October 18, 2012 16:22

Keith Richards says was kept in dark over Rolling Stones gigs

Guitarist admits to being in the dark until two weeks ago

Photo Gallery: The Rolling Stones
Photo: PA

Keith Richards has said that the upcoming The Rolling Stones concerts were a secret even to him until a few weeks ago.

The band confirmed that they will play two UK shows and a further two in America this November. Tickets for the dates were criticised for their price with a basic ticket costing £100.

However, it seems that fans who do take the plunge and buy a ticket will see a great show with Richards telling Absolute Radio that he is surprised at how well the rehearsals have been going. "I’m amazed that we sort of handled it so well. Mind you it’s been a bit of a secret from me until about a week ago as to exactly what was happening. So it’s all been done a bit on the fly, but so it sort of worked out," Richards said.

Filling listeners in on the atmosphere in the band right now, Richards praised the enthusiasm between all four bandmates. "It's very high energy, and very enthusiastic. It’s almost like 'hey, we got a gig, you know'. I mean and everybody’s really up for it. I’m amazed how the band has like just moved straight into the slot, and I thought it would be like a little rusty and cranky to start with, but everybody was up from day one. So I’m really looking forward to this man."

He added: "I was surprised how little rust was on the machinery, you know. We went straight into oiling. But yeah, I think everybody was itching to go get on the road again or, you know, to get on stage and to play together. It’s a great feeling."

Meanwhile, Emily Eavis has said she will do her best to get The Rolling Stones to headline Glastonbury 2013. ??The rock legends, who will play two shows at London's O2 Arena on November 25 and 29 to mark their 50th anniversary, have never played the Worthy Farm festival. ??

When asked by NME if The Rolling Stones would happen next year, organiser Emily Eavis said: "We’d obviously like that to happen, we've always been quite open about that, whether or not it does, I cannot say."

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