Rhian Daly - NME




The Stones' next record will be their first one of original material since 2005's 'A Bigger Bang'

Keith Richards has spoken about the next Rolling Stones album and explained why the band still tour.

The legendary rockers are currently working on their first record of original music since 2005’s ‘A Bigger Bang’. Since then, they’ve released one studio album: 2016 covers record ‘Blue & Lonesome’.

Guitarist Ronnie Wood had previously suggested that work on the album had come to a halt, saying that Richards and frontman Mick Jagger wanted to “make sure the songs were really good.”

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Richards revealed that the Stones are now set to head back into the studio for a week before embarking out on their first US tour in five years.

He said that he had spent the holiday period assessing the material they’d already written. “Sometimes it’s not as much writing as listening to what’s been written and figuring it out, and honing and all kinds of stuff,” he said. “It’s very boring. It’s like a carpentry shop.”



Asked about the band’s upcoming tour and the feeling of playing live after so many years doing so, Richards said that he was “not at all” tired of life on the road. “I mean, hey, how bad can it be?” he said.

“You get up there and do what you love to do, and fortunately so do millions of others. It’s not something to turn your nose up at, you know.

“And it’s what I do. It’s the way the band feels. You can only do this is everybody is absolutely on. And the fact they all are is an incredible tribute to the lads. They just want to do it.”

He added: “I think it’s also, how can you stop? Because I think it has to be written in a different way, whatever the ending is.”

Last year, Richards revealed he had drastically cut back on his drinking, admitting “it was time to quit.” In an interview, he said he had been making the effort to drink less “for about a year now”, saying had gotten “fed up with it”.

Asked if it had been an adjustment, he said: “You can call it that, yeah. But I don’t notice any difference really – except for I don’t drink. I wasn’t feeling [right]. I’ve done it. I didn’t want that anymore.”