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Keith Richards has shared some humourous opinions regarding The Beatles and their magnum opus Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, talking candidly about the differences between the Fab Four and The Rolling Stones.
In an interview with Esquire, Richards spoke of the primal and sexual impact the Stones had on their female audience members, saying: “Just looking at the crowd, you could see them dragging the chicks out, sweating, screaming, convulsing,” adding: “A whole roomful of chicks yelling at you is not so shabby.”
However, Richards also noted that this same overwhelming reaction led to The Beatles experimenting with their music, continuing: “But they talk about us—the Beatles, those chicks wore those guys out. They stopped touring in 1966—they were done already. They were ready to go to India and shit.”
Paul McCartney sharing a train with The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, 1967. (Photo: Victor Blackman/Getty Images)
Richards also offered his opinion on this musical experimentation, singling out Sgt. Pepper as an example, saying: “The Beatles sounded great when they were the Beatles. But there’s not a lot of roots in that music. I think they got carried away. Why not? If you’re the Beatles in the ’60s, you just get carried away—you forget what it is you wanted to do.
“You’re starting to do Sgt. Pepper. Some people think it’s a genius album, but I think it’s a mishmash of rubbish, kind of like Satanic Majesties—”Oh, if you can make a load of shit, so can we.”
The legendary guitarist is currently gearing up for the release of his next solo album, his first in over two decades, titled Crosseyed Heart. The LP is set to be released on September 18th, alongside the premiere of the new Netflix biopic Keith Richards: Under the Influence.
