Keith Richards forced to stop “childish” habit in old age: “I wasn’t far from the end of the runway”
Keith Richards has revealed the pesky habit he was forced to stop altogether after his body “screamed for help”.
The Rolling Stones guitarist is currently in the lead-up to the band’s forthcoming album, Foreign Tounges, set for a July 10th release.
In all the excitement, it’s easy to forget that Richards is 82-years-old. Because of this, Richards isn’t able to party like he used to, and has been forced to change some of his usual habits as old age comes knocking at the door.
Discussing his longevity in a new interview with The Guardian, he admitted, “I tended to listen to my body just before it screamed for help.”
He went on, “I mean, I wasn’t far from the end of the runway before I screamed for help. But you tend to slow down if you want to keep going; you pace yourself.”
With that in mind, Richards revealed that he quit smoking cigarettes six years ago. He explained, “Suddenly, I felt like after all these years of smoking – because, you know, a man smokes – I was sat around with this silly thing in my mouth thinking: how childish.”
The star added, “It was that that put me off more than anything, although I smoke a lot of weed.”
The smiling rocker quipped that, he might not be drinking the week of the interview, “but otherwise, yeah, in moderation. So, yeah, it’s only a ton of heroin a day now,” he joked.
Foreign Tongues, which boasts 14 tracks, sees The Rolling Stones reunite once again with producer Andrew Watt, who previously helmed the 2023 chart-topping album, Hackney Diamonds.
Across the record, Richards and crew collaborate with a vast array of special guests, including Beatles icon Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Steve Winwood and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.
Giving his two-sense on the new project, Richards recently shared, “The Foreign Tongues album has a continuity from Hackney Diamonds and it was great to be working in London again, and to have that London vibe around us. It was a month of concentrated punch. To me, it’s all about the enjoyment of it.”
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