Keith Richards’ Two-Word Response to His Band Watching the Beatles at Shea Stadium

When we think of screaming British Invasion-era fans, our minds instantly go to The Beatles. The Fab Four were famous for shows so loud, you couldn’t even hear the band play. This eventually led them to absolve themselves of their touring arm. But The Rolling Stones were equally as deafened by screaming audiences in their early years. Though they stuck it out long enough to become one of the most respected touring acts ever. Keith Richards once commented on The Stones’ similarities to The Beatles’ early years, giving a very Richards response to his band watching the Fab Four’s iconic Shea Stadium show.

[RELATED: How Keith Richards Landed His Only Hot 100 Track Just by Showing up To Practice on Time]

Keith Richards’ One-Liner About The Beatles at Shea Stadium

Waddy Wachtel is a guitarist who has played for many big names, but his path crossed with The Stones when he became a member of Richards’ solo backing band, X-Pensive Winos.

After having seen The Stones come up as a band, the legendary session guitarist jumped at the opportunity to play alongside Richards.

“So I called Keith up, and he says, ‘Waddy, I’m putting a band together, and you’re the other guitar player,’” Wachtel once said. “I went, ‘Really?!’ He says, ‘Really. No auditions for this band. You’re it,’ which knocked me out of the park.”

One could imagine what that would feel like for a longtime admirer. The other members of the X-Pensive Winos included Steve Jordan, Charley Drayton, Ivan Neville, Bobby Keys, and Sarah Dash. Together, they helped push Richards out front in his solo career.

One particular memory that Wachtel chose to talk about when thinking of his time with Richards was a moment that showed him to be what he is: an intimidatingly iconic performer.

“He’s such a lovely guy; so warm and personable and beautiful,” Wachtel once said. “But he’s that guy — he’s that Rolling Stone who was screamed at for the first five years. They never heard anything they were playing onstage.”

The guitarist found Richards to be a down-to-earth kind of guy but was confronted with his legend status while watching The Beatles Shea Stadium show.

“One day we were in this living room area,” he added. “Keith’s bedroom was above it. We were taking a break in the late afternoon, and he went upstairs to lie down for a bit. We were watching TV, and all of a sudden this Beatles concert comes on — at Shea Stadium or something like that. It was just monstrous screaming — girls losing their minds.”

“We’re sitting there watching this, and all of a sudden Keith comes walking down the stairs,” he continued. “He looks at the TV from across the room and just goes, ‘Done that.’ Steve and I looked at each other and went, ‘Yeah, right, it’s that guy.’”

That kind of snide, quick-witted one-liner is exactly what fans like about Richards. Revisit one of The Stones’ early shows above to be reminded of just how important they were from the get-go.

(Photo by Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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