Keith Richards has said he will be performing gigs for sometime yet as the Rolling Stones prepare to embark on a European tour.

"I'll do it my wheelchair," the Stones guitarist turned movie star told ITN, while mocking Charlie Watts, the Stones' drummer' for "sitting down already".

Stones shows are now also filled with youngsters who were not even born when Richards' band toured the world in the 1960s and 1970s.

"It's quite amazing to see people with their grandchildren, but at the same time very heart warming," Richards said.

"I've seen 12 year old guitar freaks down the front who are now in bands and working. It's kind of an inspirational thing in a way to pass it on."

Richards recently starred in the third Pirates of the Caribbean film as the father of Johnny Depp's character Captain Jack Sparrow.

The Stone's Bigger Bang tour in 2006 was the best-selling tour in history and made the band more than £50 million.

When the Bigger Bang tour hits Europe this summer, the stones will be playing more huge gigs, including two at the O2 Arena in London.

A Bigger Bang was released in 2005 and marked the Stones' first new album since 1997's Bridges to Babylon. It included all new Jagger/Richards compositions and was also co-produced by the band's two frontmen.

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