapping rock stars at Granby Halls.

He ended up in court with the Rolling Stones and on one occasion, flat on his backside in front of Rod Stewart.

Neil's been dining out on tales from the city's famed concert venue for more than two decades.

He shared memories from a colourful career with Mercury readers and reporter Lee Marlow.

Neil (46) who celebrates 30 years with the Mercury in August, was on hand to capture the Rolling Stones in concert at the Welford Road venue in 1976.

But his seemingly-innocent snaps of legendary Stones guitarist Keith Richards landed him in court - with his pictures used by newspapers nationwide.

Days after the Stones' Granby Halls gig, Keith crashed his Bentley car on the M1 near Newport Pagnell. Investigating officers recovered a silver neck chain from the site.

Attached to it were various ornaments including a silver "sniffing" tube which was later found to contain 39 milligrams of cocaine.

Richards denied ownership of the chain saying so many members of the band used the Bentley that it could have belonged to anyone. So Thames Valley officers called on Leicestershire police for help.

One of the officers had collected cuttings and photographs from the Granby Halls concert and the pictures taken by our photographer showed Keith with the aforementioned jewellery.

The sniffing tube was attached.

"I didn't want anything to do with the court case," recalled Neil. "But I was interviewed by CID officers and told if I didn't give evidence they would subpoena me. I didn't have a choice.

"I ended up at Aylesbury Crown Court in front of Mick Jagger with solicitors waving my pictures around!"

After a three-day trial, which saw the prosecution use Neil's concert pictures, Keith was found guilty for possession of drugs - a charge he had always denied. He was fined £750 with £250 costs.

During the same free-loving, fashion-free period of the early 1970s, snappy dressing Neil, complete with five-inch heels, was back at the Granby Halls to snap Rod Stewart.

Before the gig, however, Neil had been instructed to take snaps of a group of Mercury competition winners at the Holiday Inn, where the complimentary booze was flowing freely.

At the concert, full of Dutch courage, but hindered by a gut full of free ale and the ridiculous pair of stack-heeled platform shoes, our daring hero clambered up the Granby Halls scaffold - and promptly fell off in front of a performing Rod.

But like the true professional he is, he hobbled from the stage front to take some snaps of Rod's then love interest, Britt Ekland.

"She looked at me gone out. But you couldn't blame her - I did look a bit of a mess, hobbling around in broken stack heeled shoes!"

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