The death of Charlie Watts is still a concern for his band members today; the Rolling Stones drummer died in 2021 at the age of 80. Keith Richards said he pays tribute to the drummer every day.
“I miss Charlie every day,” says the guitarist in an interview on the radio program “Howard Stern Show”. To honor his late friend, the 79-year-old musician has adopted a morning routine. “When I come out of my bedroom the first thing I see is… a portrait of Charlie on the stairs – I always salute him on the way there. “Charlie Watts was a solid guy,” Keef told Howard Stern.
Richards not only talks about their close friendship, but also about working with Watts, who had been part of the band since 1963. He says the drummer brought a certain “intelligence” to the songwriting. “He had feeling, he had intelligence… rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t necessarily need a battery of drummers, it’s about when not to hit… when you make music, silence is your canvas,” explains the guitarist. The deceased band member always came up with his own ideas that surprised the other band members. Richards also praised his “solid beat” that gave him, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood “the freedom to fly.”
Jagger also recently reminisced. “I knew him since I was 19 and I hung out with Charlie a lot. He was one of my closest friends,” explains the Rolling Stones frontman in an interview with the American radio station SiriusXM. In addition to music, the bandmates shared other passions: “Charlie and I had many other interests than just playing in a band. We loved football and cricket. “Charlie and I often went to cricket together,” Mick Jagger remembers his friend. “Charlie knows each other very well [mit Fußball] out of. He played football as a child. He was pretty good. Much better than me. Charlie loved beautiful things. He liked antiques, he liked furniture. So we talked a lot about things like that.”
“Hackney Diamonds” will be released on October 20th – the Rolling Stones’ first record with their own material since their 2005 work “A Bigger Bang”. The band already provided a foretaste of their 24th studio album with the singles “Angry” and “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” – the latter was created in collaboration with Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder. Charlie Watts will also appear on two tracks. While he was able to take part in the songs “Live by the Sword” and “Mess It Up”, Steve Jordan plays the drums on the remaining tracks. Well-known musicians such as Paul McCartney, Elton John and former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman also appear on the record.