Keith Richards Calls Mick Jagger 'Unbearable' in New Book

Rolling Stones band members Charles Watts, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards. (Reuters)

Keith Richards says he hasn't seen Mick Jagger's dressing room in 20 years, and describes Jagger as unbearable.

The details about his strained relationship with the Rolling Stones singer are spelled out in Richards' book "Life," to be published Oct. 26.

Richards adds that he misses the friend with whom he forged one of music’s most successful writing partnerships, and that despite their differences, he says they are trying to work out logistics for yet another Rolling Stones world tour.

In his much anticipated autobiography, Richards describes in frank detail what sounds like a long and particularly explosive marriage, complete with love rivalries, drug taking, epic arguments and jaw-dropping insults.

Richards, 66, confirmed that his nickname for Jagger is “Your Majesty” or “Brenda.”

“It was the beginning of the Eighties when Mick started to become unbearable,” Richards said. “I think Mick thinks I belong to him.”

Jagger has read the book, Richards said. “I think it opened his eyes a bit.”

The only thing Jagger asked him to take out was a reference to him having used a voice coach. Richards declined.

In the book, for which he was paid an advance of $7.7 million, Richards wrote with candor about his notorious drug taking. He gave up heroin in 1978 after being busted five times and finally stopped taking cocaine in 2006 after he fell from a tree and needed to have brain surgery.

In an interview, he claimed to have given up all drugs, but added, “I’m just waiting for them to invent something more interesting. I’m all ready to road test it.”

Richards said he has no regrets about taking heroin.

“There was a lot of experience in there. I loved a good high. If you stay up, you get the songs that everyone else misses because they’re asleep.”

He recalls a night when The Beatles star John Lennon -- “a silly sod [fool], in many ways” -- woke up in a bathroom, lying by the toilet, murmuring, “Don’t move me -- these tiles are beautiful.”

-- Newscore and The Associated Press contributed to this report.