The Rolling Stones May Consider Retirement When Someone Gets 'Off The Bus'

The Rolling Stones are never going to retire because they don't have real jobs.

Guitarist Keith Richards says it's been years since if felt like work to be in his iconic rock 'n' roll band. So why not keep doing it until it's just over?

"I can't really imagine doing anything else," Richards said in a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine. "You might call it a habit. I mean, that's what we do. And also there's that thing between us, like, 'Who's going to be the first one to get off the bus?' You have to be kicked off or drop off, right? So it's like that."

The Stones are nearly 60 years into their career and would have been on the road in the U.S. this summer had the pandemic not shut things down. Richards made headlines when he confirmed that he had finally given up smoking in preparation for the new tour.

The tour not coming to fruition only ensures that the Stones will trying and stick around long enough to honor the live dates.

Without concerts to play, the band has remained busy releasing music.

The band surprised fans earlier this year with its first original single in eight years, "Living in a Ghost Town." This summer, the Stones have been touting their upcoming reissue of the Goats Head Soup album, complete with several previously-unreleased songs.

Richards adds that the band has also continued working on new material and plans to get in the studio together once it is again safe to do so.

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