Keith Richards says The Rolling Stones are planning 2024 tour
“We’re all in good fettle,” he says
Keith Richards has confirmed that The Rolling Stones are planning to hit the road in 2024 in support of their first album of original material in 18 years, ‘Hackney Diamonds.’
The Rolling Stones last performed live in the summer of 2022 on their 60th anniversary Sixty tour, which took in 14 shows across Europe including Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium and two nights at London BST Hyde Park.
With their creative juices flowing, The Stones immediately hit the studio following the conclusion of the tour with esteemed Ozzy Osbourne producer Andrew Watt.
The resulting album, ‘Hackney Diamonds’, is released on Friday 20th October and it boasts the Planet Rock playlisted anthem ‘Angry’ and the Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder collaboration ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven.’
In a wide-ranging new interview with the BBC to promote ‘Hackney Diamonds’, Keith Richards said The Rolling Stones will take the album on tour next year, “if everybody is still standing.”
“We’re all in good fettle,” Richards explained. “We’re not looking at each other and saying, ‘time’s up’.”
Asked if he will ever consider retirement, Richards, who turns 80 in December, replied: “My answer is I’m not Nostradamus. Of course it’s going to end some time, but there’s no particular rush.
“We’re having great fun doing this.”
Elsewhere in his interview with the BBC, Richards was asked whether his arthritis has affected his guitar playing.
“Funnily enough, I’ve no doubt it has, but I don’t have any pain, it’s a sort of benign version,” he replied. “I think if I’ve slowed down a little bit it’s probably due more to age.
“And also, I found that interesting, when I’m like, ‘I can’t quite do that any more,’ the guitar will show me there’s another way of doing it. Some finger will go one space different and a whole new door opens.
“And so you’re always learning. You never finish school, man.”
