Keith Richards: Amy is only singer I rate, but she won't be around for long unless she cleans up her act

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But the guitarist - famous for his huge consumption of illegal drugs - warned that Amy, who was pictured recently smoking crack, "wouldn't be around for long" unless she cleaned up her act.

The Stones' lead singer Mick Jagger also said Winehouse's music would suffer because of the time she spent dealing with the authorities over drugs.

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High praise: Keith Richards says that Amy Winhouse is the only current singer he rates, but added that he didn't think she'd 'be around for long' unless she cleaned up her act

In an exclusive interview for The Mail on Sunday's Live magazine, 'Keef' spoke frankly of his own drug-taking.

The guitarist - who inspired Johnny Depp's character Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean - said he still listens to his old blues heroes such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Jimmy Reed.

Asked which modern artists he rated, he said: "There's only one person. That girl Amy.

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Amy and Keith's bandmate Mick Jagger perform together at the 2007 Isle of Wight festival

"Mind you, that girl isn't going to be around long unless she sorts herself out pretty quick. Amy's got to get smart."

Richards, 64, said he did not expect her to listen.

He said: "I'm not a preacher. But I've been there and you have to pass it on."

The former heroin addict admitted he still "smokes weed all the damn time" and said he was once so high on drugs he let a firework burn his finger to the bone.

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'I'm not a preacher': Keith, pictured with bandmate Ronnie Wood (left), has spoken frankly on his drug-taking in an interview with the The Mail on Sunday's Live magazine

He said: "When this band started, I never gave it more than two years. Forty-odd years later, I now think we're just about getting it tight.

"I don't see the problem of performing when you are 80. Chuck Berry can do it."

Jagger, also 64, spoke of the band's trouble with the police over drugs in the Seventies.

He said: "It completely took over our lives creatively and we couldn't do this and couldn't do that.

"You had to spend all your time trying to deal with the police. The same thing has happened to Amy Winehouse."

The pair were speaking ahead of next month's premiere of the Stones film Shine A Light.

Jagger added: "Performing is like sex, an addiction. But to do it well, you can't do it all the time."