Mick Jagger Pays Tribute to Bandmate Charlie Watts on First Anniversary of His Death

Mick Jagger is continuing to mourn the loss his late bandmate Charlie Watts. On Wednesday, Jagger marked the first anniversary of Watt’s death with a moving tribute soundtracked by the Rolling Stones 1974 track “Till The Next Goodbye” that included a montage of images of Watts, the band’s original drummer.

Captioned, “Thinking of Charlie today,” alongside a blue heart emoji, the tribute video also included an emotional voiceover of Jagger stating, “I miss Charlie because he had a great sense of humor.” Reflecting on his relationship with his late bandmate, Jagger continued, “Outside of the band, you know,we used to hang out quite a lot and have interesting times. We loved sports; we’d go to football, we’d go to cricket games, and we had other interests apart from just music.” As the images continued to play Jagger concluded, “But, of course, I really miss Charlie so much.”

Watts died at age 80 on Aug. 24, 2021, just weeks after The Rolling Stones announced that the drummer would not be able to perform on the Rolling Stones’ No Filter Tour of U.S. stadiums. A statement from the band confirming his passing read, “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier [Tuesday] surrounded by his family.” The statement referred to Watts as “one of the greatest drummers of his generation.”

In the months since his passing, members of The Rolling Stones have continued to remember Watts. In a May interview with The Sunday Times, Jagger shared, “I don’t really expect him to be there any more if I turn round during a show. But I do think about him. Not only during rehearsals or on stage, but in other ways too.” Jagger added, “I would have phoned him up and talked about last night’s Arsenal game because he supported Tottenham and I’m Arsenal. I miss him as a player and as a friend.”

Following Watts’ death, The Rolling Stones opted to continue with their tour, in late September 2021 performing their first show since his passing. During that show, Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood paid tribute to Watts by opening the show with an empty stage with just a drum beat as photos and videos of Watts were projected onto four huge screens. As he took the stage, Jagger told the crowd that “it was really quite emotional,” later sharing, “We’ll miss Charlie so much, on and off the stage.” The band then dedicated “Tumbling Dice” to Watts. Steve Jordan has since stepped in as the band’s new touring drummer.