August 29, 2007 17:46

Keith Richards lashes out at Swedish newspapers

'Write the truth!' demands The Rolling Stones guitarist

Keith Richards has demanded an apology from Swedish newspapers that panned The Rolling Stones' concert in the country earlier this month.

Two tabloids, Expressen and Aftonbladet, gave the August 3 show at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg scathing reviews, with Expressen alleging that Richards was very drunk on stage and Aftonbladet giving it a two on a five-point scale, reports the Associated Press.

"This is a first!" Richards wrote in a letter published by Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter.

"Never before have I risen to the bait of a bad review. But this time...I have to stand up... for our fans all over Sweden...to say that you owe them, and us, an apology."

He continued: "There were 56,000 people in Ullevi stadium who bought a ticket to our concert — and experienced a completely different show than the one you 'reviewed'.

"How dare you cheapen the experience for them — and for the hundreds of thousands of other people across Sweden who weren't at Ullevi and have only your 'review' to go on.

"Write the truth. It was a good show," Richards concluded.

Aftonbladet's music critic Markus Larsson answered back: "I am not going to apologize for my subjective opinion.

"It is Keith who should apologise. After all it costs around $145 to see a rock star who can hardly handle the riff to 'Brown Sugar' any more."

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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