All language subtitles for My Life As A Rolling Stone S01E04

Ladies and gentlemen...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

..the Rolling Stones!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In September 2021,
the Rolling Stones did something

they hadn't done since 1963...

..perform without their drummer,
Charlie Watts.

CHEERING

For the Stones and their fans,

it's an event packed with emotion.

Every concert on the tour begins
with the same moving tribute -

the sound of Charlie's steady beat,

something that powered the band
for nearly 60 years.

DRUMBEAT CONTINUES

CYMBALS CRASH

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I just want to say to you all that
it's really quite emotional seeing

those...seeing those pictures
of Charlie up on the screen.

And...

CHEERING

This is our...this is our first tour
that we've ever done without him.

CHEERING

Cos we all miss Charlie so much
on the stage and off the stage.

And we'd like to dedicate
this tour to Charlie.

So, here's to you, Charlie.

CHEERING

MUSIC: Waiting On A Friend
by The Rolling Stones

Charlie Watts. You know,
I'm still dealing with it.

You know, I miss Charlie
on many levels.

Like, I miss...

..wanting to play him this
new groove and, erm, want to say

how badly England's done
in the Test match yesterday!

You know, I miss him really a lot.

# I'm just waiting on a friend. #

When Charlie passed,

we're mind blown.

We have the spirit of Charlie
playing with us all the time.

Charlie Watts was the driving force
behind everything the Stones did,

their heartbeat.

His drumming shaped the music
we have loved for six decades.

He laid down the feel
for songs that are now my age.

Oh! I'm going to start crying.

No matter how fast Mick
went across the stage

doing the pony or whatever,

he was right there with him.

It was a real shock when he passed.

The realisation that there possibly
is an end to a band

that's been going on and on
and on for so many decades.

I can't imagine the Stones
without Charlie Watts.

Charlie was the engine.

The best drummer
England has ever produced.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Mr Watts, walk in and hit your mark.

Yeah. Go on. What?

Say your words.

It's all about me.
And I'm the star.

For once.

KEITH: Yeah!

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

INTRODUCTION IN GERMAN

Honky Tonk Woman!

The way it kicks in

with just a kick and a snare.

MUSIC: Honky Tonk Women
by The Rolling Stones

When you hear the intro to that...

INTRO PLAYS

..it just becomes
a physical reaction

that overtakes your body.

# I met a gin-soaked bar-room queen
in Memphis

# She tried to take me upstairs
for a ride

# She had to...#

When I first heard Honky Tonk Women,
I thought, "Man, that's funky."

Charlie is a huge part of that
because when there's something

that is funky, a lot of it
emanates from the drums.

# It's the honky tonk women... #

Charlie and I, we were
very orientated towards dance,

and so that's what brought us
together - cos it's about beats.

What do drummers do?
They lay down a beat to dance.

# I laid a divorcee
in New York City... #

Charlie sounded like
an American drummer.

He had that American feel.

That's what it was.

If I closed my eyes with Charlie,
I'd figure it was a black drum.

Keith knew from the very beginning
that they'd found someone

who was unique and so special.

Not only his performance,
but in his character, as well.

# It's the honky tonk women... #

The marriage between Keith and
Charlie made up its own instrument.

The space they gave each other,

the way the instruments fell,

it was like a tapestry.

I usually look at Charlie and he'll
give me a grin because it's clicking

and it's almost like you don't even
want to touch the strings

because they're doing it themselves,
you know, and anyway,

they'd be too hot.

The great thing about Charlie
is he knew every number

could fall apart just like that -

when you least expect it.

And that's what makes it so magic.

The element of risk
is what drives our band.

# Gimme, gimme, gimme
the honky tonk blues

# Honky tonk women... #

Honky Tonk Women is the culmination
of everything The Rolling Stones

developed on their rise to fame.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The Rolling Stones
and Honky Tonk Women.

I like the fella
that plays the drums.

Charlie.
REPORTER: You like him?

Yeah.

CHEERING ECHOES

CHARLIE: Ever since I've been with
The Rolling Stones,

this has nothing to do with me,
by the way,

people have come to look at us.

FANS SHRIEKING

We've had a following.

It's been quite incredible.

What I call the Beatles period,

which was exactly what was happening
to them, was happening to us.

SHRIEKING

How do you think being a success
has influenced you as a person?

Well, I no longer think,
unfortunately, about spending £5.

That really is the only difference
it's made to me.

I loved it.

As far as the excitement
in the crowd, it was fantastic.

And, you know, when you see
a balcony

in one of these beautiful old
theatres in the north of England

bouncing up and down...

..it's incredible and you're
looking at the audience.

During that period, we never
played more than two songs.

They would announce
"The Rolling Stones",

the curtains would open.
The whole place would go mad.

And within about three songs...

..they'd break the whole thing up
and we'd have to get off.

Apart from going in studios,
we didn't play a great deal

cos we actually never
got through a set!

Do you think it's changed
your attitude to people?

No. I think it changed
people's attitude to me.

But really,
when the music stopped...

..I wish I could have turned it off.

I hated it.

I hated being chased by girls
and all that.

It used to really embarrass me.

It's always been
"That's what The Rolling Stones do."

Not me.

I think The Rolling Stones
are great,

but I kind of don't see me in it
somehow.

Charlie always had an ambivalent
relationship with stardom

and the Stones.

But what sets Charlie apart
from his bandmates

actually makes him
their perfect partner -

the anchor in any
rock and roll storm.

And what he brings in character
and playing style

is writ large on their first
American trip.

They want to replicate the success
of the Beatles

just three months earlier.

But with Charlie on board,
there's a twist.

All the British Invasion bands
had a deep love for the Blues

and rhythm and blues,

but not all of them had
an appreciation of jazz.

Jazz is a key component
to rock and roll music.

It's not always talked about.

The Rolling Stones'
deep appreciation of jazz

is down to Charlie Watts.

And while the rest of the band
worship at the feet of the blues...

..Charlie has a different church.

CHARLIE: We landed in New York.

I went to a jazz club

at the Village Vanguard or Birdland.

I saw two artists at Birdland.

One was Charlie Mingus's band,
which was pretty amazing.

And the other was Sonny Rollins.

That was America.

I didn't care about the rest of it.

Jazz is Charlie's first
and enduring love.

Even as his rhythms for the Stones
quickly earn him a reputation

as one of the greatest rock drummers
of all time,

jazz is never far away.

MUSIC: Rocks Off
by The Rolling Stones

# Oh, yeah

# I hear you talking

# When I'm on the street

# Your mouth don't move

# But I can hear you speak... #

Well, when you're talking about
the song Rocks Off,

which is one of
my personal favourites,

the fills, if you listen to
the fills, they were in odd places.

# Is he checking out for sure... #

So whatever he's responding to,

he's in the moment,
having a musical conversation.

# I'm always hearing voices
on the street... #

That's jazz.

That's jazz because
it's so spontaneous.

# Can't hardly speak

# I was making love last night

# To a dancer friend of mine

# I can't seem to stay in step

# Come every time
that she pirouettes over me... #

To me, the essence of what we do
as a band and where Charlie

comes from is, basically,
you go back to the word "jazz".

Charlie Watts first discovers
the music he loves the most

as a young boy growing up
in post-war Wembley Park.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

Here we go.

Watch out, he's joined us!

We grew up together from
the age of four

and listened to all this music.

It was funny because we started
becoming interested in music

in tandem, really.

We moved into prefabs in
Wembley Park, literally, next door.

You know, if you came out of
my front door,

straight into Charlie's, you know.

ARCHIVE: Aluminium bungalows are
being erected here at the rate of

one every 35 minutes.

The house seems to spring up,

and before you smoke
your third cigarette,

the curtains are going up
in the living room.

There were neat rows of prefabs.

It's all the same size.

There was a great feeling
of community living there.

Nobody was any better off
than anybody else,

so it was a fantastic place for kids
to live.

With holes in the fences,

the boys can go back and forth
between each other's houses...

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

..where these young Londoners
discover a taste for American jazz.

Charlie was into bebop before I was.

I would go into Charlie's bedroom.
He's like, "I got a new record."

Charlie, Dizzy, here they are.

This is Charlie Parker
and the famous Dizzy Gillespie.

OK, fellas, let's go.

MUSIC PLAYS

I heard Charlie Parker playing.

That's what I liked.

That's where he set everything
was from Charlie Parker.

His love of Charlie Parker
was absolutely immeasurable.

It sounded like music
from outer space.

It transported you to
another world...

..New York in the '40s...

..52nd Street.

It was total magic.

'50s America.

They are the people I love.

I was in '50s America, really,
where my thing is,

and I still kind of look like that
in a way.

JAZZ MUSIC ECHOES

ANNOUNCER: Charlie Parker,
the alto sax and...

The first drummer I wanted to be,
ever, was Chico Hamilton...

..who was with Gerry Mulligan
on Walking Shoes.

I had a banjo, took the neck off it,

and started playing on this
banjo skin with a pair of brushes.

Then my dad bought me a set of drums
from a guy who played in a pub.

This is Lil, Charlie's mum,
talking about Charlie.

"Charlie always wanted a drum set
and used to wrap out tunes

"on the table with pieces of wood
or a knife and fork.

"We bought him his first drum set
for Christmas when he was 14.

"It cost £12.

"He took to it straight away
and often used to play jazz records

"and join in on his drums.

"The neighbours were very good.

"They never complained."

LAUGHTER

I was the neighbour!

LAUGHTER

Fantastic.

With his heroes Chico Hamilton,
Max Roach and Elvin Jones

accompanying him...

..it isn't long before a teenage
Charlie joins his first band -

The Joe Jones All Stars.

Edgeware Jazz Club
on the 21st of August, 1959.

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

This is the first recording,
ever, of Charlie.

MUSIC PLAYS

DRUMBEAT

You can hear his great swing,
even there.

MUSIC CONTINUES

The Charlie Watts sound
is taking shape.

But it's about to make a giant leap
forward thanks to late night trips

to the heart of swinging London.

It was quite a thing to go
to jazz clubs.

There was a few of them -

the Marquee Club,
Ronnie's old place,

the Flamingo.

These clubs in the heart of Soho
are a slice of New York in London,

and for Charlie, yearning
the excitement and glamour

of Manhattan's 52nd Street -
the street of jazz -

they're intoxicating.

Hey, fellas.

Let's hear it through
from the top, shall we?

16, I used to go and stare at
these people, like Phil Seamen.

I wanted to be that.

Phil Seaman was England's answer
to Art Blakey, in a way.

He was THE great jazz drummer.

Charlie would never call himself
a jazz drummer,

but he had a jazz drummer's
sensibility,

and that inflected his playing.

He had a looseness about his
delivery that he just couldn't

get out of local talent.

We were all learning. The rock beat
was only being invented, basically,

as...as we were happening.

You know? He scored himself
in that.

Putting him in a rock and roll band
was really interesting

because you had the concepts
of free jazz drummers,

but in the Rolling Stones.

Charlie's ability to improvise,
be flexible and keep perfect time

is crucial to a band well known
for living on the edge

and being loose enough
to make mistakes.

In The Village Voice, which was
where I saw the ad that led

to my hooking up with Bruce
and the E Street Band in 1974,

they had a great section of
music want ads, and invariably,

you would come across an ad,

"Wanted - Charlie Watts-type
drummer."

So Charlie Watts, through
no initiative of his own,

had become a genre.

People like Charlie Watts
are very hard to put in a pocket.

They don't make pockets
for people like Charlie.

He's a totally unique guy.

There are only a few drummers
throughout history that I would say

were artists in their own right.

And he was definitely one of them.

You know that iconic beat
that he has?

MUSIC: Tumbling Dice
by The Rolling Stones

That tus-tus-tus-tus.

Everybody knows
that Charlie Watts beat.

# Women think I'm tasty

# But they're always tryin'
to waste me

# Make me burn the candle right down

# Dirty, yeah

# Dirty, yeah... #

He had a playing style,
a feel that was all his own.

# All you women
is low down gamblers... #

The sound is an open sound
where the drums resonate.

It's a note,
it's not a thud and whack.

# Fever in the funk house
now, now, now... #

You know, that's a jazz way
of thinking.

Drummers have their own sound.

Charlie Watts had a snare sound
which sang throughout the music

of The Rolling Stones.

# I'm dancin'... #

What made him so unique
was that he could rock so hard

while being so loose.

He had a very relaxed style for
a very high energy type of music.

In recording him,
I discovered very early...

..Charlie would never play his
high hat and his snare drum

at the same time.

In not playing the high hat
at the same time as his snare...

..it gives the snare
a huge, big, open sound.

I'd never heard of that before.

But if you go back and listen to it,
it's great.

But it also did something else too.

That extra physical motion,

that takes time.

HE LAUGHS

And it helped lay back the groove.

That was an important part of
that laid-back Rolling Stones sound.

They could be relaxed
and play at slower tempos,

and yet it felt like the thing
was charging forward.

CROWD CHANTS: Charlie, Charlie...!

Charlie's playing style
reflects his character.

It's all about The Rolling Stones,
not him.

That's what I do.
I play the drums for Keith and Mick.

I don't play 'em for me.

But this masks the deep respect
he has for his craft,

standing on the shoulders of giants
on his way to the top.

He had so many different drum kits.

He had Gene Krupa's kit,
you know.

Art Blakey's kit, you know?

All the famous drummers through
the years that influenced him.

CREAKING

And all these amazing artefacts
are kept here...

..at a secret location...

Wow!

..a treasure trove,
years in the making...

So much stuff.

..every shelf crammed
with musical history.

He's been saying this for years,
actually -

"You must come and see
my drum collection."

What have we got here?

Wow! Tony Williams!

And he had this idea of
opening a museum.

He said to me,
"You must come and see it."

And he wanted me to go with Steve.

Wow! Look at that Premier kit!

Kenny Clarke's kit that he gave
to Max Roach.

There must be 100 kit here.
Yeah, yeah.

Joe Morello.

Wow!

Yeah, that's the one he used with
Dave Brubeck. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Original cases and everything.

Charlie Parker.

Yeah, it's his horn case.
Don't believe that!

That's incredible!

What have we got here?

DJ Fontana's 1953
Copper Mist Gretsch,

purchased by Elvis
for DJ in Houston. No way!

Wow!

"Elvis put this in the back
of the Cadillac

"and we drove to the gig,
set it up and played."

Ha!

The whole history of drumming's
here. It is!

Jazz and rock and roll. Yeah.

Charlie adores what he calls
"his stuff".

It's an indulgence paid for
by his success

with the Rolling Stones.

And it keeps him sane amidst
the madness of rock and roll.

He remains the accidental rock star,

famously reticent about
being a Stone.

CHEERING

Because of what I do,
I can't play the drums at home.

And to play the drums,
I have to go on the road.

And to go on the road,
I have to leave home.

And it's like a terribly
vicious circle.

It's always been my life.

For a band that has spent
an enormous amount of time

on the road during
their 60 years together,

it's a nomadic existence -

planes, trains, tour buses, hotels
and an awful lot of nothing to do.

You must have done a great deal
of hanging about in 25 years

of the Rolling Stones? Hmm.

Work five years and 20 years
hanging around!

LAUGHTER

The bit where the door shuts
and you're on your own

in that bloody room...

..that drives you crazy!

But then, you know, that's just me,
you know.

I should really be downstairs
bopping around,

but I'm not like that, you know?

So it's very odd.

There's this sort of real
split thing going on.

It's all right once the sun
comes up for me.

Charlie is anything
but a rock and roll cliche -

no TVs thrown from windows,

no hanging out with groupies,

no dismantling his hotel room,

just his own unique way
to while away the hours.

He drew every bed that he slept in,
every meal that he ate,

every hotel room.

It started in '60-something
and it was something to do.

It's a diary.

And now I can't miss one

because it's like ruining
a day in the life of,

so I just draw every bed
that I sleep in when I tour

with the Rolling Stones.

I had the pleasure of him showing me
one of his tour books once.

They're very simple
line drawings and...

You know, he'd have, like,
"Put your coat here",

a little sign like that, or...

Mixed with all kinds of details
from the room.

And I always said to him,
"Charlie, you should release this.

"You know, people want to see them."

"Nobody wants to see this."
I said, "They do, Charlie.

"You know, it's a real eye
into your world," and he was like,

"Who wants to be in my world?!"
you know?

He totally underestimated his power
as a person.

You know, there were times
when Charlie was OCD.

Timing the walk?
And that's normal strolling...

He would avoid the cracks
in the sidewalk,

he would have to walk down or up
a flight of stairs a certain way,

or else he would have to go
back down and start it all over.

You know, that was there,

you know, that was part
of who he was.

Because I don't actually
like touring, you see.

I mean, I don't like living
out of suitcases.

One word - particular.

He's famous for... Everything had to
be organised in a certain way

cos I would often quiz him.

"So how do you do socks,
then, Charlie?

"Do you just roll them into a ball?"

"No! You don't want to roll them
into a ball.

"I'll show you if you want."

And there in his room are
these beautiful travelling cases,

and there in the top drawer
would be the socks.

"Well, you fold them in half,
but you always put

"a bit of tissue paper in between.

"You see, that way,
they keep their shape."

Clothes had a layer of tissue paper
between each shirt,

each sock, each underpant,
each jacket.

Pristine would be the word,
not one thing out of place.

I hate people touching my things.

HE CHUCKLES

Do you?

I hate maids coming in my room
in hotels.

I live in hotels a lot of my life.

But I always put "Do not disturb",

and sometimes I'm in there
for two weeks,

and I never have them in there.
I hate them in there.

What is it you hate?

Touching things I have.

If I went in his room to see him,
if he turned his back,

I'd move a book slightly and
sit back down, and he'd turn round

and he'd move the book
exactly back where it was,

and he'd be picking things up
off the floor all the time.

Sometimes he'd even done it
when he'd been introduced on stage.

You know, he's going... "Ladies
and gentlemen, Charlie Watts!"

And he'd go forward a little bit
and stop and pick up

a little bit of dirt, you know,
or whatever it may be.

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

On tour, Charlie likes to control
his environment as much as possible.

His dressing room is called
the Cotton Club,

where he can be found
listening to Duke Ellington

before going on stage.

"Cotton Club" was written
on the door.

You know, if you ever wanted a quiet
moment, that was the place to go.

And you would always be welcomed in.

There would be something nice
to eat and drink.

A sea of tranquillity with
just a few home comforts.

Oh, what's this?

Take a look at it. Open it up.

Charlie's touring tea set.

CHUCKLING

A cup and a saucer!

Fantastic.

It looks pretty old, doesn't it?

It looks Victorian. Yeah, yeah.

This one's still got tea in it!
Yeah!

It's definitely him, isn't it?
Yeah, absolutely.

An Englishman on tour.
Oh, man.

Put it back before we break it.
Yeah.

Charlie wouldn't like that!

Yeah. Wonderful.

How would you describe
the tour that you've had so far?

Bloody hard work.

LAUGHTER

He secretly enjoyed touring.

He used to say, "I don't want to do
it," but I think he thrived on it.

He got better-looking, healthier,

and you could see him thrive
as he played.

I'm the one that leaves.

At the end of every tour...
I hate suitcases.

I leave the band,
but they won't let you!

Man, you know, we were
a little family back there

in our dressing room, you know?

CHUCKLING

Charlie thought I could cut hair
because he's seen me do my own.

That was about the only time,
though, that he let me cut his hair!

I love playing the drums and I love
playing with the Rolling Stones.

I mean, my wife always says
I like them more than her,

which isn't true.

Have you thought about taking
your wife around with you?

She comes on the tours occasionally,
but she doesn't like them.

I don't blame her.
I mean, what is it, really?

You know, apart from this show.
And it's all me. It's what I do.

There was no place for a wife

on the tours. You know,
there was nothing to do.

And I sat in these dingy hotel rooms
and I sketched and I read

and wished I was somewhere else!

I just wanted to be with Charlie
so badly.

I was complaining to Charlie's
mother once about his absences.

It was just before we got married.
She said...

"Oh," she said, "don't worry about
it. It will be over within a year."

Charlie and Shirley are married
for 57 years.

Devoted to one another,
he misses her on tour,

craving the peace and solitude
of home.

The first Stone to leave London,

he's part of the '60s rock star
exodus to large country mansions -

symbols of wealth and fame.

But with Charlie,
it's about more than status.

It's a refuge.

It gave him a peaceful place
to live, you know?

I did go to his place in Devon.

DOGS BARK

I think they had 15 dogs.

Come on!

He took me around
to show me the horses.

Oh, it was total respect for design.

He wasn't trying to be
a silly eccentric,

buying cars for the sake of it.

No, he loved every line
on that Lagonda.

Sitting in it, to him, was like
being in a painting, you know?

And, thank you very much,

I'll wear a suit
to match the colours of my car,

and he'd just sit in
and be the part.

Charlie is well known
for his sartorial elegance,

a very modern English
country gentleman...

..far from the wild
drummer archetype.

And his fiercely independent spirit
stands out,

even in a band that redefines
freedom of expression.

I think the look of rock and roll
is a bit shabby,

but that's me, you know?

He wasn't necessarily dressing
the part of the rock star,

but more of the jazzer
who was playing in a rock band.

Now, this is another area
where drummers doffed their caps

for old Charlie, that he could go
out there in a very expensive suit

and play drums, whereas I got to
go out in shorts and a T-shirt.

He was just immaculate.

And I don't think he sweated.

Oh, yeah... Charlie...

Bespoke suits, bespoke shirts,

bespoke shoes.

I've got a campaign.

I'm saving the bespoke
tailoring industry.

Single-handedly!

Charlie has a lifetime devotion
to bespoke suits, most of which come

from his tailor of choice -
Huntsman in Savile Row.

A client for over 50 years,
one of their favourites,

he even has a fabric his tailors
nicknamed the Watts Stripe.

I never knew him as Charlie.

I always called him Mr Watts.

# I'm just waiting on a friend... #

Every customer has their own
paper pattern, and most customers

have a suit pattern, maybe
an overcoat pattern or something.

Testament to Charles's
eclectic wardrobe,

there's a big bundle of patterns
on Charlie's hook.

ARCHIVE: A gentleman's tailor
is a professional,

like a doctor or a solicitor.

If a man wishes to be dressed
correctly, there is only one way,

and that is to patronise
the right tailor.

He had this elegant,
relaxed posture.

He just wanted soft,
flowing garments.

That echoed his personality
in a lot of ways.

He never wanted to stand out.

He was quite an introvert
in a lot of ways.

He had a very good eye for detail.

His eye for colour was great
as well.

He always put things together well.

And sometimes he'd say, "Well,
we'll make that, but we'll make it

"like this," and we'd have
a conversation. And I'd think,

"Really?! Are you sure?"

And then we'd do it
and it would work!

I have this disease...

..that I see a swatch and have
to have a jacket or something.

One of his favourite things was

to go into the basement
in what we call,

ominously, the hanging room.

He'd love to rummage
and find old lengths of cloth

that have been left or forgotten
about, and we'd make something

out of those, and he'd love that.

It comes from my father.

Did he have a tailor?
Did he take you to his tailor? Yes.

I thought in those days,
it was normal practice.

So, what did your father look like?

What kind of suit would HE
have chosen?

Actually, very much like I wear.

A lot of what he liked was
late '40s and '50s.

So I live in TCM world, you know,

Turner Classic Movies.

He used to spend a great deal
of time worrying,

fretting about where these clothes
were going to go.

I think he'd try and drop
three of them home

so that his wife didn't see
too many,

but didn't stop him ordering more!

I've got some suits here, actually.

It's a shame
he's never going to see them.

But he tried them and he liked them.

LAUGHS: So that was good.

DRUMBEAT

Whether it's beats or buttons,

designing a suit or
laying down a drum track,

for Charlie, it's all about feel.

He was quite forward-thinking

and he listened to a lot of
different kinds of music.

In the early days,
when we were doing

the Exile On Main Street record,

everyone else was listening
to Jerry Lee Lewis, still.

We were listening to, like,
dub reggae.

He was a WAY better drummer
technically

than anyone ever suspected.

In 1996, we were trying
to make some loops,

we were going to mess around
with drum loops.

So we sent Charlie out in a room,

he put on headphones...

..and we played
The Chronic - Dr Dre.

He played those beats,
never flammed once.

He was perfectly on it.

He could be a perfectly
time-corrected drummer

if he so chose to be.

But he didn't, cos he knew that
that would be utterly soulless.

Consider the variety of music
the Stones have covered, in the way

Mick and Keith have written
over the years, and he's covered

every aspect of what they wanted
to do in his sleep.

The Rolling Stones have always been
musical chameleons,

with a keen ear for trends,

changing their colours to suit
the cultural landscape.

Charlie liked all kinds of dance
music, so when the dance music craze

kind of took off in the mid-'70s,
Charlie was really into that.

It's like we talked about before,

it's...it's all about beats.

MUSIC: Disco Inferno
by The Trammps

It's the beats of the New York
dance floor that influenced

the Rolling Stones'
next new direction.

ARCHIVE: It's 3.00 in the morning
in Manhattan,

and still at Studio 54,

people crowd the doors
hoping to get in.

Disco is exploding, and many
of the huge hits heard in clubs

are driven by legendary drummer
Earl Young,

pioneer of the "Four on the floor"
disco beat.

I guess he probably heard something
that I did, and he said,

"Well, look, I can play that!

"I'm going to put that
on one of OUR records."

He got into the four on the floor
and got the Philly sound there!

I said, "Jeez, I should be on there
playing that song, man!"

Got that groove...
# Dun-dun, da-na-na-na... #

And yet they rocked with
their dance groove, too.

Most of the time in a rock band,
it's music for dancing,

and so, if you like dancing...

..which, Charlie was actually
a rather good dancer.

So it's all to do with dancing.

Miss You introduces the Stones
to a new audience and keeps them

relevant as a new decade approaches.

For a blues band
with a jazz drummer,

they're not a bad disco act.

When you really understand
music in general,

whether it's improvisational
like jazz or, you know,

a three-minute rock record,
it's all the same.

You just take that sensibility and
ply it to the song that's presented.

Charlie was the master of that.

Miss You is recorded for the album
Some Girls, released in 1978...

..and, as ever, Charlie's drumming
is the essential ingredient,

holding it all together.

But behind the scenes,
their Mr Reliable

is having an
uncharacteristic wobble.

MUSIC DISTORTS

And I drank a lot.

And then they all go together,
and this is easy life to get...

..hooked up in, doing this,
you know?

Especially if you're lucky to be
in a position I'm in.

I mean, you can sit here
and have anything fed to you, right?

If you wanted that sort of life,
it wouldn't last long,

but you could sort of get into that.

I took a lot of drugs
late in life...

..and didn't do it very well,

so I nearly lost a marriage
and my life.

MUSIC: Down In The Hole
by The Rolling Stones

In the mid-'80s, I used to go out
at night, and it was ridiculous.

It was a life of a junkie.

But how did you manage to resist it
early on for all those years?

I don't know, it was never something
I wanted to do

and it was always around me,
but I just wasn't interested.

And then I got a kind of mid-life
crisis and became this other person.

Charlie can never really explain
what brings on his midlife crisis.

Maybe it's personal.

Or maybe it's just
the Stones themselves,

who famously aren't getting along
at the time.

Or perhaps he's emulating
his jazz heroes for whom heroin

had been a handmaiden.

Parker is the classic one.

You know, to be that brilliant
and that destructive -

there's something terribly glamorous
to me about being like that,

you know?

It's just the genius, really,
of it all.

Whatever the cause...

..salvation comes from
the unlikeliest of places.

I told him that...
"It's just not you, Charlie!"

And also, you know, the main thing
that really worried me

about Charlie at that point
was his drinking.

He was drinking like heavy-duty,
you know, cognac and other stuff.

And Charlie Watts started
blowing up...

So if he was dabbling with other
stuff, I didn't really mind,

it was the booze that needed to...

Some people are just,
they're perfect as they are.

They don't need stimulants,
they don't need...

Us...unfortunate imperfections,
you know, hell, we need help.

Charlie Watts didn't need any.

He was immaculate...
An immaculate conception.

Bless his heart.

Keith telling me this, and it stuck,
and I just stopped.

While Charlie was hooked
on heroin,

his first addiction remained
the strongest - jazz.

And it's time to make
a long-held fantasy a reality.

Let's stay leisurely now.

Final rehearsals were under way
at Ronnie Scott's club

in London today.

It's the Charlie Watts Big Band

in rehearsal for their debut
next week.

Some 33 musicians have joined forces
to bring back that feeling

of the Benny Goodman era.

He was a great supporter of
Ronnie Scott's club

and he wanted to give
something back.

The club was going through a bit
of a difficult time at that point,

financially,
and was in danger of closing.

I said that I would bring a band in.

They could keep the proceeds.

He gave that gig to the club.

The musicians represent some of
the biggest names in jazz and rock

in Britain today, alongside
some newer musicians.

# Once I was
a sentimental thing... #

One of those up-and-coming musicians

is David Bowie's long-time
collaborator, Gail Ann Dorsey.

# Now a spring romance... #

This was Charlie Watts from
The Rolling Stones, which is

one of my favourite bands ever.

I just remember him being just
kind of the normal guy, down the pub

kind of guy. I think he was just
so happy to be playing jazz.

# All I've got to show's
a splinter... #

One position filled...

..that only leaves the other 32.

So I drew a list up of people,
and I thought, "Who would I like?"

Jack Bruce from Cream...

..Stan Tracey, the legendary
jazz pianist...

..and the young prodigy
Courtney Pine on saxophone.

I met Charlie and he looks over
to me and he said,

"Yeah, have a good time."

And I just remember it being
an incredible experience.

I'd never been on stage
with people like that.

It was just an outstanding
conceptual idea for jazz big band,

which I don't think had ever been
done before.

GAIL ANN DORSEY: Each night before
the show, I would be sort of

peering out, going, "Oh, my God,
who is walking through the door?"

Like, each night, there was someone
else famous. It was crazy.

Chrissie Hynde and Gil Scott-Heron,
and all of the Stones came.

David Bowie came, in fact.

And I actually asked him,
"Did you remember that was me

"that was singing with Charlie Watts
Big Band?!"

I know Charlie's mum
and MY mum came down.

CHUCKLING

Charlie got a limousine and came
to the club, saw the first set,

and then went home in the car again!

I just remember him smiling a lot.
LAUGHS

I think in his head, he was like,
"Yeah, I'm..."

Yeah, fulfilling something that
he really always wanted to do.

COURTNEY PINE: Smiling,
smiling, smiling.

Cos he realised he was a part
of an amazing creation,

and it really was a turning point
for me, for my career, and for that,

I'll be ever grateful
to Charlie Watts.

The place was packed every night
cos it was Charlie's big band.

Probably did save the club
from closing.

Charlie's big band holiday
reinvigorates him...

..so when his other band get back
on the road...

..there's a renewed sense
of purpose.

CHEERING

This is an era when the Stones
fully embrace their billing

as pioneers of stadium rock.

Their tours become
evermore elaborate.

But at the heart of all the
extravagance and innovation,

some things never change.

MUSIC: Start Me Up
by The Rolling Stones

Yeah!

# If you start me up

# If you start me up,
I'll never stop... #

BILLY SLOAN: How do you power
the greatest rock and roll band

in the world with what looks like
a starter drum kit?

Well, I don't know.

All that is is how you set up,
how you play.

And some people need lots of drums.

I mean, a lot of times,
they're just for show.

It's just this old, very sort of
funky little four-piece kit!

And the snare looked like
it was from, like, the '30s.

And I guess he'd been playing that
same snare for God knows how long?

And there just was something
very endearing about the humanity

in his set-up for this massive
production that was going on.

It stuck with me.

The mystery inspired me, I think,
with Charlie,

because he's such a laid back,
well-dressed gentleman,

always going...like that.

Then it's like a firework explosion
when he plays the drums

with no effort, you know?

It was the most amazing feeling
to have him behind you

in the engine room.

Youngsters like me, we like to have
a lot of things to bang on.

With Charlie, his fundamental
purpose on the planet was groove,

and he had all the equipment
he needed

to do just that and no more.

Most drummers, when they get
into a big rock and roll band

and they're playing stadiums,
they get the kit

the size of the stage. Charlie
never changed anything at all.

He started with four drums
and I'm pretty sure

that's how he ended up!

It was an amazing thing...

..to drive the Stones like he did.

From his very first gig
with the Rolling Stones in '63...

..to his last-ever show
58 years later,

Charlie is the calm,
reassuring presence at the back,

holding it all together.

CHEERING

# Ole, ole, ole

# Charlie, Charlie. #

With the embodiment of rock and roll
to the left of him

and a truly global superstar
to the right,

Charlie is stuck in the middle,
physically and emotionally.

But with his grounded, no-nonsense
approach to fame and rock and roll,

he was and is still
the soul of the band.

Charlie was that silent leader,

the elder that'll knock you in
the nose if you say the wrong word.

But on the other hand,
there's nobody

that you'd rather have by your side.

You never saw Charlie ruffled.

And when the two of them,
when they get ruffled,

Charlie smiles. He sits back there
and looks at them,

and says, "Oh, for God's sakes,
Bernard, what are they on about?"

He was the equaliser.

He was a very safe haven

in a complicated group of people.

Charlie was the rock and they both
loved him and he loved both of them,

and he's apolitical.

BERNARD FOWLER: Charlie speaks,
they BOTH listen.

Whether it goes to the Mick side
or the Keith side,

Charlie will decide that.
Charlie will decide that.

I miss that cat.

He famously had a little coat hanger
on a stand that you get in hotels,

and that's where he would hang
his jacket,

and hanging over the coat stand was
a sign that said "Open" or "Closed".

And when Charlie was playing
the drums, it would say "Open".

And when he wasn't,
it would say "Closed".

And the only person who changed it
was Charlie.