This Is the Only Thing Keith Richards Eats Before Rolling Stones Concerts

Music icons are made of different stuff than the rest of us, and there is perhaps no clearer evidence of this fact than the unusual eating habits of some of the world’s biggest rock stars.

Willie Nelson eats oatmeal every single morning. Ringo Starr has somehow avoided eating pizza for his entire lifetime. Being unusual is far from unusual in this world, but the dinner Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards requires before every concert he plays? Get ready for an inspired choice.

What does Keith Richards eat before concerts?

DAN ROBERTS FOR TASTE OF HOME

According to the BBC, Keith eats shepherd’s pie before every gig the band plays. The icon is said to have developed a taste for the classic comfort dish thanks to his mother Doris and grandfather Gus, who both used to prepare it for him.

The tradition dates back to at least the late ’80s, when Keith first requested the dish on the band’s catering menu to help life on tour feel more like life at home. According to Classic Rock, Keith was so adamant about his shepherd’s pie that if he didn’t get it, he would refuse to play the show. He once nearly postponed a show because the opening band, the Stereophonics, had eaten Keith’s pie before he’d gotten to it.

“It’s now famous, my rule on the road,” Keith wrote in his 2010 autobiography Life. “Nobody touches the shepherd’s pie till I’ve been in there. Don’t bust my crust, baby.”

What made Keith Richards’ shepherd’s pie unique?

Keith also has a “top secret” hack for the perfect shepherd’s pie, which he let the BBC in on. Thanks to a tip from his late security guard, Joe Seabrook, he likes to add a layer of chopped onions to the pie before it is topped with mashed potatoes.

“That does add zest to the whole thing,” Keith told the BBC. “It’s, I thought, the crowning glory of the shepherd’s pie.”