Rolling Stones launch plan for desperate gigs after Keith Richards backlash
A source said: “Keith didn’t feel like signing up for weeks of intense rehearsals, followed by months of constant traveling and performing. It’s sad that some fans will accuse him of helping to kill one of the world’s biggest rock acts of all time.
“But the harsh reality is that at this point in his life it felt unrealistic to commit to that level of physical and mental grind, and there was a shared understanding that forcing him into it would be too expensive.”
The same source emphasized that there were “zero scenarios” in which the Stones would tour without him.
Frontman Mick Jagger, 82, is said to be keen to continue performing and would have embraced a full tour. In 2019, when the band launched the No Filter tour, Richards acknowledged their advancing years.
“So far no one is staggering or falling,” he joked at the time. “Everyone is in remarkable shape, and yeah, as long as that holds, I think we’ll keep it going.”
Guitarist Ronnie Wood, 78, echoed that optimism, saying: “None of us can really believe we’re going to get zero… my doctor, without bribe, says I’m fit!”
But the No Filter tour was disrupted by Covid-19 and then reshaped by the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021 at the age of 80.
Steve Jordan, 69, was called upon to complete touring duties and has since become the band’s touring drummer. Insiders remain divided over the Stones’ new budget-cutting plan.
One promoter said: “There will inevitably be critics who see this as a sign of desperation, while others will see it as a pragmatic and overdue adjustment. But there is a clear sense behind the scenes that, without this kind of scaled-back approach, there may simply be no viable way for the Stones to continue to function as a live act.”
Since the Rolling Stones first hit the road in 1963, they have performed more than 2,000 concerts, building a reputation for excess, endurance and unparalleled stagecraft – a legacy now carefully rationed rather than endlessly repeated.
