In the latest print edition of Uncut, Johnny Marr drew a comparison between the Rolling Stones icon Keith Richards and Muhammad Ali.
Richards turns 80 this month, and to mark his birthday and the Rolling Stones’ new album ‘Hackney Diamonds,’ many famous people are sharing their respect and stories about him. Marr is among those talking about Richards. After talking about his admiration for Keith, the guitarist touched on Richards’ past drug use, saying:
“I think it’s very easy to get carried away with the whole junkie martyr nonsense that used to surround him. I’ve met Keith a few times now and, when you get to the core of it and find out what he’s really like, he’s someone who just won’t be told how to live his own life.”
Marr’s Comparison To Muhammad Ali
Marr added, comparing Richards to Ali:
“In that way, he’s a true hero in the same way that Muhammad Ali was, standing up for his principles and not being beaten down by uninformed authority. So l don’t think Keith was standing up for drug-taking, he was standing up for his own life.”
Applying Richards’ Philosophy To The Smiths
In another part of the chat, the musician revealed that Richards was a huge inspiration for him when he was young. Marr admired his guitar skills, but it was mainly Keith’s beliefs and principles that impressed him. He then explained how Richards helped him while playing with the Smiths:
“When I was in the Smiths, I felt like I was in my own Rolling Stones. We had a very interesting, idiosyncratic frontman, and I was able to take care of just the music, taking the Keith Richards philosophy of being behind the scenes, but also being the engine of the band. He seemed to me to be on a total mission, not to self-destruct, but to find something in music that he loved. Almost a crusade.”
‘Hackney Diamonds’ by the Rolling Stones arrived on October 20, 2023. It is the band’s first album since the death of their drummer, Charlie Watts.
