Keith Richards is 74 years old. Do you realize he’s still on his first wife?? Sure, he had long-term relationships (and fathered children) with other women, but he’s been with Patti Hansen for something like forty years. When he’s not on the road, he lives a pretty quiet life with Patti, their kids and grandkids. But Keith has lived a lot of life, and so of course journalists want to interview him. Which is how Keith ended up on the cover of the WSJ. Magazine’s Men’s Style Issue. You know an interview is good when as soon as the interview drops, the subject of the profile has to issue a series of careful apologies. So why did Keith apologize? Because he said – correctly? – that Mick Jagger should probably consider getting a vasectomy, especially after Mick welcomed his eighth child in 2016, when Mick was 73. Some highlights from the WSJ. Magazine piece:
He still loves the Rolling Stones: “I think the band is sounding better than it ever has. Does it matter now? To us, it does. There’s a certain thing in this band, which I find really weird, is that they just want to do it. Some nights we’re better than others, of course, but all I know about this damn band is that they always want to make it better than the night before. And that’s one of the things that keeps us going. I actually wanted four or five more shows—it stopped just as we were peaking.”
His thoughts on the current crop of pop stars: Among the new stars, Ed Sheeran gets his passing approval. Taylor Swift? “Good luck, girl—wish her well while it lasts.” But Richards adds that no one should take his thoughts on these matters too seriously. “I’ve just been around too long to be picking the bones out of kids,” he says. “It wouldn’t be fair of me, and I’ve always been an opinionated bastard anyway. And I never did really like pop music—even when I became pop music, I was listening to the blues and jazz and not interested in the hits.” He does single out one younger performer from those who joined the Stones onstage during a U.S. tour a few years ago. “Lady Gaga’s good; she’s got real talent,” he says, comparing her to another recent favorite, Amy Winehouse. “Hey, if Tony Bennett likes her, how are you going to argue with Mr. Bennett?”
Patti goes on tour with the band: “It’s more time with the old lady. She’s always with me—‘I can’t let you out by yourself!’ I need all the support I can get, and the old lady is numero uno support.”
His style: “I think most of the reason that people think I have style is because I wear my old lady’s clothes. I’ve always done that—‘Oh, he’s so stylish!’ Patti and I wear the same size, so I take this one and this one.”
On Mick: “Mick’s a randy old bastard,” says Richards about his writing partner’s becoming a father for the eighth time just over a year ago, at age 73. “It’s time for the snip—you can’t be a father at that age. Those poor kids!”
His history of drama with Mick: “Mick and I would have spats anyway, no matter what I said in the book, and I left a lot out… Mick and I live off of this fire between us. It’s been up- and downhill, but if I’m talking about the Rolling Stones, there ain’t a frontman like Jagger. Don’t matter how many bones you want to pick out of him, he’s amazing to work with.
The WSJ. Magazine is a great read and honestly, if I had just read this cold, I wouldn’t have blinked an eye at the vasectomy comment. But I guess someone was offended, because Keith did offer this apology:
I deeply regret the comments I made about Mick in the WSJ which were completely out of line. I have of course apologised to him in person.
— Keith Richards (@officialKeef) February 28, 2018
I mean… again, Mick Jagger recently welcomed his EIGHTH child at the age of 73. With an ex-girlfriend. And he had to buy her a house to keep the whole thing above-board. Why is it so wrong that Keith Richards – a man who arguably knows Mick best – suggests that Mick should get a vasectomy? But sure, Keith apologized and I hope that’s the end of it. LMAO.
Also: Taylor Swift? “Good luck, girl—wish her well while it lasts.” HAHAHAHAHahaha. I can’t wait for the Snake Army to try to come for Keith.
Cover courtesy of WSJ. Magazine, additional photos courtesy of WENN.
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