Why Rolling Stones Kept Going Without Charlie Watts

Bill Wyman said he was surprised when the Rolling Stones continued after the departure and death of drummer Charlie Watts.

And the former bassist – who left in 1993 – suggested they only kept going because they had nothing else to do.

Watts was replaced by Steve Jordan in 2021, originally on a temporary basis while he recovered from heart surgery; but the 80-year-old’s passing in August of that year made the change permanent.

READ MORE: Top 10 Rolling Stones Bill Wyman Songs

“When Charlie left, I thought they would close,” Wyman told Classic Rock in a recent interview. “I really did. They could replace the bass, but I didn’t think they could replace Charlie, and his charisma, and what a great guy he was.

“[B]ut they went on, which surprised me. I wouldn’t say it disappointed me, but it surprised me. I think it would’ve been a good time for them to [end]. But I don’t think they’ve got anything else to do – otherwise they’d do it, wouldn’t they?”

He continued: “I’ve got six different things I’m doing all the time, and I’m so happy doing them, but I don’t think they… Well, Ronnie [Wood]’s got art as a second thing. And Mick [Jagger]’s tried to do movies and things but hasn’t really succeeded; and he’s done solo stuff which really didn’t work as well as it should’ve done either.

“And so they just… It’s just the Stones all the time.”

When the Rolling Stones Refused to Believe Bill Wyman Had Quit

Wyman also recalled how it took the Stones two years to accept he’d actually left the band – which he also said he should have done much sooner than he did.

Recalling his doubts about returning after the band’s downtime in the mid ‘80s, he said: “I only started playing with them again in the hope it’d only be a couple of years, because I had all these other things I wanted to do. I wanted to do archaeology, write books, do photography, I wanted to play charity cricket; I wanted to do all these other things. And 30 years on I’m still wanting to do them, to tell the truth.

“So I was so happy to leave in the end. Which they absolutely didn’t like, and refused to accept. They said: ‘You have not left.’ When they were doing the plan for the coming year, I said: ‘Well there’s no point me discussing it, because I’m leaving.’ And they went. ‘You’re not leaving.’ I said: ‘I am leaving – I’ve left.. And they wouldn’t believe me.

“Two years went by, and they were putting the band together again to make a new record in ’94. They said, ‘Are you still in the band?’ I said, ‘I left two years ago.’”