Ex-Rolling Stones tour manager and author Sam Cutler describes his friend Charlie Watts' funeral in a lovely Mirror article: "It's fitting to learn that Charlie Watts’ funeral – held last week in Devon, the place that he loved best – was modest and private. It perfectly reflects the man he was, and I completely understand the choice that was made. He would have hated a fuss and the commotion that involving the public would have meant". Cutler describes his friend's character further on - "Charlie, was in some senses, an anomaly. In the entertainment industry where bluster, fluster and muster are all, Charlie remained quietly confident, almost serene in his laid-back attitude, and possessed of an evergreen sense of humour". Cutler remembers a dinner with Watts: "As the meal progressed, I noticed a fan hovering nervously nearby with an autograph book and as he neared our table I rose to intercept him, asking him to come back after the meal was finished... Charlie intervened and happily signed the man’s book, and we regained our seats. He looked me kindly and said in that softly civilised voice of his, 'Sam, never forget, it’s the fans who pay for dinner'”.

The Rolling Stones will proceed with their planned tour of the U.S. this fall, the band’s promoter confirmed after the band's drummer Charlie Watts died this week. Longtime Stones associate Steve Jordan is taking his place behind the drum kit, Loudwire reports.

"He was the anti-drummer. He wasn’t performative to let you know how hard he was fucking working. He gave you the basic foundation. What I really felt akin to, as far as Charlie’s and my drumming is concerned, was the fact that my reputation is as stoic as Charlie’s reputation — like, the serious face that he always had. I came to the world in a time where the temptation to show off was at a high, and it’s a mighty task to check your ego at the door when you’re a drummer, to not beg for attention or to do anything to distract from the team mentality" - Questlove looks back at the life and life's work of Rolling Stone Charlie Watts.

Charlie Watts, longtime drummer of The Rolling Stones, has “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family” at the age od 80, NME reports. Watts joined The Rolling Stones shortly after their formation in January 1963. He was the only member of the band other than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to have been featured on all of their studio albums, and also never missed a gig.

Charlie Watts will miss The Rolling Stones’ upcoming US tour after undergoing an unspecified medical procedure, Rolling Stone reports. In his own statement, Watts joked that “for once, my timing has been a little off". Watts' friend and longtime Rolling Stones associate Steve Jordan, who is a member of Keith Richards’ side project X-Pensive Winos, will be filling in on drums. Watts, who recently turned 80, hasn’t missed a Rolling Stones gig since January 1963.