Keith Richards has spent decades as rock’s most unkillable cautionary tale, the guy who made excess look like a career path. So when he says he’s now “trying to enjoy being straight” and calls it “a unique experience,” the line lands like a punchline and a headline at once.
But there’s a serious story inside the wisecrack. Richards isn’t pretending he’s been canonized; he even jokes, “I still like a drink occasionally – because I’m not going to heaven any time soon,” as quoted in a profile-style interview. What he is describing is a late-career shift that’s less about purity and more about control, longevity, and still being able to do the only job he’s ever truly cared about: playing guitar in the Rolling Stones.
The quote that made everyone spit out their coffee
Richards’ comments come via a profile-style interview reported in the UK press, then echoed across music media. The key lines are blunt: he says he quit cigarettes in 2019, gave up heroin in 1978, and gave up cocaine in 2006, while still allowing himself the occasional drink, as recounted in that UK press interview.
“I’m trying to enjoy being straight… It’s a unique experience for me.”
– Keith Richards
That word “straight” is doing a lot of work. It’s not a manifesto. It’s Richards admitting that sobriety (or near-sobriety) feels unfamiliar after a life spent touring through temptation like it was a backstage corridor.
What “clean” actually means here (and what it doesn’t)
Let’s be precise. Richards is not claiming he’s never relapsed or that he’s following a strict abstinence program. He’s describing a personal reduction: no cigarettes, no heroin, no cocaine, and a relationship with alcohol that sounds moderated rather than eliminated, as laid out in the same interview.
In rock culture, “clean” often gets flattened into a saint-or-sinner binary. Richards’ version is messier and more believable: a man who knows exactly what his vices cost, and who has decided that some of those costs are no longer worth paying.
A quick timeline of what Richards says he quit
| Substance | What Richards says | Why it’s notable |
|---|---|---|
| Heroin | Quit in 1978 | That’s early enough to suggest a survival decision, not a PR decision. |
| Cocaine | Quit in 2006 | Late enough to show habits can change even after decades. |
| Cigarettes | Quit in 2019 | Nicotine is often the last “acceptable” dependency, and often the hardest to drop. |
The unglamorous truth: cigarettes may have been the most dangerous part
Rock mythology still treats cigarettes like stage dressing, but public health data doesn’t. The World Health Organization’s tobacco fact sheet calls tobacco a major cause of preventable death worldwide. The CDC’s overview of tobacco similarly details the wide-ranging harms of smoking and secondhand smoke.
Richards quitting cigarettes in 2019 is quietly huge, especially for older fans who still see smoking as “less serious” than hard drugs. A lifetime of smoking loads risk onto the heart, lungs, circulation, and cancer odds, all the stuff that makes touring at 80 feel less like a victory lap and more like a dare.
Heroin and cocaine: why “quitting” is never just a trivia fact
When Richards says he gave up heroin and cocaine, it’s tempting to treat it as part of the Keith Richards Cinematic Universe. But heroin is an opioid that carries severe addiction and overdose risk; the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s heroin overview outlines how quickly dependence can take hold and how deadly it can be.
Cocaine is different but not safer. Richards survived the era when many didn’t; that survival doesn’t make the substances harmless, it makes the odds he beat more visible.
Ageing, Richards-style: dark humor, real clarity
Richards also talks about ageing with the same gallows charm that’s kept him from sounding preachy. He calls the process “fascinating,” acknowledges “horrific things” on the horizon, and shrugs at the inevitability of getting there.
“If you didn’t [find it fascinating], you might as well commit suicide.”
– Keith Richards
That’s a provocative line, but the underlying point is familiar to anyone who’s watched friends disappear: ageing is unpleasant, interesting, and non-optional. Richards is basically saying the only winning move is to stay curious, even when the mirror stops cooperating.
“Hackney Diamonds”: the comeback that makes the lifestyle change make sense
Richards’ clean(er) era isn’t happening in a vacuum. The Stones returned with Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original material in many years, with guest appearances that read like a Rock and Roll Hall of Group Chat.
The project is also emotionally loaded because it follows the death of drummer Charlie Watts. The album includes Watts’ playing on some tracks, turning the record into both a forward push and a farewell gesture.
Even the promotional cycle is modernized: the single “Angry” arrived with a music video for “Angry” featuring actor Sydney Sweeney, a reminder that the Stones are still competing in the attention economy, not coasting in nostalgia.
The documentary angle: intimacy as the new spectacle
Another tell that the Stones understand the era: a documentary project tied to Hackney Diamonds was reported, with production involving Fulwell Entertainment, a company known for glossy, access-driven entertainment. For legacy acts, “the making-of” is often more compelling than the making-it-up, because fans want process, not perfection.
For Richards specifically, a behind-the-scenes lens also reframes the old legend. The spectacle isn’t the partying anymore; it’s the stamina. Watching a band in its later chapters still craft songs is the new taboo-breaking act.
Richards vs modern pop: the old man take that still stings
Richards didn’t stop at lifestyle talk. He also aired his familiar skepticism about contemporary pop, saying it’s “always been rubbish,” adding, “that’s the point of it.” This is classic Keith: dismissive, funny, and not entirely wrong if you define “pop” as disposable by design.
His hip-hop comments are sharper and more likely to divide readers, because they drift into the “kids these days” zone. Whether you see it as cranky honesty or cultural deafness, it’s a reminder that rock icons age in public, and their opinions don’t automatically mature along with their bodies.
Is Keith Richards a “health nut” now? Not exactly, and that’s the point
Calling Richards a health nut is funny because it’s inverted branding. But his remarks point to something more useful for normal humans: change doesn’t have to be total to be real. Quitting cigarettes is real. Dropping hard drugs is real. Keeping a cautious relationship with alcohol is real.
And importantly, his story doesn’t romanticize withdrawal or sell a miracle cure. It’s closer to a veteran tradesman adjusting his tools so he can keep working. For older music fans, that’s the most relatable version of “recovery” there is.
Practical takeaways (without pretending you’re Keith Richards)
- Start with the habit that’s daily. For many people, nicotine is the constant, not the chaos, and the health payoff of stopping is substantial.
- Don’t confuse survival with safety. A famous person living through addiction doesn’t mean the risk was exaggerated.
- Make longevity a creative goal. The Stones’ late-era output shows that staying functional can be more rebellious than self-destruction.
- Expect your identity to wobble. Richards calling sobriety “unique” is an honest admission that the brain misses the old storyline.
Conclusion: the most Keith Richards thing is that he’s still rewriting the myth
Richards’ “straight” era isn’t a rebrand into wellness culture. It’s a messy, human pivot: fewer poisons, more playing time, and jokes dark enough to keep the legend intact. If rock and roll once sold the fantasy that excess equals authenticity, Richards is now selling the counter-fantasy: that staying alive long enough to make another record might be the real flex.
