Mick Jagger has opened up about the loss of The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts and revealed the things he misses most about his late bandmate.
Watts died of cancer in 2021, aged 80, and The Rolling Stones vowed to continue in his absence with Steve Jordan. The Rolling Stones released their new album Hackney Diamonds on October 20th. While the LP does feature Watts playing drums on two tracks, Jordan appears on the majority of songs and it marks their first record since Charlie’s passing.
Jagger has now discussed his grief during a new interview with The Guardian, revealing: “It’s a couple of years now, and I still think about Charlie a lot.” Speaking about their mutual love of cricket, the frontman added: “Charlie would have liked Ben Stokes’s innings; I wish Charlie could have seen that 182.”
He continued: “I miss his laconic humour. His taste in music. His elegance. His don’t-care attitude – he didn’t get intense. Keith and I get a bit intense.”
Expanding on his point, Jagger added: “But Charlie wouldn’t, and it rubs off a bit – I’m not as intense as I used to be. I think about him when I’m playing, and what he would have played; whether he’d have liked this song, because I’d always bounce things off him. I’d be playing him the silly pop songs of the moment, and he’d love all that. But I hate to say this: as you get older, a lot of your friends die.”
Meanwhile, The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood recently revealed his final conversation with Watts. In a recent interview, he was asked whether Watts’ “presence was felt in the studio”, which prompted him to recall his last interaction with the late drummer.
He stated. “Oh yeah, all the time. I was the last one to see Charlie in the hospital, in London, before he died. He said, ‘I want to get out of this bloody place, but until I do, will you please make sure that Steve Jordan carries the flag for me?’ And, I said, ‘Don’t worry about that. We’ve got you covered.’”
The guitarist concluded by saying: “Then he said, ‘Alright. Now get out so I can watch [Italian jockey] Frankie Dettori on the TV!’ He loved the horse racing, did Charlie.”
In a three-star review, Far Out wrote of the new album by The Rolling Stones: “It’s impossible not to get a kick out of these elder statesmen of rock and roll putting their best collective foot forward to see what remains of their creativity. You can call Hackney Diamonds whatever you want, but you have to call it a success.”
