THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

The single greatest drummer of all time. What an enormous pain in the arse this is.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

I just heard. I know he was old and had suffered with cancer but this still seems a shock somehow. I thought he'd live forever.

He was the coolest guy in music.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

There's a part towards the end of Tumbling Dice, it's only about half a bar long, and it's just superb. Out of this world. He was an outstanding drummer. A true genius of less is more. He always missed the third beat of every bar. Didn't need to, but he always did. In fact it's actually more difficult to do that than it is to play 4/4.

He had this great thing of always being behind the beat. Other guys can do it, but no one could do it like him. You can't learn that. It's instinctive. That's what made The Stones, in their early 70's pomp so, well sleazy. Exile On Main Street is by far and away my favourite album, and it's his drumming that makes it what it is.

And he was cool as fuck into the bargain.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

You (natch) beat me to posting this.
Utterly brilliant guy.
Keef was, by his own admission, always in awe of him and although we usually think of of Keef and Mick as 'the main players' in the band, Charlie was at the heart of it all. Look at his kit....minimal. Look at what he did over 50+ years.... absolutely awesome. NO...[b]AWESOME.[/b]
Saw them back on the last tour at Coventry with one of the junior Ramones.
Staggeringly brilliant from the moment he appeared - he came out first - and they launched into 'Street fighting man'. Rock solid. I remember saying 'hope I'm like that at 76'
I'm not gonna cry (Hang on that was The Stranglers) because he was just so F- brilliant. The legacy he leaves....
'We all have to die sometime' is true but very trite in this instance.
Charlie Watts was a true rock icon.
Play some Stones loud dudes.

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Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

Just watching Charlie Watts at the BBC. Great stuff. Must have been weird for Cerys Matthews to have voiced this as, presumably, it was made when he was still alive but told in the past tense. I know the TV does that with all older or ill celebs and Royalty etc. but even so, talking about him as if he was dead, pre-mortem, must have been strange.

Strangely normal, strangely unworldly, beautiful, ugly and buck toothed, incredible, cool, stylish, ordinary and wonderful, the never to be surpassed drummer with that cult British R&B band.

Goodnight sweet prince...

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

Just watched it. Never seen that '72 rehearsal footage before. Mick Taylor may be a complete Ladybit as a person, but what a player. I met him once when I worked at The Stables. The second most obnoxious person I've ever met after Joe Brown. I know! Joe 'Henry VIII' Brown. Who'd have thought it!

Anyway, back to Charlie. I loved his taciturn interview with David Hepworth, the now famous "Twenty years hanging about, five years working" quote is still fantastic, but the part at the end where him and his lifelong childhood friend being interviewed about jazz was amazing. His face lit up when they were talking about all the albums they owned when they first met. It was wonderful. And as ever the cool stylist, wanting the same green shirt that Miles was wearing on an album cover. Brilliant.

I played Exile on the way home one afternoon this week. It's an outstanding piece of work. It really is. I'm buying it on vinyl. But just don't tell the current Mrs Gers.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

I'm deffo going to rat on you.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.