Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies aged 80

The long-time drummer of the hugely successful British rock band the Rolling Stones has died at the age of 80, his publicist announced on Tuesday. Charlie Watts passed away at a London hospital while surrounded by his family.

“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts,” a spokesperson's statement shared via the Rolling Stones read. Watts “passed away peacefully” in a London hospital surrounded by his family, the statement read, without naming a specific cause of death.

“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of the Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation.”

Watts joined the Rolling Stones in 1963, just a year after it was formed, and stayed with the band during the next six decades, becoming one of its longest serving members, alongside co-founders Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 

The band was due to resume it’s US ‘No Filter’ tour next month, having postponed the gigs last year due to the pandemic. However, the Rolling Stones said in a statement in early August that Watts was “unlikely to be available” as he had recently undergone an unspecified medical procedure and needed time to recover. The procedure was “completely successful,” his spokesperson said, adding that the musician’s doctors had advised “he now needs proper rest and recuperation.”

“For once my timing has been a little off,” Watts said at the time, adding that he did not wish to delay the tour further by having the rest of the band hold off performing until he had fully regained his strength. Instead, drummer Steve Jordan, a longtime associate of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, was to stand in for Watts when the tour kicked off on September 26. 

Tributes have been pouring in for Watts – who played on all 30 of the band's albums as well as each of their tours – from numerous other musicians and artists, including Paul McCartney, who posted a video tribute on Twitter to the “fantastic drummer”.

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