Keith Richards says the Rolling Stones will never retire and that they’ll keep performing live until they die.
The 72-year-old guitarist says the Stones’ longevity puts them a class above their fellow rock veterans.
Richards tells the Radio Times: “They’re not really bands if they don’t last, they’re groups. We’re a band and a real band sticks until it dies.
“These bands, they become big, but they’re generational, just for their one decade. They literally go when their testosterone goes.”
Addressing his own longevity, Richards adds: “I ain’t getting old, I’m evolving.”
He also discusses the band’s desire to eventually put out another album, which he insists will be among their best ever work.
“We work hard, and no one takes it for granted,” Richards says. “We’re still looking to make our best record and put on our best show.
“The Stones have managed to be part of life, without becoming passe. Also, what else are you going to do? You never grow up, you just learn a little more.”
The guitarist will star in the Julien Temple-directed film Keith Richards: The Origin Of The Species, which airs on BBC2 on July 23 (Saturday).
The Rolling Stones recently released Totally Stripped – an extended version of 1995 unplugged set Stripped, which includes three live shows and a new edition of the Stripped documentary.
They’ll take part in the Desert Trip festival in California in October, alongside Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and The Who.