Music/news Ronnie Wood reveals final conversation with Charlie Watts
The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has opened up about his final conversation with the late drummer Charlie Watts.
Watts died of cancer in 2021, aged 80, and The Rolling Stones vowed to continue in his absence with Steve Jordan. Before the drummer passed away, Wood has now revealed he gave Jordan his seal of approval and didn’t want The Stones to retire because of his death.
The Rolling Stones are set to release 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.
Now, in a new interview with NME, Wood 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.”
Meanwhile, during a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Keith Richards explained how he pays tribute to Watts every day. He told the broadcaster: “I miss Charlie every day. As I come out of my bedroom, the first thing I see is a portrait of Charlie on the staircase — I always give him a salute on the way. Charlie Watts was a solid guy.”
Remembering his beloved friend, Richards added, “He had feel, he had intelligence, rock and roll doesn’t necessarily need the whole battery of drums, it’s got to do with when to not hit… if you’re making music, silence is your canvas.”
“He would throw in ideas that you hadn’t really thought of [and] at the same time, such a solid beat. I never had to worry about anything, which gives the rest of us the freedom to, like, fly,” the guitarist also noted.
