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While The Rolling Stones have enjoyed unique longevity as a band, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger have weathered their fair share of drama. The two bandmates have been with The Rolling Stones since the band’s formation. In that time, they’ve endured more arguments and betrayals than many people could take. After Richards published his memoir, Life, he apologized to Jagger for how unflatteringly it painted him.
Richards’ 2010 memoir Life is a candid and thorough look at Richards’ upbringing, time in the Rolling Stones, and drug use. It also digs deep into the often complicated relationship between Richards and Jagger.
The pair met as teenagers and have been working together for roughly 60 years. In that time, they’ve had many arguments, which Richards chronicled in depth. He wrote about referring to Jagger as “Brenda, or Her Majesty, or just Madam” in the mid-1980s because he had become “unbearable.”
In one section, Richards wrote sharply about Jagger’s solo work.
“Mick’s album was called She’s the Boss, which said it all,” he wrote. “I’ve never listened to the entire thing all the way through. Who has? It’s like Mein Kampf. Everybody has a copy, but nobody listened to it. As to his subsequent titles, carefully worded, Primitive Cool, Goddess in the Doorway, which it was irresistible not to rechristen ‘Dogs*** in the Doorway,’ I rest my case.”
In one of his more personal attacks, Richards wrote about Jagger’s “tiny todger.” After all of this — and the media attention it garnered — Richards issued an apology.
“As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be, but I know that some parts of it and some of the publicity really offended Mick, and I regret that,” he wrote, per The Scotsman.
He added that while it may seem to some that their relationship was broken beyond repair, they would always have a connection between them.
“What some of our detractors forget is that, although we look like old codgers living an ocean apart, we are still at bottom the boys on platform three at Dartford Station.”
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Keith Richards and Mick Jagger have weathered a great deal in their relationship
Throughout their decades-long relationship, Richards and Jagger have dealt with drug busts, cheating scandals, lineup changes, and fights that shook the band’s foundation. Still, The Rolling Stones continue to tour.
It’s a testament to the strength of their connection. They’ve become like family to one another, which is why the disagreements between Richards and Jagger haven’t torn the band apart.
“Mick and I may not be friends — too much wear and tear for that — but we’re the closest of brothers, and that can’t be severed,” Richards wrote. “How can you describe a relationship that goes that far back? Best friends are best friends. But brothers fight. I felt a real sense of betrayal. Mick knows how I feel, although he may not have realized my feelings went so deep. But it’s the past I’m writing about; this stuff happened a long time ago. I can say these things; they come from the heart. At the same time, nobody else can say anything against Mick that I can hear. I’ll slit their throat.”
The Rolling Stones’ guitarist has since had to issue another apology to his bandmate
Since the publication of Life, Richards has had to apologize to Jagger once more. During a 2018 interview, Richards said Jagger was too old to be a father, adding that he felt sorry for his children. He issued a swift apology.
“I deeply regret the comments I made about Mick in the WSJ which were completely out of line,” Richards tweeted. “I have of course apologised to him in person.”
It seems that they may never stop bickering, but a Rolling Stones breakup doesn’t seem likely either.
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