Anyone tell me how charlie watts can have a mid-life crisis? as he did in the 80's?

I can understand how I can have one, i'm married, 2 kids missed a few opportunties, quit my band cos i'm too old(by that i mean bald and overweight). but charlie watts??......how can you wake up one morning and say jesus i'm a rolling stone i've wasted my life?

this probably applies to other stars as well. do they deserve a verbal slap so to speak to remind them how lucky they are? Or to keep it in xmas mode.... clarence the ghost out of a wonderful life to show them what they could have been doing e.g.. some mundane job like the rest of us.

Am i being to harsh here?

Well, aside from the fact that he is one of the greatest drummers ever, and a total class act, he is, afterall only human, and as such, subject to make mistakes. He solved his problems, and came out the other side smarter.

it was during a period of inactivity for the Stones. I don't know if Charlie was bored, or troubled by family pressures. whatever the reasons, if the band had been working more, I think it would have been better for him.
also I think Charlie is a man of insight and humility, and would never forget how lucky (or how hard the Stones have worked) he is.

Charlie Watts appears to be the most stable and grounded member of the current line-up. He has, AFAIK, never messed around with women and fathered kids outside of his marriage.

But they are, at heart, human. They have feelings and are prone to the same elations and depressions that the rest of are periodically subject to. There is CW's famous quote about not liking touring. Well, that is going to cause a degree of stress when half your job is spent on tour. That may cause the most emotionally tough person to reconsider whether their job is right for them.

Check out interviews with Charlie (there aren't that many) and he has on some occasions referred to his problem in the 1980's. Compared to the others he seems a rather private person so talking about such issues (and Shirley's alcoholism) cannot have been easy.
But typical of Charlie and Shirley - they dealt with their problems and have got on with their lives.
As to the broader question of why a talented multi millionaire, living in some luxury, with a supportive wife and family, no health issues, job security, job satisfaction and loved by millions should go down this path is an altogether more complex issue.
Obviously, there is no definitive answer or rationale.It happens to people from all walks of life, from the wealthy to the underclasses.
What is clear, is that uncontrolled abuse can cause significant damage to both the individual and to their family and friends. And in that sense, the life-style of Sir Cliff Richard should not be a point of scorn but one of admiration. After all, he had the same temptations and pressures as others in his profession.
In Charlie's case, the mid life crisis rationale seems a bit too glib. The Stones were at the time at a bit of a low ebb, Shirley had her own problems and their daughter Serafina was probably becoming more indpendent of her parents - that can be quite an emotional time.
Also, untold wealth and too much free time can leave someting of a void, to which the individual may turn to stimulants as a form of (short term) release.
Lets just be thankful that Mr and Mrs Watts pulled through.
There is nothing glamarous about ending up as another casuality of the drug scene.

Yes, correct - I read Shirley had a drink problem and Serafina was one hell of a handfull.
Perhaps Charlies fascination wth Charlie Parker led him to experiment with heroin.

maybe it also had to do with really wanting to be a jazz drummer

How about a cancer scare? That'd do it for me. So glad he's ok (for now)...

His bout with cancer came a decade or so later.
Again, he seems to have dealt with it very well. Knows the treatment he had dealt with it at the time, but realistic enough to know that it COULD re-occur, also.

"And in that sense, the life-style of Sir Cliff Richard should not be a point of scorn but one of admiration. "


Eh? Whats to admire?

Aint he now living with some retired priest?

Cliff: he has got his health, not been ripped off by Managers, maintained his beliefs, doesn't look haggard, hasn't lost his memory,retained his fans, hasn't had to pay off ex-wives,hasn't paid out monies for rehab, supports many charities, didn't (when all others did) escape for tax exile status.

Any more?
AND no, I don't buy his records.

And as boring as mud!

Cliff has got the looks but the Stones have got the tunes!

ROCKMAN

Charlie admits to his drug use at about 5:10 in this interview from 1994:

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jlowe
Cliff: he has got his health, not been ripped off by Managers, maintained his beliefs, doesn't look haggard, hasn't lost his memory,retained his fans, hasn't had to pay off ex-wives,hasn't paid out monies for rehab, supports many charities, didn't (when all others did) escape for tax exile status.

Any more?
AND no, I don't buy his records.

Once upon time a young wannabe rock star changed his name from Richards to Richard to sound more poppish, like Cliff Richard. Nowadays for some reason quite often Sir Cliff is referred as Cliff Richards...

I think the reasons you put to admire sir Cliff is like the reasons to admire Adolf @#$%& as a perfect role model for a politician... I think it is healthy to do have some human vices... Well, perhaps not so many as Keith Richards or Mick Jagger but what a hec...

Perhaps the biggest mistake or 'sin' Saint Cliff ever did was to record a Jagger/Richards tune! But he actually explained afterwards that he DIDN'T KNOW that "Blue Turns to Grey" was a Rolling Stones tune (perhaps he was forgiven???) What a guy... (glad he didn't cover "Sympathy For The Devil"). Just to think that 'rock and roll' would be defined on the base of people like Sir Cliff (or are there other people like that?).

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-21 19:53 by Doxa.

Cliff Richard sucks.


And you can take that however you please!!!

I think that Charlie was really bored in the eighties. Look at his little clip in 25X5 around the time they were recording Dirty Work he said something like five years hard work and 20 years of hanging around doing nothing. Hanging around with Keith and Woodie could have led him to bad habits. I don't know what led him to it but he seems to have come out smarter and grounded. I love Charlie he just has the attitude like its all a big joke but underneath I think he knows how popular he is and is quite proud of it.

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no spare yaps
Well, aside from the fact that he is one of the greatest drummers ever, and a total class act, he is, afterall only human, and as such, subject to make mistakes. He solved his problems, and came out the other side smarter.

yeah, what he said.

Can I start a bunfight here please, I prefer Sir Cliffs version of Blue Turns To Grey, and I do buy his records and have done since 1959. And no, I am not going to say anymore.

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whiskey
Can I start a bunfight here please, I prefer Sir Cliffs version of Blue Turns To Grey, and I do buy his records and have done since 1959. And no, I am not going to say anymore.

Nothing to be ashamed of, Whiskey. Cliff Richard's written some great songs.

Charlie's crisis came earlier than mid-80's. Many report him drinking quiet heavily already in '79, and dabbling with heroin already in 81. According to some interviews and report Charlie was suffuring more from a depression than anything else. It all occured when the Stones were busy ('81 - '84) but reached its climax in '85/'86. Jagger has always claimed that one of the main reasons he did not want to tour behind Dirty Work was that Charlie was in terrible shape.

From a drumming style point of view the big change was the '82 tour. His drumming really differed from that of the '81 tour. he had become much more robotic, more stiffer in his playing. That never really changed afterwords.

Mathijs

yeah check out charlie sucking down a cold brew at one point in the lstnt movie