‘Lay off the dope,’ Keith Richards advises

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has advised young people to “lay off the dope” in an interview with monthly magazine Uncut, the BBC is reporting on its Web site.

Richards also brands bandmate Mick Jagger a “power freak” in the interview and belittles Led Zeppelin’s December one-off reunion gig.

The BBC reports that the 64-year-old, who famously claimed to have snorted his father’s ashes — but later denied it, revealed what his message would be to anyone using drugs.

“Give it up, it ain't really worth it. I know the fascination, but it ain't worth it,” he said.

Richards was speaking to Uncut magazine in an interview to promote a Martin Scorsese documentary about the band, “Shine A Light.” Addressing the band's frontman, he says, “Mick's a maniac. He can't get up in the morning without knowing immediately who he's going to call.

“Meanwhile, I just go ‘Thank God I'm awake’ and wait for three or four hours before I do anything. (Jagger) is a power freak and there's nothing we can do about it. I don't want to do anything about it. It doesn't make any difference to what we do,” the BBC quotes from the interview.

When asked about Jagger's onstage persona he said: “Excuse me while I laugh. He's a bit vain, let's put it like that. We want a vain bloke up there, don't we? Meanwhile, the band can go to work. Vanity will not carry a band. But a band can carry vanity.”

Asked about the recent Led Zeppelin reunion, Richards tells Uncut: “They had one? Well, well done Jimmy (Page) and Robert (Plant) ... ‘Stairway To Heaven don't make it for me, baby.”

The BBC reports that Richards also revealed he does not listen to contemporary music and thinks CDs sound “tinny.”

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