from Launch...

Keith Richards should have died eight years ago, according to leading health experts.

The 60-year-old Rolling Stones' hellraiser has outlived all expectations and has somehow "eluded death" following years of hard living, claims an American gerontologist.

David Demko has investigated the lifestyles of music's biggest names and predicted their death dates in a survey entitled "When will Your Favourite Rock star die?" for US music magazine Blender.

Speaking about Richards, Demko: "He should have passed away at 52. I'm not sure how he does it but he defies all conventional wisdom. Eighty per cent of the factors that control how long you live are related to your lifestyle not genes."

Ironically the guitarist, who has been married for 20 years and has a massive £150million fortune, admitted as his marked his 60th milestone last year: "There are a lot of people who never thought I'd make it this far."

Among his other string of morbid predictions, Demko concluded that Ozzy Osborne will die in 2013 aged 65, Whitney Houston, 40, will only make it to 59 and Michael Jackson, 45, will die at the age of 76, while Courtney Love will be lucky to make it to her 62nd year

Healthy living rock superstar Sting, however, fares rather better in the life expectancy list. According to Demko's calculation, he should live to the age of 93.