“Charlie Watts is amazing. The hardest job in a band is drumming, the sheer power and subtlety of the man,” Keith Richards told the Radio Times in a recent interview. “I go up there just to be able to play with Charlie Watts, he’s an amazing man. My aim is to get as cool as Charlie.”
As tributes from the world of rock 'n' roll continue to pour in for the Rolling Stones drummer, who died at the age of 80 this week, stories began emerging and recirculating about the man generally agreed to have been the backbone of one of the greatest blues and rock bands in the world.
Some tales about Watts are already legendary among fans, such as that infamous 5am altercation with Mick Jagger in Amsterdam. Other stories are less well known, and that’s exactly how the spotlight-avoiding, enigmatic drummer liked it.
Here are seven things to know about one of rock’s greats …
1. He had to be persuaded to join the Stones
Watts was already an accomplished and in-demand drummer before he joined the rock 'n' roll band, having been drumming on the London club circuit since he was 16.
Already the drummer for a group called Blues Incorporated, it was through this band that Watts met Mick Jagger, who would occasionally provide vocals.
With his own group, which already included Keith Richards and the late Brian Jones, it took six months for Jagger to convince Watts to be their drummer.
“When we got Charlie, that really made it for us,” Richards wrote in his autobiography.
2. He once punched Mick Jagger
We have Richards to thank for this rock 'n' roll bon mot. Back in 1984, the Stones were in Amsterdam. After a night out with Richards, Jagger called Watts’s hotel room at 5am to demand: “Where’s my drummer?”
As recounted by Richards, Watts got out of bed, shaved then dressed in a tailored suit, went to Richards’s hotel room, and punched Jagger in the face, saying: “Don’t ever call me your drummer again. You’re my singer!”
3. He was a jazz man at heart
“Charlie swings very nicely, but can’t rock,” wrote Richards in a 1963 diary entry, before adding: “Fabulous guy, though.”
Watts’s love of jazz was well-known. And his passion for the skittering musical genre also affected how he viewed the huge stadium-filled world tours the Stones would embark on every few years.
“In jazz you’re closer,” he said. “In a football stadium, you can’t say you're closely knit together. It’s difficult to know what Mick’s up to when you can't even see him. He’s half a mile away.”
4. He was married to the same woman his whole life
While other members of The Rolling Stones have worked their way through several marriages and relationships, Watts was married just once. He wed sculpture student Shirley Ann Shepherd back in 1964, and is survived by her, their daughter Seraphina and granddaughter, Charlotte.
Calling Shepherd an “incredible woman”, Watts told the NME the secret of his successful marriage.
“It’s because I’m not really a rock star. I don’t have all the trappings of that. Having said that, I do have four vintage cars and can’t drive the things. I’ve never been interested in doing interviews or being seen.”
5. He was an artist, and specialised in drawing hotel beds
With the Stones on tour so often, and not given to the kinds of distractions the other members of the band were, Watts had to find other ways to fill the time between gigs. He did so by sketching his hotel rooms.
“I keep a diary of drawings. I’ve drawn every bed I’ve slept in on tour since 1967,” he told Rolling Stone magazine in 1996. “It’s a fantastic non-book. I used to take a lot of things that keep you awake, and I’d have nothing to do. So I have all these hotel rooms recorded.
“What’s nice about it is, it’s visual, and it just goes on and on, and you think, ‘Is this ever gonna end?’”
He also illustrated the back cover of the Stones’ 1967 LP Between the Buttons.
6. He wouldn't do drum solos
Critics are rarely divided over Watts’s talent, but are agreed that on some songs, his drumming prowess is more evident than in others. Standout tracks include 1965’s (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, one of the Stones' most famous songs, as well as 1967’s Let’s Spend The Night Together and 1969’s Gimme Shelter.
Shunning anything approaching a drum solo, Watts told Spinner.com of the practice: “I can’t do them, really. I get fed up halfway through attempting to do one, so I don’t really do it. But I love hearing other people doing them, certain other people. I’m more interested in drums as an accompaniment thing. I’ve always been like that.”
7. He had a signature pre-gig shuffle (much to Richards's amusement)
While singers warm up their vocal cords and guitarists tune their instruments, Watts had a whole different pre-gig ritual – a hip shuffle before he takes his place behind his drum kit.
“I always do that, it’s just like warming up,” he says of his pre-concert movements. “That wriggling thing is my version of seeing those Cotton Club-type dancers. It was a club in Harlem. I saw some dancers there doing it years ago, showgirl dancers, and I started to do it. And now it’s become a featured thing with Keith.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
More on animal trafficking
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
Story of 2017-18 so far and schedule to come
Roll of Honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia rugby season?
Western Clubs Champions League
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Dubai Exiles
Fixtures
Friday
West Asia Cup final
5pm, Bahrain (6pm UAE time), Bahrain v Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy final
3pm, The Sevens, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Sports City Eagles
Friday, April 13
UAE Premiership final
5pm, Al Ain, Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
