Rolling Stone Keith Richards gives up alcohol

[SOS]

Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist has given up alcohol, it has been reported.
The 66-year-old finally quit after getting strict orders from his doctor and watching fellow Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's life unravel through alcoholism.
Richards has apparently not touched a drop in four months.
He once claimed that he would never stop because he had outlived several doctors who advised him to give up.
 



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7068220/Rolling-Stone-Keith-Richards-gives-up-alcohol.html

[MrScorpio]

1. Better late than dead

[rcrush]

2. Why stop now?

I think the alcohol is keeping him alive.

[SOS]

3. Probably in solidarity with Ron Wood

Wood is deep trouble with his alcoholism.
Richards likely wants to create a supportive environment for the 2010 tour.
Jagger has announced that if Wood cannot sober up, he will be replaced.

[MiddleFingerMom]

4. Just when the economy was starting to pick up...

.

.

[graywarrior]

5. The gift of desperation can be the greatest motivator

I wish him the best and hope he gets all the support he deserves. Keep it simple, Keith.

[Zomby Woof]

6. In other news...

Jack Daniel's had to cut back production severely today and will have to lay off 30% of its workforce. :cry:

[Midlodemocrat]

7. Alcohol is a great preservative. It's the only reason Keith is still alive.

[Zomby Woof]

9. His liver will be entered into the UK's "Treasures of the National Trust"

Preserved forever with a 24k gold veneer.

[HughBeaumont]

8. It's unbelievable that Keith is still alive.

That guy must have superhuman innards to take all of that ruin and still be walking. Many humans and animals with the same substance ingestion wouldn't have even made it half as long.

[Zomby Woof]

10. I've always theorized it's his attitude

Keith was always an "embrace life" kind of guy - even if he embraces it TOO much. That is to say, as destructive as the alcohol, heroin, and other drugs have been to him, he doesn't have that self-destructive, quasi-suicidal impulse which drove Hendrix, Morrison, and many others to premature ends. Since Clapton DOES have that depressive streak, I am much more surprised that he is alive, moreso than Keith.

[redwitch]

21. According to a bio of the Stones I read years ago...

He occasionally went someplace "friendly" and had all his blood transfused. Would that help? He has looked like a cadaver for decades now, poor fellow. I love the Stones.

[rurallib]

11. Back to snorting dad?

http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/143486-keith-richards-did-snort-up-dad

[old mark]

12. Keith, I started to play better after I stopped.

Enjoy life, all the best.

mark

[KamaAina]

13. In an unrelated story, shares in Jack Daniel's plummeted by 50 percent in overnight trading.

:P

[kwassa]

14. I believe this is sign of the Apocalypse.

Hell hath indeed .... frozen over.

[BOSSHOG]

20. Another sign of the freeze, the Saints are in the Super Bowl

[Captain Hilts]

15. He's got enough left over in his system to see him out. nt

[latebloomer]

17. My thought exactly!

[Blue-Jay]

16. Keith must be some kind of genetic freak.

In fact, I suspect that he's some sort of zombie who died years ago, but stumbled upon some voodoo-inspired self-embalming technique that has rendered him immortal.

Giving up booze? Given his body chemistry, I doubt that any amount of booze has made him yawn in the past 30 years. One day (probably in 100-200 years) he'll stop moving, and forensic scientists will discover how to prevent death. A discovery which will either end humanity or bring us closer to Utopia. (I give it a 50-50 chance)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

18. Any mention of yummy, yummy heroin?

Because that was his biggest problem, from what I've read.

Claim: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards beat a heroin addiction by having his blood replaced at a Swiss medical clinic.

Status: False.

http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/richards.asp

Origins: As the cliché goes, look up 'debauchery' in the dictionary, and you'll find a picture of Keith Richards. Although many tales about the Keith Richards depravity of the Rolling Stones were deliberately concocted for publicity purposes (especially in the group's early days), the extent of Keith Richards' drug abuse over the last several decades would be hard to exaggerate: long periods of drug use and addiction, punctuated with occasional efforts at beating the drug habit. These efforts ranged from going cold turkey to submitting to conventional medical means of ending addiction to undergoing controversial "experimental" cures. Whatever the method, the results were generally the same: Richards would quit before the end of the program or lapse back into his familiar habits soon afterwards.

Although drugs have long been considered an indispensable part of the "rock 'n' roll lifestyle," too much of a good thing can be detrimental, even to rock musicians. The Rolling Stones have been a top concert draw for thirty-five years and owe much of their popularity (not to mention their income) to their live shows. But the Rolling Stones are not the Rolling Stones without a functioning Keith Richards, and at times his overindulgences have put concert tours in jeopardy due to his inability to weather rigorous and demanding tour schedules. Such was the situation during the Stones' 1973 European tour, when Richards needed to kick a heroin addiction quickly and underwent a treatment in Switzerland that lead to rumors he had undergone the human equivalent of an automotive oil change and beat his drug habit by having all his blood replaced.

[bigwillq]

19. How is he still alive?

:shrug: :P

[bamacrat]

22. Why now I mean it may shock his system so much that he dies now.

Damn he looks horrible. But I guess thats good clean blood will feel weird to him.

[Kaleva]

23. Ron Wood was drinking two bottles of vodka a day.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1034293/Rolling-Stone-Ronnie-Wood-61-runs-away-18-year-old-Russian-cocktail-waitress.html

[Mojambo]

24. Just in the nick of time. n/t

[MrSlayer]

25. Our heroes always let us down.

Say it isn't so Keith!

[Ikonoklast]

26. He was warned to stay away from sparks or open flames.

Richards would go up like a blowtorch.

[bookworm65t]

27. I thought this came from the Onion at first

but if this is serious, then I wish him well.

[applegrove]

28. He played a great father to Johnny Depps character in Pirates of the Caribbean.

[bluesbassman]

29. What happened, did they run out?

I knew I should have stocked up.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

30. Good on ya, Keith

all the best. TA

[Sebastian Doyle]

31. I suspect his recent misadventures falling out of a palm tree might have influenced his decision

...along with witnessing Woody's alcoholic meltdown. Or at least I'm assuming if a man in his mid 60's was climbing a palm tree in the first place, he was probably drunk at the time. All the booze & heroin in the world never killed him, but a bleeding brain might well have. Who knows, maybe even Keith took a wake up call from that? He certainly didn't seem to be playing quite right after the brain surgery. I hope he's back in shape for the upcoming tour.

[Mopar151]

32. Sick and tired of being sick and tired n/t

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jmowreader]

34. He's still on smack, though, right?

[peekaloo]

35. "since I moved into me new manse I can't find the bloody liquor cabinet!"

garbled larfter

[tigereye]

36. holy cow, has hell frozen over?