Before They Make Him Run: Keith Richards at 82
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Keith Richards turns 82 today, right in the eye of a storm. A storm stirred up by a series of comments about him, all leading to a neat little verdict: “guilty.” Guilty of what, exactly? Of having arthritis—and of being blamed for the supposed decision not to launch another Stones tour. Hold on. First question: Stones? Which “Stones” are we talking about? Because if we mean the band we fell in love with, everything changed the day we learned of Charlie Watts’ passing. From that moment on—thanks to the strange mechanics of show business—what we were left with was a band paying tribute to the Rolling Stones under the name The Rolling Stones.
Still not clear? Never mind. Try again. Whatever, any chance of a tour has supposedly gone up in smoke. That’s it. Finished. Game over. Except for one small but crucial detail: this grand adventure was never officially announced. Once again, everything rested on conjecture—on whispers, leaks, and the collective imagination of fans, fueled above all by hope. Maybe even an unconscious need to believe they’d see them onstage one more time. And yes, let’s be honest: the exact same thing happened last year. Possible tour. More unofficial chatter. Déjà vu. So what tour are we actually talking about? How do you cancel something that never existed? Welcome to the Rolling Stones rumor mill, where half-baked ideas become “plans,” plans turn into “confirmed dates,” and silence itself becomes a headline.
This time, there’s an extra chapter. It says—yes, I’ve already mentioned it, but it bears repeating—that when the idea of a tour was supposedly discussed, Keith reportedly said he didn’t think he could commit and had absolutely no desire to do a stadium run. And if Keith truly doesn’t want to tour again—whether because of arthritis or simply because he doesn’t feel like it—it’s quite selfish for some so-called “fans” (not all of them, of course) to refuse to accept a simple truth: that men in their eighties, who long ago redefined what a rock ’n’ roll band could be, might not want—or might no longer have the energy—to spend months living out of hotels and reliving a grind they’ve endured for more than six decades, just to satisfy other people’s expectations.
Happy 82 Keith! Better to walk than to make you run.
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