Mick Jagger recently told Apple Music's Zane Lowe that Charlie Watts laid down drum tracks for new songs The Rolling Stones have been working on, including their upcoming 40th anniversary reissue of 1981's ‘Tattoo You.’
Mick said, "Without Charlie being there, it's going to be very difficult. And we've got tracks, which obviously have Charlie on them. But if we do new things, we won’t and it's very sad."
Jagger added that Charlie contributed to several new recordings for the bonus tracks on the 40th anniversary edition of 1981's Tattoo You:
"Just a few fills and stuff like that. And then we started messing around, we did some other things. You know, it seems like only yesterday that I was in the studio in London with Charlie and joshing around. It's just so weird. I mean it's such a long time that you work with someone like that, and you get to know someone so well. Their quirks and their idiosyncrasies, and they know yours. You know, there's a language in communication with musicians. So after all this length of time, you have this ease of communication. I miss that so much."
Asked about going forward with their No Filter fall tour without Charlie Watts, Jagger said:
"The thing about the Rolling Stones, I think, throughout their career has been their resilience, you know, in the face of adversity. And we've had ups and downs, mostly ups, to be honest. But we've had adversity, and this was probably one of the most difficult ones. And, you know, we booked the tour. It was supposed to be played last year. We couldn't do it for obvious reasons, because of the pandemic. And I think everyone in the band thought that we should just carry on. And, you know, after doing the first couple of shows, I feel really good about it. I'm glad we're doing it. I know Charlie wanted us to do it. I think the audience want us to do it. They seem to. I mean, you just go out there and rock out and you feel better, and it's very cathartic. So I think it's really good."
Watts, who died on August 24th at age 80, suggested that they do the tour with Steve Jordan, the drummer in Keith Richards' X-Pensive Winos.The legendary band has done two shows since Watts passed—one in St. Louis and the other in Charlotte, North Carolina. The third show is tonight in Pittsburgh.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]