Keith Richards shares his tips for a longer life
Synonymous with debauchery for decades, The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards has opened up about his current lifestyle choices.
Speaking in this month’s edition of MOJO Magazine, which he has also Guest Edited, 75-year-old Keith reflected upon his fitness regime – or lack of.
“I get up. Ummm. And then, uh, you know, I sit down,” Keith explained. “I don’t do none of this trotting around, I think it’s bad for you. It’s bad on the joints, especially on concrete. I don’t go with that. It’s just not for me. It works for some guys, but y’know, it’s just… Mmm:”
“Oh, and when I go to the islands, I do quite a bit of swimming,” he added: “It’s not a regime, it’s just very nice to be in the water, and, uhh, you know… float about a bit.”
After revealing he’d ‘pulled the plug’ on drinking late last year, Keith also says he has now also “substantially” cut back on smoking.
Admitting he’s struggling to quit cigarettes completely, Keith said: “I have tried. So far, unsuccessfully! Lou Reed claimed nicotine was harder to quit than heroin.
“It is. Quitting heroin is like hell, but it’s a short hell. I mean, the actual process. Cigarettes are just always there, and you’ve always done it. I just pick ’em up and light ’em up without thinking about it.
“But lately, in fact – spread the news! – I’ve managed to cut it down by a substantial amount every day, and I’m still working on it. Because I realised I don’t need it. I realised it’s just a useless habit. But hey, when you’re 75, habits are pretty ingrained.”
Keith also said that he still doesn’t turn down a drink; instead he has calmed down significantly: “I’ve knocked the hard stuff on the head. I have a little wine with meals, and a Guinness or a beer or two, but otherwise… no. It’s like heroin – the experiment is over.
“Mind you, if I meet you in a bar and you say, ‘Do you want a drink?’ – heheheh – I wouldn’t turn it down! I’m not a puritan in these matters. It’s just that it’s not on the daily menu anymore.”
Elsewhere in the wide-ranging chat, Keith revealed he has stood his ground and still doesn’t own a mobile phone.
“I relyupon my kids or the wife to… just look it up! Google it or something!I don’t touch those things,” Keith said. “I’ve never liked phones, you see. Maybe that’s just because,being so-called famous since I’ve been 19, the phone is always ringing andit’s always somebody that wants something.
“So with the phone, I wouldonly ever phone out. So when they brought in mobile phones, I’m like, Ohno…! At least before I could say, “I wasn’t in!” But now… Everybody whoknows me knows I don’t have a phone.”
Primed to play the US leg of their No Filter Tour this summer, Keith also said The Stones have no plans to retire anytime soon saying: “Everybody wants to work as long as they can and feel good about it.”
Keith also spoke to MOJO about The Rolling Stones’ new studio album: “We’re in the studio in a couple of weeks, the whole kit and caboodle. The Stones with Don Was producing, in LA. We’ll have it done this year, at some point. We’ll put down as much as we can for a week or so, and then we’re on the road. So we’ll see what happens after that.”
MOJO hits the newsstands on 19 February, an exclusive preview issue is available to buy NOW at greatmagazines.co.uk/keithrichards
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