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Keith Richards not driven by money

Dec 6, 2012, 4:01 GMT

Keith Richards

Keith Richards claims money is not the 'driving force' behind The Rolling Stones.

The legendary 'Brown Sugar' group came under fire when they announced tickets for their '50 and Counting' shows would cost between £95 and £375 per ticket in the UK, and their 2005 and 2007 A Bigger Bang Tour was, at that time, the highest grossing in history, but guitarist Keith Richards says the band are not motivated by cash.

He said: 'We do it for ourselves. And I don't mean money-wise - of course you don't mind getting paid - but that is not the driving force behind this band. You can sit at home, do a bit of painting or writing or whatever. But there's a certain magnetic thing that says what I really want to do is play with Charlie Watts and Mick and Ronnie. That's the force that's indescribable. You put this bunch into a room with a bunch of microphones and some instruments and something is going to come out.'

Keith is really pleased he's been able to get the band together for their '50 and Counting' shows, as he had been getting 'antsy' having not played with the band for so long.

He added: 'let's face it, five years off the road, I was getting antsy. So Mick and I came up with a couple of songs. At first I said, 'Hey Mick, 'Doom and Gloom' is kind of a weird title for a 50 year celebration, you know?' But you know what The Stones are like, it's always against the grain.'