Keith Richards avoids fine after smoking onstage

It looked like Keith Richards, rock and roll's eternal outlaw, might be in trouble again with the law -- for smoking cigarettes -- but the threat has passed. Even though the Rolling Stones guitarist violated Scotland's indoor smoking ban by lighting up on stage in Glasgow on Friday (August 25th), Richards won't be fined because the stage at Hampden Park is exempt from the smoking rules. The Glasgow City Council made the ruling on Monday, August 28th, according to the Associated Press.

Had he been found in violation, Richards could have been fined up to $95.

Richards, who is seldom seen without a cigarette, was reported to the Glasgow City Council by anonymous journalists, though it was unclear if the writers had actually been at the concert. At the time, a spokesperson for the council said, "It's been brought to our attention that he was smoking, and we'll be looking into it. We do take our responsibilities for enforcement very seriously."

The Rolling Stones performed on Tuesday, August 29th in Cardiff, Wales. They'll kick off their North American tour on September 20th in Foxboro, Massachusetts, at Gillette Stadium.
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