Charlie Watts, the drummer of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest of his generation, died at the age of 80. “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts – reads a press release from his press office taken up by the BBC – He died peacefully in a London hospital, surrounded by his family”.
“We kindly ask that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends be respected in this difficult time,” concludes the note.
The death occurred after an emergency heart operation. Just in early August, the legendary ‘drummer’ had to give up on 13 dates of the tour in the United States due to health problems and was replaced by Steve Jordan, a close associate of Keith Richards for years.
“For once I went out of time,” he explained after announcing the withdrawal recommended by the doctors who had imposed absolute rest after heart surgery. And he added: “I’m working hard to get back in full shape, but today on the advice of the experts I accepted the fact that this will take some time.”
The biography
Born in London in 1941, Watts began playing drums in London’s rhythm and blues clubs in the early 1960s, before deciding to join forces with Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in their fledgling group, the Rolling Stones. in January 1963. Finding initial success in Britain and the United States with covers, the group achieved global fame with hits from Jagger-Richardspenned including “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “Get Offof My Cloud “and” Paint It, Black “, and the album” Aftermath “