Keith Richards

Presenter0:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4. For rights reasons, the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.

Presenter0:10

For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk slash radio four.

Presenter0:34

My castaway this week is Keith Richards. If one single living person could be said to personify rock and roll, then it is surely him, cool, rebellious, enduring, and in an apparently perpetual state of having a good time.

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He's been making music, and causing various degrees of havoc, for over half a century, and counting.

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His songwriting, singing and guitar playing have helped to make the Rolling Stones a stratospherically successful group.

Presenter1:01

and his early and single minded dedication to the triumvirate pursuits of sex and drugs and rock and roll made him a counter culture icon.

Presenter1:09

No surprise then that as a boy he would go to sleep at night with his arm around his first guitar. Slightly more startling are the facts that he used to be the patrol leader in the Seventh Dartford Scouts, and a choir boy.

Presenter1:22

So where did it all go right? Well, he says I thought rock and roll was an unassailable outlet for some pure and natural expression of rebellion.

Presenter1:32

It used to be the one channel you could take without ever having to kiss ass. So we welcome you to Desert Island Discs Keith Thanksgiving. Thank you very much.

Keith Richards1:39

Thank you very much. I didn't know I expressed it so well.

Presenter1:43

Very articulate there. And rebellion, of course, is a it's a natural part of being young, but at at seventy one, almost seventy two, does the rebellion come quite so naturally now? Is the flame still burning?

Keith Richards1:48

But it is seen.

Keith Richards1:52

Flames still

Keith Richards1:53

I know, I watch other people rebel now, really.

Presenter1:57

I wonder about, you know, if your many millions of fans were to just spend a week in your life, they would see you do things like.

Presenter2:04

I don't know, watch a war documentary or do a charcoal drawing or chat to your wife of thirty odd years. Those are all very different things from the Keith Richards, you know, up in the headlines that we understand. Do you think people see you maybe too often as a sort of one dimensional person?

Speaker 22:14

Yeah.

Keith Richards2:14

Up in the hand.

Keith Richards2:19

That's the image. And it's like a ball and chain. But I recognize it. I'm in that sort of jail. But at the same time, I do love old Keith, you know, and I do love the way people cotton onto him and sort of say, go for it. There's one part of me, and a lot of that's in the past. I'm growing up, or rather, evolving.

Presenter2:41

When did the growing up begin then?

Keith Richards2:44

I suppose with grandchildren is when you suddenly realize that you're in for a longer haul.

Presenter2:51

Wow.

Presenter2:52

Tell me about your first choice. What are we going to hear, and why is it on your list? What have you chosen?

Keith Richards2:56

We be ours. Chuck Berry, first off a great inspiration to me. And I thought also that I would like to hear something that's not obviously Chuck Berry, to be surprised. And he's always surprised me with this track. It's such a subtle blues, almost Nat King Cole in style, and the brilliant piano of Johnny Johnson.

Keith Richards3:21

And I did have the joy

Keith Richards3:24

Putting Johnny Johnson and Chuck Berry back together again when.

Keith Richards3:29

We made the the movie Hail Hail Rock and Roll

Speaker 23:33

In the wee wee owl

Speaker 23:38

That's when I think of you.

Speaker 23:48

In the wee wee hour

Speaker 23:52

That's when I think of you

Speaker 24:02

You say, but yet I wonder.

Speaker 24:07

If you're low

Presenter4:08

Was ever true.

Presenter4:10

So that was Chuck Berry and We, We, Ours. So Keith Richards, your mother, Doris, you said, trained your ears with Django Reinhart. And what could be finer training than that, I think? And your your house was filled with music. What what else was she playing?

Keith Richards4:24

Doris, bless her heart. But uh she was a genius, es especially in the early fifties with the B B C dials, you know, because what you had light programme, home service and uh, you know, the third programme.

Presenter4:39

Yeah.

Keith Richards4:40

Doris would know where there was going to be half an hour of good music played by certain D J, and there'd be Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Holliday.

Keith Richards4:52

Louis Armstrong. I I so I grew up uh basically listening to this because she had unerring aim uh on the dial.

Presenter5:01

There is a really beautiful photograph in your autobiography of your parents. I think it was taken in the 1930s, and they're both in bathing costumes, and they're on a beach, and your father is sort of leapfrogging over your mother. I mean, they are a particularly beautiful, vigorous-looking young couple, and there you were with them. You were an only child. What kind of things did you get up to together?

Keith Richards5:20

Yeah.

Keith Richards5:23

A lot of leapfrogging.

Presenter5:25

'Cause you were out camping, you I mean they took you everywhere.

Keith Richards5:27

Oh yes. Yeah, we were camping. I was the third one on the tandem. They had a little seat built for me on the back and mum and dad would be paddling away to Dorset or whatever. And uh I used to sit in the back and get a sunstroke. Mm, you know.

Presenter5:44

Tell me about your next piece of music then, Keith Richards. What are we going to hear next? Your second disc? What's this?

Keith Richards5:49

Next one I'd like to play yeah, yeah, Hank Williams. Uh you win again.

Keith Richards5:54

Hank Williams was another thing I grew up with.

Keith Richards5:58

And he is basically the father of modern country music.

Keith Richards6:03

But there was no pretense about it. When when Hank sang, you know, he was basically like listening to a blues singer. I mean, he was real.

Keith Richards6:11

And I couldn't imagine living without a bit of hank.

Presenter6:15

That's here at night.

Speaker 36:17

The news is out.

Speaker 36:21

All over town.

Speaker 36:26

That you've been seeing a running round.

Speaker 36:34

I know that I am

Speaker 36:38

Should leave, but then

Speaker 36:42

I just can't go

Presenter6:47

You win again.

Presenter6:49

That was Hank Williams, and you win again. Tell me a bit, Keith, about your grandfather, Gus Dupree, king of the country fiddle, and it sounds to me from everything that I've read something of an unconventional sort.

Keith Richards7:03

What are the heads of the

Presenter7:03

What are the headlines about gas?

Keith Richards7:05

He was the father of seven daughters. Well, as far as I'm concerned, I seem to have been.

Keith Richards7:13

The only boy he didn't have.

Keith Richards7:16

So in in fact, to me he was more like a dad or a friend than a grandfather.

Presenter7:20

And he would take you walking. You used to go on these fantastic walks. Tell me about that.

Keith Richards7:23

Plastic wasps

Keith Richards7:25

You know, he'd take me into music shops, but we'd always go in round the back. We never went in the front door. And there was always a a little deal about, you know, some guitar strings or some violin strings. But then I would be in the back of these music stores for like hours watching people make guitars, violins, repairing things and the smell.

Keith Richards7:48

Of the glue and the, and just to watch, you know, it was like.

Keith Richards7:53

seems to be magical stuff going on and so I was from a very early age I was brought up into the making of instruments, not just the playing of them.

Presenter8:03

And as a musician himself, did he give you an instrument to hold or to play? Were you ever allowed to kind of engage with the instrument, or was it very much sort of just

Keith Richards8:10

He teased me with the guitar. It was up on a shelf, which I couldn't reach at the time.

Keith Richards8:17

And finally he said to me, Look, if you can reach it,

Keith Richards8:20

Then you can have it.

Keith Richards8:22

So that I'm devising all kinds of ways, and putting books under the chair and loading cushions on things, and uh just to try and reach up there to get it. So finally I made it and he said, Okay, sit down.

Presenter8:27

Something

Keith Richards8:35

and he showed me the rudiments of Malaguina.

Keith Richards8:40

And they said, if you can get your fingers around there, then potentially and possibly you can be a guitar player.

Keith Richards8:49

So I worked at that mellow greener like mad.

Presenter8:51

Mm-hmm.

Keith Richards8:53

And then he let me have the guitar, you know, and it was uh you know, to me it was the prize of the century.

Presenter9:01

And where were the seeds of rebellion sown?

Keith Richards9:03

I think I can pinpoint that for you.

Keith Richards9:06

Dartford Technical School.

Keith Richards9:09

in the choir. And we've been in the choir two, three years.

Keith Richards9:13

And sopranos, believe it or not.

Keith Richards9:17

And we were all sopranos and we'd done incredible things for this choir. And we went up to London and sang in front of the Queen, believe it or not. And then our voices broke.

Keith Richards9:27

So with tears in his eyes, old Jake Clare, who was our choir master, God let you go and let you go. Which is like we understood that's part of natural the school said, Oh, you have to go down a year.

Keith Richards9:42

Because you haven't done your chemistry.

Presenter9:44

Cause you've been taking all the time to the choir.

Keith Richards9:45

The villa choir. But there was no fairness here. There was no, suddenly you're 13 and you're down with the 12-year-olds, which in that 80s are like, you know, so that's when it started to ferment.

Presenter9:47

Right.

Presenter9:49

Yeah.

Presenter9:59

Tell me about your next piece of music, Keith Richards. We're on your third disc of the morning. What are we going to hear?

Keith Richards10:04

Erin Nerville, one of the best voices in the world.

Keith Richards10:08

And this is probably one of the best doo-wop songs of all. And as it happens on this version.

Keith Richards10:16

Erin asked me and I am I'm in there playing a guitar in the back you know I see

Speaker 310:22

Uh

Keith Richards10:22

Uh

Speaker 310:24

There is a story.

Speaker 310:28

That I must take a

Speaker 310:32

To love a bar

Speaker 310:36

That I knew him now they must be

Speaker 310:45

Tablet woo egg egg

Speaker 310:52

Well blues away.

Presenter10:56

That was Erin Neville and my true story. So Keith Richards, you and Mick Jagger had gone to the same primary school, as it happens, but it wasn't, I understand, until around about nineteen sixty one as teenagers that you properly began to cement a friendship. It was when you were on a train platform and you saw the the records he was holding, is that right?

Keith Richards11:15

I was going to Sid Cub Art School.

Presenter11:17

Right.

Keith Richards11:17

and Mick at that time was going to the London School of Economics.

Keith Richards11:22

I just get off at Sitka, you know. Me my I'm sitting in the carriage and suddenly he walks in.

Keith Richards11:27

There's Mick who I haven't seen in years

Keith Richards11:31

What's that under your arm?

Keith Richards11:34

And he pours out the best of muddy waters and rocking up the hops by Chugberry.

Keith Richards11:41

And these are American pressings, you know, and you can't get these records in England at the time, you know.

Keith Richards11:48

Basically, that was the hookup for the stones and for Mick and I was just that we had this

Keith Richards11:54

Same interest in music. You got any more records like that? And he said, Sure. I said I I send away to Chicago for them.

Keith Richards12:03

Well, this man's organized, you know

Presenter12:05

And was your writing partnership always an easy partnership?

Keith Richards12:09

Not always, but in the early days, very easy. In a way, I mean, this is like uh

Keith Richards12:15

Being on the factory line, you know, because I remember very well.

Keith Richards12:20

And Satisfaction had just come out and it's number one all over the world. Yeah. Mick and I are going, Yeah, great, fantastic, man, you know. And then the knock at the door and there i is uh basically the record company is saying, Where's the follow-up?

Presenter12:39

Sure.

Keith Richards12:39

Mm-hmm.

Presenter12:40

Is it true and I don't know, it's one of these things you read and you think, Can that actually be true, that satisfaction came to you, the riff came to you in your sleep and you didn't even know you'd

Keith Richards12:47

Give in your

Keith Richards12:49

I had no, I thanks God to the um

Keith Richards12:52

The recently invented cassette player.

Presenter12:54

Which was by you obeyed.

Keith Richards12:55

Yes. And I happened to be uh between friends at the time and I was sleeping with the guitar on the bed, you know.

Keith Richards13:05

And somewhere obviously in the night I I got up and laid down the basic framework for satisfaction. The only way I knew that something had happened because I looked at the tape

Keith Richards13:18

And I know that I put in a brand new tape, so therefore

Keith Richards13:23

The reel has to be empty that side and full that sound. But it had gone the other way. It was you know it was recorded.

Keith Richards13:33

So I thought maybe I'll hit the button in the wrong position during my sleep or something. So I roll it back and listen back, and there is this very weak, faint idea of satisfaction, you know, the riff, the first verse, and the second. And then

Keith Richards13:49

Forty-five minutes of me snoring.

Keith Richards13:54

But it was by a miracle yes captured on that little machine. Um

Presenter13:58

Just tell me what we're going to hear next then. We're on your fourth disc of the morning. What's this?

Keith Richards14:02

Sugar on the floor. Mm. Eda James.

Keith Richards14:05

First, of a great friend of mine, and that at the same time, I've got to have a diva, a soul diva in.

Keith Richards14:14

in this list somewhere.

Speaker 314:16

It's warm where you are

Speaker 314:21

But my lips just don't burn

Speaker 314:27

I feel so insecure.

Speaker 314:31

When you try to be kind

Speaker 314:35

Could I ask for more?

Presenter14:42

Feel like

Speaker 314:43

Experi on the

Presenter14:44

Smoke

Presenter14:47

So that was Etta James and Sugar on the Floor. Going into that, Keith Richards, you said you felt that on this island you wanted to have a diva to keep you company. And you did once say that working with Mick Jagger was like working with Maria Callas. You said that he can be a bit of a diva. I'm wondering how he'd describe you to work with. I know you better off.

Keith Richards15:05

Ask him. Probably about the same way, actually. No, Mick and I have a great relationship, except when we don't, and which is the when everybody hears about it.

Presenter15:06

I knew you'd say that. I knew you'd say that.

Keith Richards15:19

With Mick I've always felt like it's a brother thing. Um what brothers don't fight occasionally.

Keith Richards15:25

And we're always fighting for the right reasons. We just think that our version is more right than the others.

Presenter15:32

Why do you think, you know, if I was to ask you to try to distil it down, wh why it is that you have stuck together, that you are still performing, that you still have the appetite for it?

Presenter15:43

for the five of you to get on stage

Presenter15:45

Why do you think that is?'Cause, you know, you don't need to do any of

Keith Richards15:47

I think, you know, uh that possibly it's because

Keith Richards15:52

And especially on the from the last tour, we still think we're getting better. Now we could be fooling ourselves and then but from the response from the audience and from the way I'm feeling, the way the boys are playing,

Keith Richards16:06

is that this promise of more and uh I mean who's gonna jump over moving bus soon?

Presenter16:13

Let's have your next piece of music, Keith. Tell me about this. We're on your fifth choice of the day. What are we going to hear?

Keith Richards16:18

Uh I probably the classic uh rhythm and blues s record of all time is produced by Bert Burns, who also uh produced uh Van Morrison, Brown Eyed Girl and uh

Keith Richards16:34

Great producer and here with Freddie Scott, one of the great soul singers. But I hope you're going to enjoy this one because it's solid RV.

Speaker 316:43

Are you lonely for me, baby?

Speaker 316:47

Yes, I am! Are you lonely for me, baby?

Speaker 316:52

Coming home, baby. Oh, it's a last train to Jacksonville.

Speaker 317:03

I'm gonna get on it, baby.

Speaker 317:06

You know I win.

Speaker 317:09

Will you try?

Speaker 317:11

Come on and try to forget all the pain

Presenter17:17

So that was Freddie Scott and Are You Lonely for Me, Baby? Keith Richards, it's interesting that quite a few of the tracks that you've chosen today, the artists themselves, have faced

Presenter17:28

You know, as many people do through life, they face their own demons, and many of them with drugs. And I'm wondering.

Presenter17:34

How much of a link you think there might potentially be between that

Presenter17:38

Creativity, whether it be in RB and rock and roll or whatever, between these artists and the fact that they've struggled with drugs through the years.

Keith Richards17:46

I think I really should say that there is really no correlation between drugs and music and how you perform it, but this is a lie.

Keith Richards17:55

Some people can handle things and other people can't. You know, if

Keith Richards18:02

If the drugs become more important than the music, then you've lost the battle.

Keith Richards18:06

I've never felt that it did anything to my creativity. I mean, it kept me up a lot at nights looking for the stuff, but it was something that I had to stop, you know, because I realized that, you know, there are experiments that go on too long.

Presenter18:21

Yes. I see all these beautiful photographs of you surrounded not just by your exquisite daughters, but your grandchildren now in this great big brood. And all of us as parents have that moment when we kind of sit down to have the discussion, where we say to our teenagers,

Presenter18:35

The thing about drugs is.

Presenter18:37

I'm wondering how Keith Richards has that conversation with his offspring. Where did you start on that one?

Keith Richards18:43

I don't talk to them about it. If they bring it up to me, I'll talk to them about it. But, um

Keith Richards18:49

None of my kids have shown any interest in drugs at all, you know. And it's not that I've given them any uh talking to's about, you know, don't do as what daddy did and all of that.

Presenter19:01

But do you think they were watching and learning?

Keith Richards19:04

I think maybe they were, I mean.

Keith Richards19:06

I mean, partners in crime here are Anita Pallenberg and me.

Presenter19:09

Yeah.

Keith Richards19:10

I didn't do this alone. And it was Anita and I that decided this experiment.

Presenter19:12

Yeah.

Keith Richards19:17

Bless her heart, she's still a good friend of mine. I knew what I had to do.

Presenter19:22

You did of course have children together and one of your children, your son Tara, he died of cot death and you were on tour in the seventies and you've said very poignantly that there has always been this cold space inside you after his death which I'm sure anybody who's lost a child would identify with and I'm wondering if that heals over time. Is that something that's eased or is it still always there for you?

Keith Richards19:29

Yeah.

Keith Richards19:45

It was

Keith Richards19:46

Such a shock.

Keith Richards19:49

at the time, especially uh

Keith Richards19:53

I'm getting a phone call in Paris and this happened in Geneva.

Keith Richards20:00

And I thought, I'm gonna go mad, you know.

Keith Richards20:04

Unless I do the show tonight.

Keith Richards20:07

If I don't do something that's

Keith Richards20:11

that I'm supposed to do and and do. I if I just sit here with this idea, I'll I don't know what I'll do, you know, and uh

Keith Richards20:20

I know, maybe it was just a sense of self preservation. I also wanted to shield Marlon from it at that time, for the moment. It it wasn't necessary for him to know immediately, you know, because we are on the road. It was a rough, rough thing, you know, and uh

Keith Richards20:37

You know, I had a feeling that this is a show I must go onstage now and

Keith Richards20:43

And I'll worry and grieve and think about all this after.

Keith Richards20:47

After the show, because if I didn't go on the stage, I'd well I'd probably shut myself.

Presenter20:55

Let's have some music then.

Presenter20:57

We're now Keith on your sixth disc of the morning, so tell me about this, why have you chosen this track?

Keith Richards21:03

Gregory Isaacs.

Presenter21:04

Yeah.

Keith Richards21:06

For many, many years I lived in Jamaica.

Keith Richards21:10

And

Keith Richards21:12

I've always thought that Gregory is one of the best songwriters that came out of that island, and a sweet singer. Also there was a sense in the seventies in Jamaica.

Keith Richards21:24

Which gave me a sort of reminder of the early sixties in England, like something was happening. You know, the the Beatles and and then ourselves, and then the Who, and then there was a new wind blowing.

Keith Richards21:40

And also it was uh extra classic was a song where um where I met my old lady, so I thought that that was that

Keith Richards21:47

Carrie, that's true enough.

Speaker 321:50

To love, to love, to love

Speaker 321:56

Please don't stay away too far

Speaker 322:03

You may not be any star

Speaker 322:09

But extra classic, that's what you are

Speaker 322:14

Leave me there.

Speaker 322:16

Yes extra classic, that's what you are.

Presenter22:23

That was Gregory Isaacs and Extra Classic. You you mentioned there your old lady. You have been married to your wife, and a very successful model she was when you met her Patty Hanson for over thirty years. You married on your fortieth birthday, and I'm wondering why such an unconventional soul as Keith Richards wanted to put a wedding ring on his finger. Why did you decide to get married?

Keith Richards22:46

I was in love with the woman.

Keith Richards22:48

And we'd been together two or three years, and I saw

Keith Richards22:54

the possibilities of what could happen if we got married, because I knew she she's a mater maternal as well and I thought, oh, if you're gonna have more babies, uh this is the one that I would like you to be the mother, you know, and it turned out to be true. Patricia is a beautiful girl, not just physically but uh

Keith Richards23:17

Inside she is the warmest hearted woman I know.

Presenter23:21

I know there's an upside, but it can't be a breeze being married to a rock star. H how have you made it work? How has she made it work?

Keith Richards23:29

We just try and make it work. It's I mean it it's always uh with Paddy and me, it's always she's got the calendar out saying now and I'm going, okay, what month? Paddy comes on the road quite a lot with me, especially since the our children have like uh independent and have left home.

Presenter23:36

It's logistics, yeah.

Keith Richards23:50

So the only problem is the dogs.

Presenter23:54

How has she dealt over the years with the groupies? I imagine she often might have been elbowed out of the way as people try to make their way towards it.

Presenter24:02

Yeah.

Keith Richards24:05

And there there's some groupie there and you've got Patty Hanson there and it's like forget about it, you know, and.

Presenter24:11

Your nickname, I learn, is the man who death forgot, because you yourself have been through, I mean, a lot of.

Presenter24:18

I would say pretty serious health scares yourself. You know, you were very seriously electrocuted once during a sound check. I mean, properly.

Keith Richards24:24

That's part of the course.

Presenter24:26

Well, you were out for about seven minutes, I think. Um you were concussed very badly when you fell off a a ladder in your library and a lot of books fell on top of you, you had concussion, and then very famously.

Keith Richards24:35

And then very famously.

Presenter24:38

That was when you came off the ladder. And then you very famously, of course, because the tour had to be postponed, you you fell out of a coconut tree in in Fiji and that resulted in

Presenter24:46

Two seizures.

Keith Richards24:47

An accident pronounced.

Presenter24:48

You are accidentally, and a blood clot on your brain. I'm wondering whether, when I think of all these things.

Presenter24:55

You either must feel indestructible or like your life is hanging by a thread. I mean, which one is it? Do you feel very robust?

Keith Richards25:02

Indestructible. Yes, yeah, absolutely. If if if you can go through all of that, I think what what more can

Presenter25:03

Do you, Rob?

Keith Richards25:10

They throw at me. Oh, what more can they throw at myself?

Presenter25:13

Sure.

Presenter25:15

Does your wife try to get you to stop smoking this?

Keith Richards25:18

She tries to get me to cut down and sometimes I do. I mean um

Presenter25:22

The thing is, Keith Richards with a vape is just not going to look the same in a photograph, is it?

Keith Richards25:26

No, no, Ronnie Wood tried to get me on it, throw it away.

Presenter25:30

I'm going to ask you for your next piece of music then, Keith. We're on your seventh disc. Tell me about this.

Keith Richards25:35

I suddenly I go classical at

Keith Richards25:38

I mean, I was very uh agonizing about this because Mozart is my m my man, you know, basically.

Keith Richards25:46

But then I found out, uh reading some of Mozart's letters, that uh the only good word he had to say about any other composer in the world was Vivaldi.

Keith Richards25:58

And then I tried to put this together with being on a desert island.

Keith Richards26:03

And I'm thinking, a desert island, no seasons.

Keith Richards26:08

And so when I came down there, I'd plant for the the spring section of Four Seasons from Vivaldi, and I think it was a brilliant composer.

Presenter27:23

That was the first movement from spring part of Vivaldi's four seasons performed there by Nigel Kennedy with the English Chamber Orchestra.

Presenter27:30

I don't need to tell you, Keith Richards, that rock'n'roll was invented by teenagers to disrupt and disturb. Do you think it is a seemly place?

Presenter27:38

For people who are in their 70s to be. You know, there's a people comment about that a lot, and they say,

Keith Richards27:43

I've never been worried about seemly.

Presenter27:48

Uh

Keith Richards27:48

I'm here.

Presenter27:50

I'm wondering if Johnny Depp ever pays you royalties for nicking your image.

Presenter27:57

Yeah.

Keith Richards27:57

He didn't pay me for that, no?

Keith Richards28:00

Do you see it as a tribute or does it cheese you off? I took it as a yeah, as a first he was the first one to tell me. Was he? Of course, I you know, I've nicked most of your mirrors.

Presenter28:16

It's good to see that there's a little bit of the paraphernalia here today. You're you're wearing the famous skull ring and you've got a beautiful silver bracelet that people maybe have heard sort of tinkling a bit throughout the interview. How much do you feel that you need to play up to the public image when you're in public? You know, if if you went on stage without the bandana and without the eyeliner and with all of that, do you think you'd let people down?

Keith Richards28:37

No, I'd feel a little bit undressed otherwise I would just do what I do because when it comes down to it I've got my guitar and I'll just

Keith Richards28:45

Sling the hash.

Presenter28:47

Tell me about your guitars. How many how many guitars do you own?

Keith Richards28:50

It's in the thousands. I only use about ten or fifteen.

Presenter28:55

Yeah.

Keith Richards28:55

Uh Yeah.

Presenter28:55

I was going to say, who do you love the most when I was talking about guitars? Because I almost feel they.

Presenter29:01

It's that personal to you. Whenever I've seen you talk about guitars or see you with your guitars,

Presenter29:06

It seems like you're almost with something that's pulsing and living and breathing.

Keith Richards29:10

Breathing among the music. All I've got to do is give a puff of life into it and then...

Presenter29:12

It is like

Keith Richards29:16

And then we're we're two people and

Presenter29:18

It's like a symbiotic that you call it.

Keith Richards29:19

Yeah it's a love aff it's a love affair, you know.

Presenter29:22

Is it?

Keith Richards29:22

Is it? No, no, no, I know what you're saying.

Presenter29:26

No, no, no, I know what you're saying, but d so your hands are all kind of bent bent, your fingers particularly bent out of shape now.

Keith Richards29:30

Particularly bent out straight now. Boxers have better hands than me, yeah.

Presenter29:34

Do they hurt your hands?

Keith Richards29:35

No, none of them. None of them that's the beauty of it. No, I don't mind. Uh no, none of it hurts. No. It's um.

Keith Richards29:43

I live with it. Um it does change the way you're gonna play slightly, you know,'cause one finger will get in the way of another. But uh

Keith Richards29:52

No, luckily no pain whatsoever. It's a benign uh form, I think, of arthritis, I guess, you know.

Presenter30:00

We started when we began today, we were talking about the sort of huge cultural change, the idea of rebellion when the stones started and music was part of that entire shake up of the establishment. With the perspective and maybe even a little bit of the wisdom that you have now, what do you think?

Presenter30:19

That time in British cultural history actually changed. You feel like there was a permanent and significant shift.

Keith Richards30:26

I don't know if we did anything really except do what generations do, which is to rebel. And of course it was not that new, really. I mean the music that I play and the Beatles played and that the part of the 60s revolution, all taken from great American music.

Presenter30:45

And it's time then for your final piece of music. Keith Richards, tell us what we're going to hear as your final your eighth disc today.

Keith Richards30:50

Top of the line, rhythm and blues. Little water.

Keith Richards30:55

Well, if I'm on a desert island, you know

Keith Richards30:58

Where's the highway?

Speaker 331:01

I got the key.

Speaker 331:04

To the highway

Speaker 331:08

Build out and bounty gold

Speaker 331:13

I'm gonna leave you running because

Speaker 331:18

Walking more was too slow.

Speaker 331:25

I'm going back.

Speaker 331:29

To the bottom

Speaker 331:33

Where

Presenter31:34

So that was Little Walter Hand, Key to the Highway. So, Keith Richards, it's time now for me to do what I always do, which is to give my castaway some gifts. You you get to take

Keith Richards31:46

Sh

Presenter31:46

Yeah.

Keith Richards31:46

Trump here.

Presenter31:47

Yes, you're welcome. So you get the complete works of Shakespeare? To take to this island, you get the Bible and you can take another book along too. What book would you like to take?

Keith Richards31:57

I think I chose Doctor Dog's body's leg.

Keith Richards32:02

And I chose it basically because

Keith Richards32:05

It's a collection of stories about this guy.

Keith Richards32:09

Well, he's a sailor, eighteenth century, Portsmouth parbon, yeah. But he's got one leg, and every time he turns up at the table he gives you a different story about how he lost it and they're all totally plausible.

Presenter32:20

Oh, he lost it.

Presenter32:23

We'll give you that. And uh you're allowed a luxury as well, something to make life on the island just a little bit more bearable.

Keith Richards32:29

I think I've gone here. I was gonna go for a dog, but they said it can't be alive, right? It can't be alive. So um I've chosen the machete.

Presenter32:35

Yeah.

Presenter32:37

Do you have a favorite machete or just any of the

Keith Richards32:39

Or just any light. I have several machetes, but uh but I also happen to know how handy they can be on islands. I could build myself a shelter with that. I could make fire with that, you know.

Presenter32:45

All right.

Presenter32:50

And if I were to force you to just save one of the disks from the waves, if they were threatening to be washed away, which one single disc would be your disc to save?

Keith Richards32:58

I can only apologize.

Presenter33:03

I can only apologize, but I'm gonna force you to do it.

Keith Richards33:04

But I'm gonna flip.

Keith Richards33:06

Okay, just

Presenter33:07

Yeah.

Keith Richards33:11

Because I'm on an island.

Keith Richards33:14

And I want to keep the mood the same. Extra classic, Gregory Isaac.

Presenter33:18

Okay, it's yours. Keith Richards, thank you very much for letting us hear your desert island discussion.

Keith Richards33:20

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Keith Richards33:24

Thank you, Kirsty. Thank you.

Presenter34:07

You've been listening to a download from the BBC. You'll find more information on the Radio 4 website, bbc.co.uk slash Radio 4.