Keith Richards says he considers The Rolling Stones to be Ian Stewart’s band: ‘He pulled us together’

‘Without him, we wouldn’t have coagulated,’ musician says

Keith Richards has revealed that he still views The Rolling Stones as Ian Stewart’s band, despite the late pianist being removed from the original lineup back in 1963.

Appearing on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, the legendary rock artist discussed the band’s forthcoming Europe tour, along with his solo work.

“I consider the Stones to be Ian’s band,” the 78-year-old said, as talk turned to the group’s early years. His remark prompted Maron to utter a disbelieving, “Really?”

“He put it together, he pulled us together. Without him, we wouldn’t have coagulated,” Richards explained.

Stewart was the first person to respond to Brian Jones's advert in Jazz News, published on 2 May 1962, looking for musicians to form a rhythm and blues group. While working as a clerk for the ICI shipping department, he used the office phone to get Mick Jagger and Richards to audition in Soho, as well as persuading Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman to give up better-paying gigs to join.

Asked why Stewart was removed from the lineup, Richards said: “He wasn’t good-looking enough and they thought six [members] was too many. Stu, having the largest heart in the world, said, ‘Yeah I understand.’ But it was still his band, and he became our road manager and everything. And I think Ian Stewart considered us his babies, and I considered him as my dad.”

Richards had previously made similar remarks in his 2010 autobiography, Life.

Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, Steve Jordan and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones perform onstage at SoFi Stadium, 2022 (Getty Images)

Speaking to Maron, he said it was Stewart who urged him to connect with his idol and late friend, Johnnie Johnson, with help from Chuck Berry.

Stewart was viewed by fans as the “Sixth Stone” for the two decades after helping form the band, remaining with them as a tour and sessions manager. He died in 1985, after suffering a heart attack in the waiting room of a health clinic, aged 47, before he could hear the final Stones album he worked on, Dirty Work.

He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the band, in 1989.

The latest episode of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast is available to listen to now.