Birthday Boy Keith Richards Says He's 'Not Friends' With Mick Jagger

Speaking about their 'fractured' bond, Keith, who turned 80 on Monday, wrote in his explosive book ‘Life’: "Mick and I may not be friends – too much wear and tear for that," reports ‘Mirror.co.uk’.

He went on: "We’re the closest of brothers, and that can’t be severed. How can you describe a relationship that goes that far back? Best friends are best friends. But brothers fight."

As soon as the father of five first met Mick as a teenager, their instant connection proved successful as they started to make waves in the music industry. But things turned sour between the pair when Keith was arrested in 1977 in Canada for possession of heroin.

As per ‘Mirror.co.uk’, Keith had been heavily using the drug for almost 10 years and Mick took control and looked after him during that time.

In his memoir, Keith recalled how Mick was on his side to start with, saying, "I have to say that during the bust in Toronto, in fact during all busts, Mick looked after me with great sweetness, never complaining. He ran things; he did the work and marshalled the forces that saved me. Mick looked after me like a brother."

But after serving his jail time, Keith was forced to pay a fine, attend rehab and perform two charity concerts for free - something, it has been claimed, Mick was left fuming about.

After his release from rehab, Keith noticed that he had lost control in the group. And by 1981, the tension between the pair was going from bad to worse. They managed to release the track ‘Tattoo You’, but had to record their vocals at separate times of the day as they barely spoke.