Keith Richards stopped drinking a year ago, but still has ‘a glass of wine occasionally’

Rolling Stones Play Murrayfield in Edinburgh

Keith Richards has transitioned from wild rocker to…the doting husband, father and grandfather who remembers to take out the trash. Some people just manage to survive all of their wild, drug-haze days and Keith is one of them. He’s 74 years old and he’s probably going to live forever. Keith has said in previous interviews that he stopped doing hard drugs years ago – no more heroin or cocaine or any of that. I seem to remember something about how he might smoke a joint every now and then, but not often. As it turns out, Keith has also stopped drinking. Except for the occasional beer or glass of wine.

The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, who has long been known for his hard-partying ways, says he stopped drinking.

“It’s been about a year now,” Richards, 74, told Rolling Stone magazine during a recent interview. “I pulled the plug on it. I got fed up with it,” Richards, who once revealed he snorted his father’s ashes mixed with cocaine, continued. “It was time to quit. Just like all other stuff.”

When asked how life has been for him since giving up booze, the musician said: “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.”

Richards later admitted, however, that he still has a “glass of wine occasionally, and a beer.”

[From People]

Is it weird to say that I stopped drinking for similar reasons? I didn’t think I had a drinking problem, and I was functioning okay in life, but I just got to a point where I didn’t like how I felt – I didn’t like feeling buzzed or drunk, and I hated the way I felt the morning after. So I stopped. But like Keith, I’ve had a glass of wine or a few sips of beer here and there. Those odd glasses of wine just reinforce the fact that my decision was the right one – I had one glass of port a few Thanksgivings ago and I was completely trashed. It was awful! As for Keith… who would have thought that he would have survived all of it and gotten to the point where he’s 74 years old and, like, 95% clean and sober?

Also: It’s Keith’s 75th birthday today! Happy b-day, dude.

The Rolling Stones Performing On their 'No Filter' Tour At Manchester Old Trafford

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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9 Responses to “Keith Richards stopped drinking a year ago, but still has ‘a glass of wine occasionally’”

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  1. Willa says:

    Little too late or never too late. Can’t decide….

  2. Lightpurple says:

    Happy Birthday, Keith. His biography Live is a fascinating read. He regularly wrote letters to his aunts, who saved them, and he used the letters to help write the book. His mother was a hoot.

  3. Milla says:

    He’s the heart and soul of the Stones. I loved his bio as well as his documentary about blues and his lovie for music. It’s Keith, gotta love him.

    Thank you for posting about him.

  4. Elisabeth says:

    then he hasn’t stopped…..he just has stopped drinking so much.

    meh

    • lobstah says:

      Yeah…I mean, kudos for cutting back, but the headline’s misleading.

    • Christina says:

      AA is just one of many programs/ways to give up drinking, yet it’s the only that says that it’s either no drink or all the drink. He has stopped drinking, save for a glass of wine and a beer. It’s absolutely fine, if he can keep that up. And so many people can.

  5. Q T Hush says:

    The one and only Keith Richards is still a great entertainer from my era. I’m so glad someone’s left to tell the stories because most of my idols didn’t make it past middle age, if that.

  6. Justmyopinion says:

    In my 20s and early 30s, I could drink and drug anyone under the table. Never got addicted to a thing. Very suddenly, alcohol didn’t have the same effect on me anymore, and drinking became really boring. I didn’t quit these things so much as got bored with it all and just stopped. My guess is that Richards didn’t quit so much as stopped because it became useless to him.