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UPDATED AT 12:30 PM, SEPT. 2: A publicist for the Rolling Stones says reports that Charlie Watts quit the band are totally false.
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Just three years short of the band's 50th anniversary, drummer Charlie Watts has left the Rolling Stones, Undercover reports.
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"Charlie Watts has quit the band. He will never record or tour with the band again," a source in the Brit group's inner circle told the Australian website.
The sharply-dressed, 68-year-old sticksman has been itching to depart the band for some time, according to reports that claim Watts was initially unwilling to join the Stones' A Bigger Bang tour from 2005-2007, but was finally convinced by guitarist Keith Richards. It was the Stones largest-grossing tour ever.
"The Stones are looking to Keith's Expensive Winos drummer Charlie Drayton to fill the void in all future Stones' callings," the Undercover source explained.
A call to the Rolling Stones' management seeking confirmation hasn't been returned. Check back to SPIN.com for developments in this story.
