This week it was announced Watts died aged 80-years-old. The legendary member of the Rolling Stones had been a part of the band since 1963, when he joined after Tony Chapman quit in the same year. Although the star remained in the band until his death, he wasn’t always happy with how things were going. Keith Richards’ 2010 autobiography Life told the story of how the band were once deciding whether to split up or not. According to the memoir, Mick Jagger told Watts: “None of this should matter to you because you’re only my drummer.”
This event obviously irritated Watts immensely, as Jagger later used it to aggravate him.
After going out on the town in Amsterdam in 1984 Jagger – who was wearing Richards’ jacket – was looking to start some trouble.
Richards wrote: “We got back to the hotel about five in the morning and Mick called up Charlie. I said: ‘Don’t call him, not at this hour.’ But he did, and said: ‘Where’s my drummer?’ No answer. He puts the phone down.”
That wasn’t the end of the tale, however. Behind the scenes, Watts showered, prepared himself, and put on his best suit before making his way down the hall to Jagger’s room.
READ MORE: Mick Jagger leads Rolling Stones tributes to late Charlie Watts
Richards continued: “Mick and I were still sitting there, pretty [drunk]… when, about twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. There was Charlie Watts.
“Savile Row suit, perfectly dressed, tie, shaved, the whole f*****g bit. I could smell the cologne!
“I opened the door and he didn’t even look at me, he walked straight past me, got hold of Mick and said: ‘Never call me your drummer again.’
“Then he hauled him up by the lapels of my jacket and gave him a right hook.”
Thankfully, it seems Richards’ jacket is the one thing that actually saved Jagger’s life.
After falling backwards from the powerful punch, Richards realised Jagger had fallen into a platter of smoked salmon in his own wedding jacket, before falling towards an open window into a river below.
Richards continued: “I was thinking, this is a good [punch], and then I realised it was my wedding jacket. And I grabbed hold of it and caught Mick just before he slid into the Amsterdam canal.”
Watts apparently yelled: “Why did you stop him [from falling]?” Richards replied: “My jacket, Charlie, that’s why!”
Watts’ one punch wasn’t enough for him, however.
Richards added: “It took me twenty-four hours after that to talk Charlie down. I thought I’d done it when I took him up to his room, but twelve hours later, he was saying: ‘F**k it, I’m gonna go down and do it again.’
“It takes a lot to wind that man up.”
Watts’ death has prompted a number of renowned musicians to speak out in tribute to the drummer.
The Beatles’ Sir Paul McCartney called Watts a “lovely guy” and a “fantastic drummer”.
A statement about Watts’ death read: “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts.”
It added he was “a cherished husband, father and grandfather” and “one of the greatest drummers of his generation”.
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