Keef on 'hollow' Led Zep

Keith Richards admits he was never a fan Of Led Zeppelin and says the Who’s late drummer Keith Moon would have been “a disaster” in any other band.

The Rolling Stones guitarist’s latest comments follow remarks in which he described Metallica and Black Sabbath as “great jokes” and slammed the Beatles’ classic Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as a “mishmash of rubbish.” In that same interview, he panned his own band’s 1967 effort Their Satanic Majesties Request.

Now he tells Rolling Stone: “I love Jimmy Page, but as a band, no, with John Bonham thundering down the highway in an uncontrolled 18-wheeler. He had cornered the market. Jimmy is a brilliant player but I always felt there was something a little hollow about it.”

He reserves praise for drum virtuoso Moon, but reckons he couldn’t work with anyone other than the Who. He adds: “I always thought Daltrey was all flash. And I love Pete Townshend, but I always thought the Who were a crazy band, anyway. He was an incredible drummer, but only with Pete Townshend.

“He could play to Pete like nobody else in the world. But if somebody threw him into a session with somebody else, it was a disaster. There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you’ve got that one paintbrush, and you rock it.”

Richards – who released solo album Crosseyed Heart last month – says he hopes the Stones will hit the studio before Christmas, but isn’t betting on it.

He says: “I was in London last week, and all the boys, we had a little chat. We’re playing South America in February of next year. We were just talking and were like, ‘Well, we’ve got to get back in the studio. That’s agreed? Agreed. Right, OK boys. Where? When?’ We scratch our heads.

“Off the top of my head, I would say after the South America thing, but you never know. We might try and get in the studio before Christmas. I think that’s sort of doubtful, because Christmas, and you know, that build up.”

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.