![\"Keith](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Keith-Richards-The-Rolling-Stones-2010s-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n
Sun 23 August 2026 18:30, UK <\/p>\n
Was there really anyone that thought that Keith Richards<\/a> was one of the most wholesome guys in The Rolling Stones?\u00a0<\/p>\n Sure he wasn\u2019t the same kind of troubadour that was into nefarious habits as much as his contemporaries, but given the amount of damage that he has done to his body, the advances in modern medicine are insane that he is still standing to this day. There was nothing that would ever fatigue him whenever it came to playing his music, but he felt that some of the members of The Rolling Stones were easier to get along with than others whenever he performed.<\/p>\n And a lot of that comes down to the way that everyone plays. Charlie Watts was always the glue that held the band together<\/a>, and even though Steve Jordan has done a great job taking over for what Watts had been doing for so long, Richards also had a massive affection for Ronnie Wood. The pair almost look like brothers whenever they went onstage, but did you notice that none of those people I just listed were actually the frontman that he has spent the most time with throughout his career?<\/p>\n Richards was always happy to be close to Mick Jagger, but there was also a bit of a touchy relationship between them most of the time. There was always a disconnect in how they wanted The Stones to be portrayed every single time they performed, and while there were many instances where Richards could get away with making the biggest blues songs that anyone had ever made, he only semi-tolerated the turns towards pop music<\/a> that Jagger wanted to be all the time.<\/p>\n Then again, it\u2019s not like Richards needed to worry about Jagger leaving the band or anything like that. The world has looked at his solo career with a resounding indifference most of the time, and the thought of Jagger continuing on without Richards makes about as much sense as Led Zeppelin trying to put together another version of themselves without Jimmy Page\u2019s guitar riffs colouring everything.<\/p>\n But the fact is that the band was never Jagger and Richards\u2019s to begin with. The whole thing was started by Brian Jones to be closer to the blues music that he had loved since he was a kid, and while Richards was certainly on board to play some rock and roll every now and again, it wasn\u2019t fun during Jones\u2019s final days in the band. He was justifiably pissed about being sidelined by his bandmates, but Richards felt that there was no way for him to continue working with his friend.<\/p>\n They had tried to get Jones involved again with their work, but by the end of the 1960s, there was no chance that they could have tolerated Jones\u2019s attitude anymore, saying<\/a>, \u201cMy attempts to bring Brian back into focus were a total failure. After that \u2026 [long pause] He did some despicable things. The man was failing. He had been a strong man, but he was wiping himself out. Having to deal with his jealousy, with Mick and me writing the songs, when you\u2019re working 300-odd days a year \u2014 it becomes intolerable, and you can get really nasty about it. I tried to be fair to him. But to be honest, he was a bit of a bastard.\u201d<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n It does sound a lot more heartbreaking on paper looking at how quickly Jones expired after he left the band, but it\u2019s not like he was making it easier. A lot of the sessions for records like Beggars Banquet featured nothing but him<\/a> laying on the couch in the control room while Richards covered most of the guitar playing himself before drafting in Mick Taylor in his place.<\/p>\n That may have been the kind of upgrade that most of the band had been hoping for when they began work on records like Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed, but Jones deserved a bit more than being known as the first major casualty in The Stones. He was the kind of musician that had the potential to take over the world on his own, but he was too far out in the stratosphere to harness the gift he had. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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