During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM to promote The Rolling Stones’ new album, Hackney Diamonds, the rock legend discussed how he’s handling the aging process.
“From that end of it, I feel perfectly fine,” he declared. “I feel no different [than when I was younger] … I can jump onstage now and do the show, you know?”
He continued, “It’s a process. Like … you never grow up. The moment you get to a certain [stage], you’re growing down,” adding with a laugh, “I’m waiting for the diapers.”
“Patti is the whole deal. By now, I wouldn’t know how to get out of bed without her,” he added. “Or how to get in.” Richards he “always” been in love with Hansen since they met on his birthday in 1979. The couple married in 1983.
“Sixty years in a band is a hell of a long time. How do you do that?” he continued. “I think the most important thing is that the people in the band want to stay together. That helps! We had our ups and downs, of course. But in the end, we always noticed that we are more creative together.
I mean some doctor told me I had six months to live and I went to their funeral. I don't trust doctors. It's not to say there ain't some good ones, but on a general level, no, I wouldn't trust 'em at all."
"If you don't know the blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.
"I think the first record I bought was Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.” Fantastic record, even to this day. Good records just get better with age But Charlie didn't even listen it" . (Keith)
“Charlie is a great English eccentric,” Richards said. “I mean, how else can you describe a guy who buys a 1936 Alfa Romeo just to look at the dashboard? Can’t drive, he never got the license,— just sits there and looks at it.” Bandmate Ronnie Wood once claimed that Watts also had bespoke suits made to match each of his cars, just to look period-appropriate while sitting in them and listening to the engines run.
Richards spends quite a bit of time in his summer house, and this is an Ordinary day in the caribbean sea with Keith.
A typical day begins around 7:00 a.m. with the group busy preparing breakfasts—avocado and tomato on toast for Ella, French toast for Orson and Theodora—everyone already in bathing suits and raring to head down to the beach. The dress code is relaxed, to the extreme. “My sister is topless all the time,” laments Alexandra. “She has the long hair to cover herself, but I’m like, ‘Come on, Theo, it’s just too early!’ ”
While Alexandra, Theodora, and Ella play tennis or badminton, Angela and her partner, Graham Whitney, may take the younger kids sailing on the Sunfish; Patti and Lucie might do yoga or get a massage. Keith likes to spend time with his grandchildren. Patti says he has “grown into” the babies but that “he really loves when he can chat with the kids and introduce them to books and reading.” As for game time, Patti wins at Scrabble, and Keith is the reigning dominoes champion—though Orson has been threatening his grandfather’s winning streak. “He’s been killing it lately!” says Alexandra.
