Due to Covid protocols, the Rolling Stones were unable to attend their late-drummer Charlie Watts‘ funeral in England last week. Watts died on August 24th at the age of 80 and had already announced he would be sitting out of the band’s upcoming, already-delayed North American tour. Watts, who joined the Stones in 1963, was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Devon.
Surviving Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, and the rest of their touring band who are rehearsing in Boston, were unable to make the cross-Atlantic journey due to the spike in the delta variant. Longtime Keith Richards collaborator Steve Jordan — also known for his work on the original Saturday Night Live, the Blues Brothers, and the Late Night with David Letterman Band — will be sitting in for Charlie Watts on the upcoming dates.
The Stones’ late-’60s road manager Sam Cutler attended the service for Watts and told The London Standard, “It perfectly reflects the man he was, and I completely understand the choice that was made. He would have hated a fuss and the commotion that involving the public would have meant.”
DID YOU KNOW???
- Charlie Watts shares a fondness for cricket with Mick Jagger, and the two always planned the staging and design of tours together with a professional team.
- Watts was trained as a graphic artist before turning to music.
CHECK IT OUT: The Stones on May 2nd, 1965 performing “The Last Time” live on The Ed Sullivan Show: