Keith Richards, the legendary guitarist of The Rolling Stones, is currently on the cover of Guitar Player magazine as he continues to promote the new album from his band. The group is back with their first full-length of new material in 18 years, Hackney Diamonds, and the members have been busy pushing the set for weeks.
In his cover story interview, Richards talks about the band’s new music, missing late member Charlie Watts and, perhaps most intriguing, the decades-long relationship between The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Richards remarked on the profound connection that has always existed between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He emphasized their differences while acknowledging the strong bond they shared. “The Beatles and the Stones have been basically joined together at the hips from the beginning,” Richards stated. “We were totally different bands, but we knew each other well.”
The guitarist recounted the early days of their relationship, dating back more than half a century now. “I think we first met them in the fall of ’62 when they came down to see us play in London,” Richards shared of getting to know The Beatles, highlighting the beginning of their interactions. The Grammy winner added that “from there, every now and again, we’d get in touch.”
A working collaboration between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones followed soon after they met. Richards recalled, “Later, John and Paul sang on ‘We Love You’ and on ‘Dandelion,'” pointing out an early single and B-side. Notably, two of the four Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, co-wrote The Rolling Stones’s smash single, “I Wanna Be Your Man.”
That working relationship continues to this day, as McCartney plays bass on the tune “Bite My Head Off,” featured on Hackney Diamonds.
Richards dived deeper into the relationship between the bands, adding, “Ronnie [Wood] and I used to hang with George Harrison quite a bit in the 1970s, so there’s always been an open door between the Beatles and the Stones.” Why is this? According to the longtime member of The Rolling Stones, it’s because, “We were the only ones that knew what it’s like to have that extreme kind of fame in the 1960s, so that created a bond.”
