Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
Rolling Stones quotes: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, on meeting each other
MICK & KEITH: FROM NEIGHBOURS TO LEGENDS Before the fame, Mick and Keith were just neighborhood kids hanging out on the same streets, playing together and getting into little adventures. Mick remembers asking Keith what he wanted to be—Roy Rogers? Sure—but the guitar part caught his attention. From tricycles and street games to guitars and rock ’n’ roll, their friendship was built long before the spotlight, proving that some legendary partnerships start way before anyone notices.
Mick: “I can’t remember when I didn’t know Keith. We lived one street away; his mother knew my mother, and we were at primary school together from 7 to 11. We used to play together, and we weren’t the closest friends, but we were friends… I distinctly remember this conversation I had with Keith. I asked Keith what he wanted to do when he grew up. He said he wanted to be like Roy Rogers and play guitar. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the Roy Rogers bit but the part about guitar did interest me… Keith and I went to different schools when we were 11, but he went to a school which was really near where I used to live. But I always knew where he lived, because my mother would never lose contact with anybody, and she knew where they moved. I used to see him coming home from his school, which was less than a mile away from where I lived…” Keith: “Yes, that’s how long we’ve known each other. He also lived around the corner from me, so we’d see each other on our tricycles and hang around here and there. Later, we started going to different schools, but I’d still run into him now and again. I once saw Mick outside Dartford Library selling ice creams from a trolley-summer job…”
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards go way back—so far back that “meeting” each other was more like growing up side by side. Mick recalls living just a street away from Keith, with their mothers keeping tabs on each other’s kids. They weren’t inseparable, but they were friends from ages seven to eleven, playing together and sharing everyday adventures. One memory sticks: asking Keith what he wanted to be when he grew up. His reply? Roy Rogers, cowboy icon… and, more importantly, a guitar player.
Mick wasn’t sold on the cowboy thing, but the guitar bit caught his attention. Even after moving to different schools, they still crossed paths frequently. Mick always knew where Keith lived, thanks to their mothers’ unbroken connection, and would spot him walking home from school. It was a friendship rooted in proximity, shared experiences, and a curiosity about each other’s dreams—an unassuming start to one of rock’s most legendary partnerships.
Tricycles, Ice Creams and Early Bonds
Keith Richards remembers it just as vividly. Living around the corner, he and Mick would bump into each other on tricycles or while wandering the neighborhood. Even as they attended different schools, those chance encounters kept the connection alive. Keith recalls spotting Mick outside Dartford Library, pushing an ice cream trolley during a summer job. These small, everyday moments, from shared streets to fleeting summer jobs, laid the groundwork for a creative partnership that would change music history. From tricycles to guitars, the bond that started in neighborhood streets would eventually grow into a legendary rock alliance.
Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
