When it comes to rock legends, Keith Richards has never been one to hold his tongue — and now, he’s setting his sights on one of music’s most sacred cows: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
While many hail The Beatles’ 1967 psychedelic masterpiece as the greatest album of all time, Richards isn’t buying it. In a brutally honest interview with Esquire, the Rolling Stones guitarist didn’t just question the album’s legacy — he flat-out trashed it.
Richards vs. Psychedelia
“The Beatles were brilliant when they just played as The Beatles,” Richards said. “But Sgt. Pepper? That’s where it all went sideways. There’s no roots in that record — they got carried away with the studio toys.”
And Richards didn’t stop with The Beatles. He threw his own band under the bus, slamming the Stones’ psychedelic detour, Their Satanic Majesties Request.
“Some people think Sgt. Pepper is a genius album, but I think it’s a mishmash of rubbish — just like Satanic Majesties. We basically said, ‘Oh, if you can make a load of s**t, so can we.’”
The Madness of the 60s — and Beatlemania
Richards also reflected on the chaotic touring days of the ’60s, when screaming fans drowned out the music itself. “Three thousand chicks wailing could just obliterate you. You’d see them getting dragged out, sweating, screaming, convulsing… it was insane.”
He believes the madness eventually wore The Beatles down. “Those chicks wore those guys out,” Richards remarked. “By 1966, they’d had enough. They quit touring, ran off to India — done and dusted.”
Still a Classic — in Classrooms
Yet, no matter what Richards says, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band remains a towering cultural force. Just this year, the UK’s largest exam board, AQA, added three of the album’s iconic tracks — “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” and “Within You Without You” — to its official GCSE music curriculum.
Love it or loathe it, Sgt. Pepper continues to shape minds — even if one of rock’s greatest rebels calls it rubbish.
