'Not friends': Keith Richards opens up about fractured bond with Mick Jagger

In a newly released memoir Life, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards gets candid about the fraught relationship he shares with bandmate Mick Jagger. 

Though stressing they remain "the closest of brothers," the 80-year-old musician acknowledged the pair are no longer friends after over 60 years making music together.

"Mick and I may not be friends – too much wear and tear for that," wrote the 80-year-old icon.

"We’re the closest of brothers, and that can’t be severed. How can you describe a relationship that goes that far back? Best friends are best friends. But brothers fight," he remarked.

Richards pointed to the stresses of fame and his 1977 heroin arrest in Canada as contributing factors in souring things with Jagger. While Jagger initially supported him through legal issues, Richards claims the frontman grew angry over his rehab stint and loss of band control.

Recounting how the frontman stood by him early on, Richards wrote: "I have to say that during the bust in Toronto, in fact during all busts, Mick looked after me with great sweetness, never complaining. He ran things; he did the work and marshalled the forces that saved me. Mick looked after me like a brother."

By 1981, the duo were barely speaking while recording and took to tracking vocals separately. Jagger's subsequent comments to Rolling Stone about the Stones being "done" inflamed tensions further, leading Richards to pursue solo work.

Though the band reunited for a 1989 tour, Richards maintains the true friendship between him and Jagger has been irreparably damaged.