It is great that THE ROLLING STONES are still continuing at this age. But Iam just asking out of much curiosity. Had Charlie Watts been alive of course I do miss him,he would have been 83 or 84 years. Do you think he would have continued? I read at iorr comment that maybe he would not have. By iorr comment I mean the concert reports. Personally I feel maybe he would have. What are your opinion?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-06-17 17:53 by bv.

yes

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pftw04
It is great that THE ROLLING STONES are still continuing at this age. But Iam just asking out of much curiosity. Had Charlie Watts been alive of course I do miss him,he would have been 83 or 84 years. Do you think he would have continued? I read at iorr comment that maybe he would not have. By iorr comment I mean the concert reports. Personally I feel maybe he would have. What are your opinion?

I was watching the Glendale, AZ video from Aug 2019 and during Satisfaction he looks almost in pain as his head his shifting around keeping an eye on Keith for the signal to end the song. He may have very well retired if he survived the final health issue in 2021.

That said, after reading the book that came out a few years ago it confirmed my suspicion "Charlie doesn't want to tour" is a total myth. Or at least no more than the rest of us don't want to get up and go to work in the morning but are fine once the coffee kicks in. He sure liked to spend the money.

They slowed the tempo a bit in 2017-2019 for him to keep up, didn't they?

I think that if there's no COVID, the Stones would already be done touring. Charlie would have called it quits at 80.

But that's just me.

Keep in mind that Steve Jordan as a replacement was already announced when Charlie was still alive. Although at that time he was just the replacement for one tour -until Charlie would be well again.

If Chrlie had survived and the Stones had already done one tour without him he might have suggested them to just go on like that if he didn't want to do it anymore.

The 2020 tour was postponed to 2021. Since they had booked the tour, they had to have a replacement drummer in case Charlie couldn't go on.

My theory is that if the 2020 tour had gone ahead as planned, Charlie would have quit after it.

But again, just a theory.

or maybe he would have continued but just came out and played on certain songs that he likes to play on and left the rest to steve

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StonedRambler
Keep in mind that Steve Jordan as a replacement was already announced when Charlie was still alive. Although at that time he was just the replacement for one tour -until Charlie would be well again.

If Chrlie had survived and the Stones had already done one tour without him he might have suggested them to just go on like that if he didn't want to do it anymore.

That could have happened.

The impression often left by Charlie, if true, was that he continued partly out of a sense of duty to his friends and bandmates.

If Steve was already filling his shoes with some success on a temporary basis, Charlie may have found that to be a welcome get out.

That said, as others have hinted, Charlie may have liked touring a little more than he used to let on.

...and the alternative was cleaning the oven



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-06-18 09:44 by Spud.

Mick and Keith will never call it quits. Its what they do; they have been Rolling Stones for 60 years. As Keith said, "no one leaves the band, except in a box."

Ive always said ill be there when it is just the 2 of them sitting on stools at Carnegie Hall.

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HalfNanker
...As Keith said, "no one leaves the band, except in a box." ...

He was wrong with the other Mick...

HMN

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Honestman

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HalfNanker
...As Keith said, "no one leaves the band, except in a box." ...

He was wrong with the other Mick...

And Bill…

I think we should consider two scenarios.

SCENARIO 1: COVID never happened and Charlie never got sick. The 2020 tour goes as planned. Then the Stones record new album with Charlie and come back to touring. They might tour a bit less or with longer gaps between shows but Charlie stays simply becouse he's too shy and too loyal to quit.

SCENARIO 2: 2020 tour is postponed to 2021 because of COVID and Charlie gets sick but he survives. With Steve replacing Charlie on selected shows he has excuse not to tour anymore. He might join Stones on selected days or for a couple of songs as a guest but the Stones keep rolling with Steve (of course Charlie records the new album with them).

Yes, Charlie would have continued...

Charlie always said, as long as Mick wanted to tour, he would be with them. (Unless he became very sick, that is...)

~"Love is Strong"~

Charlie looked very fragile in his final two years. Of course he had some serious health problems, but that's not something you fully recover from when you're 80+ years old.

My opinion is that if he had survived the operation/treatment, he would not have been strong enough to tour anymore. And I wonder what the other Stones would have done in that case after the 2021 tour.

…we’ll never know

Rod

Without Charlie the Rolling Stones are not the Rolling Stones anymore. They are a competent band and earn lots of money, and if people are willing to see them and to pay for it it is o.k. But it's rather a nostalgia act, even if some songs still sound good.

I think that Charlie really did look bad and a bit exhausted during the last tour so it is not very probable that he would have carried on. But if you are honest you see in the videos from the current tour that at least Keith shows remarkable signs of age - for me, his former energy is gone - which is quite normal and will happen to all of us if we'll be getting that old.

I don't think it's any coincidence that since Charlie left us the quality (IMO) of a lot of the approved Stones tour artwork/design has dipped slightly. He was a master of spotting and approving a good design.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024-06-19 19:44 by petewasbristol.

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saltoftheearth
Without Charlie the Rolling Stones are not the Rolling Stones anymore. They are a competent band and earn lots of money, and if people are willing to see them and to pay for it it is o.k. But it's rather a nostalgia act, even if some songs still sound good.

I think that Charlie really did look bad and a bit exhausted during the last tour so it is not very probable that he would have carried on. But if you are honest you see in the videos from the current tour that at least Keith shows remarkable signs of age - for me, his former energy is gone - which is quite normal and will happen to all of us if we'll be getting that old.

I saw them in 2019. Charlie was thin. Still drummed fantastically but... it wasn't gonna be much longer.

I think the issues that lead to his dying were present way before he got really bad health wise. Cancer is really weird.

The Rolling Stones' biggest test came to pass - as Charlie even said, he's replaceable. Remember, they step over dead bodies.

That's just how it is.

The Rolling Stones are now, truly, Mick and Keith. Somewhat... Ronnie.

That's it.

That's just the way it is. The end is near. It's not a big deal. Maybe 5 more years max. It's gonna be Keith that says he's done, not Mick. They're both 80 (but in their 81st year)... very little room left for their longevity.

They've defeated the odds. Do they need the money? No. But it's what they do.

People get freaked about donating money to ABC but have no problem paying $500 or whatever to see The Rolling Stones for 2 hours.

Charlie was a lover of life, and enjoyed every bit of it. Look at all the hobbies he had! And a lovely, loving family.
I am sure he would have stopped. Being a drummer is a very demanding role physically and mentally.
He seemed to enjoy playing more as years went by but I am sure he wanted to have more time away from the Stones so he could spend more time with his family and with his hobbies.

I believe had he lived and been healthy enough he would still be touring with them as long as they were only doing 18 to 20 dates a year like they have been. Now if they were still doing year long world tours no I think Charlie would of stopped touring.