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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.
“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.
