Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies aged 80

Charlie Watts, the heartbeat of the Rolling Stones for more than half a century, has died at the age of 80.

Watts died in hospital three weeks after announcing that he was pulling out of the band’s forthcoming US tour on medical advice.

“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

“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.

“We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time.”

While his bandmates made headlines with their extravagant lifestyles - Keith Richards for his hellraising and Sir Mick Jagger for his romantic affairs - Watts was known for understated air.

He lived quietly on a stud farm in Devon with Shirley, his wife of 56 years. They had a daughter, Seraphina, and a granddaughter, Charlotte.

The Stones are scheduled to resume their No Filter Tour in the US on September 26, after it was postponed last year due to the pandemic.

Watts announced on August 5 that he was stepping back on doctors’ orders to recover from an unspecified medical procedure. “For once, my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while,” he said.

“After all the fans’ suffering caused by Covid I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation.”

Steve Jordan was called in as a replacement. The band have yet to announce if the tour will go ahead in light of Watts’ death.

Bandmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards tweeted photograph tributes on Tuesday night:

Fellow musicians paid tribute. Sir Paul McCartney said in a video message: “So sad to hear about Charlie Watts… he was a lovely guy. I knew he was ill but I didn’t know he was this ill.

“Lots of love to his family. And condolences to the Stones - it’ll be a huge blow to them because Charlie was a rock and a fantastic drummer, steady as a rock.

“Love you, Charlie. I’ve always loved you, beautiful man. Great condolences and sympathies to his family.”

Sir Ringo Starr posted a picture of himself with Watts on social media, writing: “God bless Charlie Watts, we’re going to miss you man, peace and love to the family.”

Sir Elton John said: “A very sad day, Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer. The most stylish of men, and such brilliant company. My deepest condolences to Shirley, Seraphina and Charlotte. And, of course, the Rolling Stones.”

Bryan Adams described Watts as “one of the greatest rock drummers ever and a real gentleman”.

Watts overcame throat cancer in 2004, aged 63.

He joined the band in early 1963 and was its oldest member. His rock’n’roll indulges came relatively late in Stones’ terms - he binged on drink and drugs in the 1980s, which he then quit and later dismissed as “a mid-life thing”.

While Jagger soaked up the adulation from female fans, Watts preferred to concentrate on the music.

“Girls chasing you down the street, screaming… horrible,” he told the Guardian in 2000. “I hated it. Playing the drums was all I was ever interested in.”