The hard-living, guitar-licking spearhead of the Rolling Stones sound for 60 years has defied the odds to reach his ninth decade.
Rock god Keith Richards has made it to 80, despite a former dissolute lifestyleImage: Istvan Bajzat/picture alliance
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Since his rise to global stardom as lead guitarist of the Rolling Stones in the 1960s, Keith Richards has remained the poster boy of drugs and rock 'n' roll.
In 1973, UK music magazine New Musical Express ranked Richards the most likely rock star to die within a year. Fifty years later he's still here, and unlike guitar god contemporaries like Jimi Hendrix or former bandmate Brian Jones — who both died at 27 — Richards has reached 80 and is still rockin'.
Keef, as he's known, is off the hard stuff but still likes the occasional drink, he says. Through it all he's never stopped playing music, laying down his inimitable blues-rock licks for yet another Rolling Stones album in 2023, "Hackney Diamonds."
Keith Richards (left), Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger released 'Hackney Diamonds' in October 2023 Image: Toby Melville/REUTERS
Bad boy made good
Keith Richards was born in Dartford, Kent in 1943. His mother bought Richards his first guitar when he was a child, and he was inspired by the music of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
While attending Dartford Technical High School for Boys, he was recruited to sing in the school choir where he sang soprano and even performed for Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. But he soon developed a rebellious streak, preferring the music of Chuck Berry. He was ultimately expelled from school for truancy.
Previously neighbors during childhood, Richards became reacquainted with Mick Jagger at a train station in 1961 and soon joined his amateur covers band, Little Boy Blue & the Blue Boys. This band subsequently merged with Blues Incorporated, featuring Brian Jones, and by 1962 it had turned into the Rolling Stones.
Twenty-four British studio albums later and with record sales estimated to be in excess of 200 million copies, the Stones are generally regarded as one of the most influential bands ever.
Between 1968 and 1973, Keef was instrumental in a string of seminal rock albums, including "Sticky Fingers," "Beggars Banquet" and "Exile on Main Street."
'If you're going to get wasted, then get wasted elegantly,' Keith Richards (second from left) once said of his substance abuseImage: Michael Putland/Avalon/Retna/picture alliance
With Jagger, he has written the bulk of the Stones' catalog, forming a collaboration as highly-regarded as that of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
But drugs threatened to end his career — and his life — long before Richards reached rock immortality.
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'Dealing with fame and pressure'
Heavy heroin use in the 1970s led to a slew of possession charges, including one for drug trafficking in Toronto in 1977 that might have landed Richards in jail for seven years.
In a 2022 BBC documentary, he said he indulged in heroin — along with liberal portions of mescaline, LSD, cannabis and much else — "to deal with fame and pressure."
But by the late '70s he was off heroin. Richards says he gave up smoking in 2019 and cocaine in 2006 — after he infamously, according to his own account, sniffed cocaine mixed with his father's cremated ashes.
In 1976, at the height of his heroin addiction, Richards (right) performed with the Stones in Zurich Image: DB Keystone Dammann/dpa/picture-alliance
But he once said that "fame has killed more very talented guys than drugs."
He told The Telegraph on September 23, 2023 that he often needs to escape the limelight, and not always through drugs.
"I've always got a book on the go," he explained. "It keeps me sane. And, you know, it's possibly somewhere I hide. I'm not cut out to be a pop star, and I have to deal with it, but it is a pain in the ass sometimes, quite honestly. And so, now and again during the day, I just retreat into books."
Through it all, there was of course the music. In addition to the Stones, there has been numerous solo records and side projects, including his band The X-Pensive Winos.
Richards was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, while Rolling Stone magazine ranked him fourth on its list of 100 best guitarists in 2011.
The rocker also turned up in three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films as Captain Teague, father of Jack Sparrow, with a look that was inspired by Richards himself.
Keith Richards (right) and Johnny Depp at the premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' at Disneyland in 2011Image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Not ready to sell Stones catalog
Richards has always maintained a wry sense of humor, and a kind of fatalism that allows him to accept ageing with grace, and to celebrate his surprising longevity.
Asked if going back into the studio to record "Hackney Diamonds" was like getting on a bike, Richards deadpanned in an interview with CBS on October 15: "Pretty much, but you're not sure if the tires are pumped up."
In 2022, Richards confirmed that, while fellow ageing music luminaries like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Sting were selling off their catalogs, he and Mick Jagger had no plans to sell up.
"The only thing about selling your catalog, that's a sign of getting old," he told CBS Sunday Morning in 2022, adding that the band might "put some more stuff in it."
"So far, I have no real problem with getting old," he told The Telegraph. "There are some horrific things that you can see in the future, but you've got to get there. I'm getting along with the idea of being 80, and still walking, still talking. I find [ageing] a fascinating process."
Rolling Stones celebrate 60 years as a band
Their first concert was at London's Marquee Club on July 12, 1962. Six decades later, the Stones' concerts are still among the world's greatest rock'n'roll events.
Image: Robin Utrecht/picture alliance
60 years of Rolling Stones
They keep on rolling: The Stones are still touring across Europe, 60 years after the band played their first-ever gig, at London's Marquee Club on July 12, 1962. A new four-part BBC documentary series, "My Life as a Rolling Stone," focuses on the four core members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and the late Charlie Watts. Here's a look at how they became so legendary.
Image: Robin Utrecht/picture alliance
Starting out with rhythm and blues
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met each other at school. In 1962, they founded The Rolling Stones. Also performing at their first concert in London were Tony Chapman (drums), Dick Taylor (bass) and Ian Stewart (piano). Another line-up followed with Brian Jones (second guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums), who performed on the first album, The Rolling Stones, in 1964.
Image: Getty Images
Bad boy band
With their feel-good pop, The Beatles were already achieving world fame in 1964. That's why Andrew Loog Oldham, then manager of the Stones, wanted to create a group to counter the Fab Four. They were to become famous as the "bad boys" — though during their first TV performance in the show "Ready Steady Go," they came across as harmless good guys.
Image: Getty Images
A different image
One year later, on September 11, 1965, the Stones gave their first concert in West Germany — in the somewhat conservative city of Münster. The police had a hard time keeping their fans under control. Most residents in Münster, however, eyed the Stones with suspicion. In fact they were lucky. Fans in Berlin demolished a stage during a later concert, which would take seven years to rebuild.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Otto Noecker
Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll
During the late 1960s, no other band came to embody the image of the hedonistic rock band more than the Stones. Groupies and heavy drug use were par for the course. Hard drugs eventually took their toll on Stones guitarist Brian Jones. He left the band in June 1969 and a short time later, drowned in his swimming pool under mysterious circumstances.
Image: Imago
An ingenious idea
In May 1965, the Stones went on their third tour across the US, playing cover versions of rock hits once more. They still hadn't produced enough songs of their own. One night, Keith played a new melody on his guitar, and loved it so much that he recorded it and had Mick listen to it. It was the hookline of their first worldwide hit, "Satisfaction."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Shock in Altamont
The Altamont Free Concert, initiated by the Stones management, was intended as a peaceful counter event to Woodstock. Alongside the Stones on stage were, among others, Santana, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Jefferson Airplane. When the Stones appeared, the crowd got out of control and the concert had to be interrupted. Hells Angels were behind the commotion.
Image: picture-alliance/AP
The end of the hippie era
When the Stones started playing "Under my Thumb," a man collapsed in front of the stage after a member of the Hells Angels stabbed him in the back. The band was deeply shocked. "If Woodstock was the dream," said British photographer Eamon McCabe later, "then Altamont was the nightmare." This day, December 6, 1969 is said to mark the end of the hippie era.
Image: picture-alliance/AP
1973, still with Mick Taylor (2nd from left)
The band faced tax troubles in the 70s, which led them to flee to France, where they recorded "Exile On Main St." in 1972, considered by many to be the best Stones album ever. In 1974, guitarist Mick Taylor left and was replaced by Ron Wood.
Image: akg-images/picture alliance
Drug-fueled 1970s
Drug busts complicated the band's international tour plans. Charged with "possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking," Keith Richards was sent to rehab to avoid a long prison sentence, while Mick Jagger continued his jet-set lifestyle. Musically, they experimented with different musical genres, dabbling in funk ("Miss You" in 1978) and disco ("Emotional Rescue" in 1980).
Image: Michael Putland/Avalon/Retna/picture alliance
An amazing live band
Overcoming those problems, by the 1980s the band was back to doing what they do best: performing live concerts. They were in such demand that they easily filled entire football stadiums — including in Germany in 1982, where they played many legendary shows.
Image: Istvan Bajzat/dpa/picture alliance
Rocking around the world
Even after founding member Bill Wyman left in 1993, the Rolling Stones simply carried on into the next millennium, playing stages around the world. The idea of a farewell tour popped up a few times, but they kept on rocking. Despite their age, they never failed to put on spectacular shows. This photo was taken in 2003 in Moscow.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'I'm a rolling stone'
In 2006, Japanese fans enjoyed a Stones concert in the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo (pictured). Some time later, the Stones performed in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. True fans know where the band's name came from: Apparently, Brian Jones was inspired by the blues hit "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters, which contained the line, "I'm a rolling stone."
Image: AP
2021: Charlie Watts dies
He was the Stones' backbone. But in 2004 drummer Charlie Watts was diagnosed with cancer. Radiation therapy led to recovery, and he continued touring with the Stones for many years. His last concert was in August 2019, as part of the "No Filter" tour. Two years later, he died at the age of 80.
Image: Ian West/PA/picture alliance
The new man on the drums
At 65, he is way younger than all other members: Steve Jordan was first hired to fill in for a few gigs and finish the Stones' "No Filter" tour in the US after Charlie Watts' death. Now he has joined the world's longest-serving rock band on their European tour.
