Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 20, 2025

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at age 80

Charlie Watts, who turned 80 in June, had been with the Rolling Stones since 1963. The sad news was announced by his publicist Bernard Doherty.

Drummer of the Rolling Stones, Charlie Watts, "one of the best drummers of his generation" and the more moderate member of the famous band of British rock, died Tuesday in London for 80 years.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts," his agent Bernard Doherty announced in a statement, adding that the musician "passed away peacefully in a London hospital today, surrounded by his family."

A spokesman for the artist had already announced in early August that he would not participate in the band's North American tour, scheduled for the fall, for medical reasons.

"Charlie has undergone a successful operation, but his doctors believe that he needs to rest," he explained then, without further elaboration.

Watts, who turned 80 in June, had been with the Stones since 1963. Along with singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, he was one of the oldest members of the famous rock band, in which Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman have also played in.

In 2004, he had been treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London for throat cancer, from which he recovered after four months of treatment; including six weeks of intensive radiation therapy.

"Charlie was a loving husband, father and grandfather and also, as a member of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation," said Doherty. "We ask that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends be respected at this difficult time," he added.

- Away from crazy life -

Charlie Watts, who always stayed away from the crazy life that his companions lived, remained for more than half a century the unflappable metronome of the band while fueling their passion for jazz.

With his impassive face and unanimously recognized talent for binary rhythm, he provided the perfect onstage counterpoint to the frantic swaggering of Mick Jagger and the electric antics of guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.

And while his friends went through "divorces, addictions, arrests and crazy fights", according to an inventory compiled by the British newspaper Mirror, the quiet Charlie Watts lived a serene life with Shirley Shepherd, his wife of 50 years, and their daughter Seraphina. , at his Arabian thoroughbred breeding farm in Devon, England.

"During fifty years of chaos, drummer Charlie Watts represented calm amidst the Rolling Stones storm, both on and off stage," wrote the Mirror in 2012.

However, the musician was not totally impervious to the band's addictions: In the 1980s, he underwent rehab for heroin and alcohol.

But "it was a very short time for me," he explained. "I just gave it up, it wasn't something for me," confesses the taciturn musician.

- Passion for jazz -

Born on June 2, 1941 in London, Charlies Watts came to music through animated jazz at the age of 13 by his neighbor Dave Green with whom he would later form the quartet "The A, B, C & D of Boogie-Woogie".

Fully self-taught, he learned to play by ear, watching the musicians in London jazz clubs.

"I never went to a school to learn to play jazz. That's not what I like. What I like about jazz is the emotion," explained the musician who during his career with the Rolling Stones, continued to play jazz in parallel and recorded several albums with the Charlie Watts Quintet and with the group Charlie and the Tentet Watts.

But first he studied art and worked as a graphic designer at a large advertising agency.

When he joined the Rolling Stones in 1963, they were just a small, fledgling band.

"It was a blessing," Keith Richards said. "The first drummer I started with 40 years ago is one of the best in the world. With a good drummer, you are free to do whatever you want," he added.

Charlie Watts was named the twelfth greatest drummer of all time by Rolling Stones magazine.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
×