Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has said a musician's quest for fame can be a “bigger killer” than drugs.

In an interview with the BBC, Richards warned about the consequences of fame and admitted he feared he Mick Jagger for in the 1980s.

“Fame is probably a bigger killer than drugs in my game, if you want to called it that,” Richards said.

“So many people...very nice characters, but a dose of fame and they've gone into another world. Eventually you know you can't pull them back.

“And along with fame comes terrible decisions about what to do and who you think you are, and how to treat other people.”

Richards, who is promoting his new autobiography, said he was “very, very worried” that Jagger had become obsessed by fame.

“I have to say in defence of my friend, sure I wrote the song and I'm coming out and doing the gigs, but in that period I had nothing to do with the running of the Stones – he assumed control, he assumed he was the leader,” Richards said.

“He didn't want to relinquish one of his strings. It was his assumption that he was bigger than the Stones, which started first to annoy me and then slowly enraged me.”

Meanwhile, in another interview, the guitarist insisted that his relationship with Jagger was still strong.

Life was released earlier this week.

(by Jason Gregory)