Rivalries in the musical world are nothing new, but when the feud is between two larger-than-life personalities like Keith Richards and Elton John, theirs adopts a sense of novelty and peculiarity that makes it stand out among the rest. And unlike other public spats that start with a sideways comment leaked to the press, Richards and John’s bad blood began onstage—where else for these two showmen?
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According to rock ‘n’ roll legend, the contentious story began onstage at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, on July 20, 1975.
The Start of Keith Richards and Elton John’s Catty Feud
The 1970s were a tumultuous time for Keith Richards and Elton John alike. The Rolling Stones were at the top of their game, enjoying the fame and fortune that came with being one of the biggest rock bands in the world. John, too, was enjoying a career high, riding on seminal albums like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. So, there’s no doubt that a vast majority of the crowd at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, were delighted to see the two acts together that July night in 1975. At least, that’s what John was thinking, anyway.
“C****** gave me too much confidence for my own good,” John wrote in his autobiography, Me. “If I hadn’t been c**** out of my head when the Rolling Stones turned up in Colorado and asked me to come onstage with them, I might have just performed “Honky Tonk Women,” waved to the crowd, and made my exit. Instead, I decided it was going so well, I’d stay on and jam along to the rest of their set, without first taking the precaution of asking the Stones if they wanted an auxiliary keyboard player.”
“For a while, I thought Keith Richards kept staring at me because he was awestruck by the brilliance of my improvised contributions to their oeuvre,” John continued. “After a few songs, it finally penetrated my brain that the expression on his face wasn’t really suggestive of profound musical appreciation. Actually, he looked remarkably like someone who was about to inflict appalling violence on a musician who’d outstayed his welcome. I quickly scuttled off, noting as I went that Keith was still staring at me in a manner that suggested we’d be discussing this later, and decided it might be best if I didn’t hang around for the after-show party.”
Years of Catty Back and Forth Followed the Disastrous Show
Elton John has spoken extensively about the poor decisions and negative interactions he’s had with people while in active addiction to c******. (Including the time he mistook Bob Dylan for his gardener and loudly yelled at him for perusing the refreshment table during a backyard barbecue.) Overstaying his welcome with the Rolling Stones was just one instance of many, but for Keith Richards, the experience was obviously enough to sour his opinion on John. Years after their not-so-great collab in 1975, Richards told Rolling Stone that “Reg Dwight [was a] lovely bloke, but posing.”
Richards often uses John’s birth name, Reginald Dwight, instead of his stage name during interviews—another way to undercut the performer of whom he didn’t think too highly. After John released “Candle in the Wind” following the death of Princess Diana, Richards told Entertainment Weekly, “Songs for Dead Blonds. But he was a personal friend, after all. I’d find it difficult to ride on the back of something like that myself. But Reg is showbiz.”
Keith Richards is no stranger to offering a cutting word about his fellow performer. Indeed, John is one of countless musicians Richards has spoken poorly of in the press. But John wasn’t afraid to dish it back, either.
“Please,” John said in an interview with Daily News shortly after Richards’ comments were made public. “If the Rolling Stones aren’t show business, then what is? You know, with their inflatable naked women. [Keith Richards is] so pathetic, poor thing. It’s like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young. I just think he’s an a**hole, and I have for a long time.”
Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
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