Watts: the silent pain of the Stones, Richards, 'closes'

 The messages of condolence from all the elite of world music for the death yesterday at the age of 80 of Charlie Watts, historic drummer and legend of the Rolling Stones, are a counterpoint in these hours to the poignant silence of his most long-lived stage and life companions: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, 77 and 78 years old respectively, pioneered with him the English band that rivaled the Beatles.

    Sir Mick limited himself to posting on his Twitter profile - without adding a word - a smiling photo of Watts, the most reserved and most elegant Stone of all, taken on a stage still not many months ago. While Keith has even released an empty image, a lonely battery on a dark background with the typical sign indicating the closure of shops (closed), as if to signify - perhaps - the end of a story with Charlie's departure. .

    The only survivor of the historic current formation of the famous English rock band to express pain in a hot written message remains the 74-year-old Ronnie Wood, guitarist of the Stones since 1975, who tweets directly to Watts: "I loved you, mate of Gemini.

    I will miss you from the bottom of my heart. You're the best. "

    Charlie Watts met the barely 20-year-olds Mick, Keith and Brian Jones (died 1969) in mid-1962, sharing the stage of some London rhythm & blues clubs with them; then, at the beginning of 1963, he was officially hired. from the newborn Rolling Stones joining the original line with Jagger, Jones, Richards and bassist Bill Wyman: the band's first and only drummer along a history that lasted almost 60 years for him.