Mick turns 69 next month. Keith will join him in December. Charlie just turned 71. And Ronnie Wood’s a spry(?) 65. Are they ready for retirement?
Apparently not.
The latest word in this speculation-denied story (in which the press first generates a rumour, and then reports the denial of the rumour, thus getting two stories about nothing, really) is that the Stones aren’t going to retire after headlining the Glastonbury Festival in England later this summer.
Apparently they were “said” to be planning to strut off the stage into a well deserved retirement after celebrating their 50th anniversary with a few gigs this summer, culminating with Glastonbury.
“But representatives of the band have since told NME there is no truth to the reports,” The Sudbury Star reported this week.
Here are Mick’s and Keith’s takes on the road versus retirement (from the official Rolling Stones website):
“If we were bored to death, honestly I don’t think we would do it,” says Mick. “We do enjoy ourselves doing it. Everyone has been saying, How come they can enjoy themselves? They should be bored to death doing this. We’re still having a lot of fun.”
“My question [to those who wonder why the Stones are still on the road] would be, Why not?” asks Keith. “Come up with a reason why not. This is what we love to do. And quite honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without it. It’s almost a duty. How many millions are there out there [who want to see the Stones]? Who am I to deny you me?”