Keith Richards: Mick Jagger "A Maniac" And "Power Freak"

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is a "power freak" who is also a "bit vain", bandmate Keith Richards said in an interview set to be published Thursday.

Speaking to Uncut magazine in an interview to promote a Martin Scorsese documentary about the band, "Shine A Light", the guitarist also said he would have told his younger self to "lay off" drugs.

"Mick's a maniac. He can't get up in the morning without knowing immediately who he's going to call," the 64-year-old Richards said.

"Meanwhile, I just go 'Thank God I'm awake' and wait for three or four hours before I do anything. He is a power freak and there's nothing we can do about it. I don't want to do anything about it. Let him bugger about. It doesn't make any difference to what we do."

Addressing Jagger's on-stage presence, Richards told the magazine, "Excuse me while I laugh. He's a bit vain, let's put it like that," before adding: "We want a vain bloke up there, don't we? Meanwhile, the band can go to work. Vanity will not carry a band. But a band can carry vanity."

Keep reading, including Richards talking drugs.

-or-

Read about "Shine A Light"

Comments

[AnnoyedCanuck]

I'm getting a little tired of the "Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band in the World" mantra. Maybe they were, once. If they still are (purely a matter of opinion), well, who cares? In the end it means as much as the question of which is the "Greatest Polka Band in the World" or the "Greatest Dixieland Band in the World". Let's have the music without the overlay of myth and hyperbole, please. Fact is, the Stones wrote and recorded their best music 30 - 40 years ago. They are now a touring oldies act that covers their own songs. Nice work if you can get it, especially when their tens of millions in annual royalties are collected tax free by their Netherlands holding company. Say what you will about Mick's vanity and Keith's dissolution, these guys are very sharp businessmen. And that's what the Stones have been all about for many, many years.

[grisgris]

You said, "In the end it means as much as the question of which is the 'Greatest Polka Band in the World' or the 'Greatest Dixieland Band in the World'." To that I would ask you, what is the greatest Polka band in the world? What is the greatest Dixieland band in the world? You don't know, do you? But, I'll bet you DO know that the Rolling Stones are the greatest rock and roll band in the world.

[Steamboater]

Vanity, control ... it's what makes Jagger the star and exceptional talent he is. All great icons are vain in some way. There's a very thin lne betwee the power freak and wanting to get that certain something just right in your own head. It's what makes a professional. Streisand has been accused of it and most great artists as well.

[longnow]

What is rolling stone? who is dried prune & walking death?
did they born during WW11?

[grisgris]

What are you, a 12 year old hermit? You should really get out more. I'm embarrassed FOR you.

[mediamarv]

I suspect if you look closely, someone has a grip on your leg.
Just a hunch.

[Steamboater]

Maybe you should listen to their music and find out.

[SubparDude]

:
Saw The Stones' BIGGER BANG concert in Seattle last spring.

Still the Greatest Rock & Roll Band On Earth.

And real athletes. . .just look at them!

;

[HepsibahStarbuck]

hmmm... was that the one that was actually a year ago last fall?

[Canuknotusa]

I remember a Star Trek episode, I think, where somehow the crew went into the 21st century and there was a scene with a 60's style rock band where each player was in his 70's. I thought it was funny then - now it's just depressing.

[grisgris]

I'll take the old rockers like the Stones any day over the fly by night little bands out there today. Let's see if anyone in the top 10 today is playing (and selling out 10 minutes after tickets go on sale) 40 years from now.

[circusfifthfloor]

Have been viewing Sympathy For The Devil DVD lately. They were kids, but Keith was the heart and soul of this great act, and has to be the finest songwriter in rock history. Mick was the show and the businessMAN, and supplied classic lyrics. But, Keith was, and is the epicenter of this industry, without even trying. MEAN IT!!!..CFF And layoff the ugly stuff. You can look anyway you wanna when the sphere's of the universe are filled with those countless wondrous riffs. Only ones close are David Gilmour and Roger Waters.

[truthyguy]

"I said what?" "When?" "It's being printed where?" "Are you sure?"

[957]

Greatest rock band ...ever..p­eriod.

[Mort]

Is this a photo from Night Of The Living Dead?

[grisgris]

LOL! Keith wakes up and says "Thank God I'm alive" and lies there for 3 or 4 hours. I thought it was just me...

[hollyo]

Mick works out witha choreographer two hours a day...
Keith ought to shut and and be grateful Mick works so hard vanity or not.
Aren't all show business people vain?

[grisgris]

My comment wasn't about Mick. It was about Keith and how I identify with him.
BTW, I didn't think Keith was really criticizing Mick so much as he was telling it like it is. They're 2 different people, but in the end, they're still mates who have been playing together for more than 40 years.

[Trittydi]

I'm going to wish I hadn't seen that picture for the rest of my life.

*

[CFSM]

saw them play in 73 under a blazing hot Australian sun, work ethic amazed then and still does

[BlueBoomer]

LOVE the Stones, BUT I find Keith Richards applying the term "freak" to someone else a little more than ironic!

[pizzmoe]

I thought a guy who cound run around on stage 2 hours a night for 40 years would be a perfectly normal chap. Who knew?
Go, Keith!

[grisgris]

Saw them back in '75. Mick went non-stop for more than 3 hours.

[Seafarer61]

Loved him in Pirates of the Caribbean.