Keith Richards says he’s feeling better than ever since quitting smoking two years ago.
The 78-year-old, who is preparing for the Rolling Stones’ 60th anniversary tour, smoked for 55 years before quitting before last year’s US tour.
Keith has now revealed how, during rehearsals for the show, he felt like he had “more air in his lungs and voice” after he kicked the unhealthy habit.
Habit: Keith Richards showed he’s feeling better than ever since quitting smoking two years ago (pictured in 2005 smoking on stage)
He told The Mirror: “I didn’t notice anything until I started rehearsing for the tour last year and when I started working I noticed I had more air in my lungs and in my voice.”
Yesterday, the band announced the start of a 14-show European tour starting in Madrid on June 1, their first set of shows since the death of drummer Charlie Watts last August at the age of 80.
Keith was known for his wild parties, drinking and drug use, and smoking.
Star: The 78-year-old, who is gearing up for the Rolling Stones’ anniversary tour, smoked for 55 years before quitting ahead of last year’s US tour (pictured this month)
He gave up heroin addiction in 1978 and eventually stopped using cocaine after an accident in 2006 in which he fell from a tree, requiring brain surgery and a metal plate in his skull.
“Now I have given up everything that is a journey in itself,” he said afterwards.
But he also joked that the secret to his longevity was that he treated his body like a “temple” by taking only “high quality medicines.”
She told in her memoirs Life: “When I was doping, I was completely sure that my body was my temple. I can do whatever I want with it and no one can tell me yes or no.
Musician: Keith has now revealed how, during rehearsals for the show, he felt like he had “more air in his lungs and voice” after quitting an unhealthy habit (pictured in 2007)
He had a ten-year affair with heroin and was also an avid cocaine user.
But he explained in his memoirs why he thought he survived when many of his peers died of overdoses at an early age.
He wrote: “I attribute my survival not only to the high quality of the drugs I had. I was very meticulous about how much I took. I would never put in more to get any taller.
“That’s where most people screw up on drugs. It’s greed that never affected me.
Change: He told The Mirror: “I didn’t notice anything until I started rehearsing for the tour last year and when I started working I noticed I had more air in my lungs and in my voice.”
“People think that once they go up, if they take a little more, they will go up a little higher.
‘There is no such thing. Especially with cocaine… Maybe it’s a control measure, or maybe I’m rare in this regard. Maybe I have an advantage here.
In the 1980s, Richards discovered a new side to himself: he stopped using heroin (after nearly getting a lengthy prison sentence for possession in Canada) and married model Patti Hansen, with whom he has two daughters.
He is said to have become a little more level-headed, focusing on new music projects and extended tours with the Stones due to his more harmful vices.
Band: Yesterday the band announced the start of a 14-show European tour starting in Madrid on June 1st. This is their first series of shows since the death of drummer Charlie Watts (left) last August at the age of 80.
But a relatively quieter lifestyle still could not save him from unexpected injuries.
In 1998, during a break from their Bridges to Babylon tour, Richards slipped and fell down a flight of stairs while trying to find a book in the library of his Westchester, Connecticut mansion.
He broke three ribs as a result of the impact and hitting the books on the floor.
“It was one of those moments when you have to make a decision: get hit in the ribs or get shot in the temple on the table. It’s all part of the rich spectacle of life,” he later said.
There were even fears that he had punctured his lung when he fell, stretched out among the library shelves from floor to ceiling. At the time, NME reported that his agent said he “didn’t drink”.
Richards’ recovery from the fall forced the band to reschedule their upcoming tour dates in Berlin, Munich and Gelsenkirchen, Germany and Zagreb, Croatia.
When later asked if his fall had made him consider ending the Stones’ extensive touring schedule, Richards replied, “Retire? I can’t pronounce this word. I would play in a wheelchair. This is what we do. Otherwise, what’s the point of life at all?
In addition, ahead of the Pacific leg of their record-breaking A Bigger Bang Tour in 2006, Richards and Ronnie Wood took their wives to an island off Fiji for a week-long break to recover before performing in Italy.
After a day of swimming at their exclusive resort, Richards perched on a tree described as “a gnarled low tree that was basically a horizontal branch” just a few feet off the ground.
But when he tried to jump off and head for lunch, he slipped and hit his head hard on the trunk.
Richards claimed that he felt little at the time, until a few days later he suffered from a “blinding headache” while on a boat trip. That same night, his wife Patti Hansen woke up with Richards having convulsions in bed and called for medical help.
He was then sent on an agonizing four-hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand, where it was discovered that Richards had fractured his skull and created a potentially fatal blood clot in his brain.
Together: Keith was known for his wild partying, drinking and drug use, and smoking (pictured with the band in 1964)
Speaking of the trip in his book Life, Richards called the flight “the worst flight of my life,” adding: “They tied me to a straitjacket on a stretcher… I couldn’t move. I cursed the bastard. “Give me painkillers, for heaven’s sake.”
He underwent successful skull surgery by hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Andrew Lowe.
“I woke up feeling great,” Richards said. “And I said, ‘Well, when are you going to start?’ to which Lo said, “It’s all done, mate.”
The incident delayed the Rolling Stones’ 2006 European tour by six weeks and forced the band to reschedule several shows. In a brief statement upon his return to the tour, Richards said it was good to be back and apologized for “falling from high places”.
Although Richards noticeably weakened as he recovered, he completed his next 40 scheduled shows that year and kept Dr. Lowe (his “main man”) by his side.
When the band returned to New Zealand for their 2014 14 On Fire tour, Richards reunited backstage with Dr. Lowe and thanked him for treating his “tree ailments”.
The incident is also said to hastened the end of Richards’ days of drugs and wild parties.
Stars: Pictured is the band performing in 2019 with Charlie on drums.