“I have a sense of history that you don’t,” explains the godfather of gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson. “And so does Keith.”
With his notorious drug-fuelled daily writing routine and well-documented psychedelic antics, there are few people on the planet more qualified than Thompson to interview Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards – a man with a strong claim to having ingested more narcotics than anyone else on the planet during the latter half of the Twentieth Century.
Spotting the chance to unite two towering philosophers of altered states and chroniclers of the psychedelic experience, the pair were brought together in an Aspen, Colorado hotel by ABC in 1993.
Thompson and Richards get straight to the big questions: “Talking about the next world, you know what I mean?” Richards drools. “It’s like, what are we looking for? Promotion, demotion and why do we, you know… We’re here living this life. What’s all the speculation about the next one? It will either be there or it won’t.”
To which Thompson responds: “There a lot of people out there who’ve seen you play for them, who would consider you were already in the next world.”
In the ten-minute clip, the surprisingly-lucid-yet-barely-comprehensible pair go on to discuss the reincarnation of J. Edgar Hoover (he would return as “a fart,” Keith says), The Beatles, the Hell’s Angels, drugs (of course), the Stones’ troubling Altamont incident and blood transfusions.
So, go ahead and give it a watch. You might just learn something – if you can decipher the mumbling…
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
The party starters fighting to revive Stonehenge’s Solstice Free Festival
Free the Stones! delves into the vibrant community that reignites Stonehenge’s Solstice Free Festival, a celebration suppressed for nearly four decades.
Written by: Laura Witucka
Hypnotic Scenes of 90s London Nightlife
Legendary photographer Eddie Otchere looks back at this epic chapter of the capital’s story in new photobook ‘Metalheadz, Blue Note London 1994–1996’
Written by: Miss Rosen
The White Pube: “Artists are skint, knackered and sharing the same 20 quid”
We caught up with the two art rebels to chat about their journey, playing the game that they hate, and why anarchism might be the solution to all of art’s (and the wider world’s) problems.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The Chinese youth movement ditching big cities for the coast
In ’Fissure of a Sweetdream’ photographer Jialin Yan documents the growing number of Chinese young people turning their backs on careerist grind in favour of a slower pace of life on Hainan Island.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The LGBT Travellers fundraising for survival
This Christmas, Traveller Pride are raising money to continue supporting LGBT Travellers (used inclusively) across the country through the festive season and on into next year, here’s how you can support them.
Written by: Percy Henderson
The fight to save Bristol’s radical heart
As the city’s Turbo Island comes under threat activists and community members are rallying round to try and stop the tide of gentrification.
Written by: Ruby Conway