The push and pull between frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards is the heart of what makes the Rolling Stones tick. While for decades a certain, uneasy detente has simmered between them, sometimes the relationship becomes fraught to the point of breaking, like in the late-1980s when they pursued separate solo careers, or after 2010, when Richards mocked the size of Jagger’s member, writing in his memoir Life that the singer had “an enormous pair of balls, but it doesn’t quite fill the gap.” The Stones were on hiatus for years after that gossip-y tidbit, and perhaps looking to avoid a similar fate just ahead of a new round of live dates through Europe, Keith is stepping out to apologize to Mick once again.
In a recent profile piece for the Wall Street Journal, Richards called Jagger a “randy old bastard” and said that it’s “time for the snip,” suggesting he get a vasectomy following the birth of the singer’s eighth child at the end of 2016. Taking to Twitter, Richards walked back the comment, while also revealing that he’d already apologized to Jagger personally. “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.”
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
In a separate interview with the Telegraph, the notoriously hedonistic guitarist also revealed that he hadn’t had a drink in nearly three months. “I’m not saying I’m definitely off all of this stuff,” he protests. “In six months’ time, I might be on it again. But at the moment, for a couple of months, I haven’t touched it.” As for the harder stuff? “Drugs are not interesting these days. They are very institutionalised and bland. And, anyway, I’ve done ’em all.”
The Stones’ No Filter tour kicks off 5/17 at Dublin’s Croke Park. Check out the full routing here.
