Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at the age of 80.

He had recently pulled out of the band’s North American tour after undergoing a medical procedure.

Watts is regarded as one of rock’s greatest drummers, inspiring generations of musicians.

Music critic and author of the definitive guide to Brisbane’s punk music scene Pig City, Andrew Stafford, is a self-confessed Stones tragic.

He said he was still processing the news.

“He did as you mentioned pull out of the resumption of the Stones tour which has been delayed by COVID only 3 weeks ago,” he told Scott Emerson.

“Every great band needs a centre of gravity and Charlie was the centrifugal force if you like around which the Stones rolled.

“He always looked great and he never seemed to care, and that gave him this aura of almost untouchable cool, this kind of totally deadpan presence, dry wit, great one-liners which was also part of Charlie’s aura.

“And it all kind of flowed through the way he played.”

Press PLAY to hear his tributes and stories about Charlie Watts

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