Five singers Keith Richards hates with all his heart

His loose tongue has led to many famous feuds. There was the long-running feud between the Stones and the Sex Pistols, their long-standing hatred of Aerosmith, and many other harsh words he has thrown at legends like Prince, Elton John, The Who and others. There seems to be no one Richards doesn’t attack, as he has even previously criticized the work of the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

But in these five cases, his problem is the singers. He has a particular problem with the skill and talent of these singers, or, in his opinion, the lack thereof.

The singers Keith Richards hates:

Liam Gallagher

There is definitely one aspect where Richards has trouble seeing the passage of time. There seems to be a certain bitterness towards the changing times in some of the acts he criticises, as he attacked punk and grunge bands in the 1980s and then, at the start of the 1990s, lashed out at Britpop. Perhaps this is all just jealousy, as he saw new bands taking the throne as the Stones began to lose their way, or perhaps it is just a matter of opinion.

Either way, the Gallagher brothers fell victim to one of his venomous outbursts. “These guys are just disgusting,” he said in 1997. “Grow up and then come back and see if you can keep up,” he continued, dismissing the band as a tired nostalgia trip, adding, “I don’t hear anything. It’s all just retro to me. But there’s an element of pity there too.” To put it bluntly, he called the band “crap.”

However, Richards particularly hated Liam Gallagher, the band’s singer. His brother Noel recalled a chance encounter with the Stones player, who said to him: “One thing I’ve always wanted to ask you: who’s the bigger arsehole, your singer or mine?” While denouncing his own singer, the guitarist also made his dislike for Liam clear. But as a huge fan of the Stones despite their frosty reception towards him, Noel replied: “Well, since your singer has written some of the best lyrics ever, I say mine.”

Jerry Garcia

To this day, the Grateful Dead maintain a cultishly devoted fan base. When they broke through in the mid-1960s, they were almost immediately viewed as geniuses of rock, helping to expand the genre with the experimental mindset of the decade. They were one of the biggest and most defining bands of an era full of pioneers, staking their claim to be one of the most interesting, respected and beloved bands of the ’60s and beyond.

But Richards disagreed. He didn’t mince his words when it came to the Grateful Dead, and particularly their leader and singer Jerry Garcia. “Everyone in the Grateful Dead has done something wrong,” he said. “They just plod along for hours.” To him, their extended, jam-like songs are nothing more than boring noise. Garcia’s voice in particular annoyed him the most, saying, “Jerry Garcia, boring shit, man. Sorry, Jerry.”

Robert Plant

Nothing and no one is sacred to Keith Richards, not even Led Zeppelin. In fact, the iconic rock band has been the target of the guitarist’s hatred time and time again. “They’re thrown together and you always feel it. You always see the connection,” he once said of the group, claiming that, like The Who and Black Sabbath, they felt forced.

But he particularly took issue with Robert Plant’s voice, saying that it put him off the band. Back in 1969, he said: “I played their album quite a lot when I first got it, but then the guy’s voice got on my nerves.” Even when Led Zeppelin were at the peak of their career, the Stones player couldn’t stand Plant’s singing, adding: “It’s a bit too acrobatic.”

Spice Girls

If Richards didn’t like Britpop, he certainly wouldn’t like the pure pop of the 1990s. When rock and roll gave way to girl power, the guitarist was there to destroy it. He went straight for the top, directing his criticism not only at the biggest act of the era, but also at one of the biggest pop acts in history: the Spice Girls.

“They really are just a bunch of sluts!” he declared, not giving time to express his wild opinion. “Can they sing? No! Can they play? No!” he continued, completely discrediting the famous pop band. Looking at the music scene obsessed with the five stars, Richards couldn’t believe his eyes. “The world has gone mad,” he declared.

Mick Jagger

Sometimes two people who have been friends for so long develop a kind of sibling relationship. And what do siblings do but fight? Richards and Jagger have definitely gotten bitchy after decades of working together, touring together and trying to grow up together as two of the most famous musicians in the world.

Especially when it came to Jagger’s solo work, Richards didn’t try to hide his hatred for it. “I think everyone – except maybe Mick himself – has learned that Mick Jagger is really good when he’s with the Rolling Stones,” he said. “But when he’s not there, I don’t think anyone gives a damn. Whether they get the message or not.”

During the band’s most difficult years, Richards repeatedly seemed to lash out at his bandmate, including his singing abilities. When he compiled a list of his 20 favorite singers of all time, Jagger was nowhere to be seen making a clear and critical statement.

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