Shit, Charlie Watts is Dead !
The first memory that came back to me this morning after I discovered that Charlie Watts had died was possibly from early 1966.
I was standing on the corner of Tucker Rd and Mawby Rd in East Bentleigh with a High School friend named Arvil Griffiths (I’m certain that’s not the correct spelling). Arvil had one funny eye and he was from Latvia. We were discussing The Rolling Stones new album, I’m pretty certain it was “Out of our Heads” which had “Play With Fire” on it, it was also around the same time as “The Last Time” came out as a single. Arvil and I were discussing the merits of both The Beatles and The Stones. I favoured The Beatles at the time but it wasn’t going to be that many years until Blues music became an important part of my life. And as for “The Last Time”, I recall hearing it at a big smelly ice slating rink in StKilda called St Moritz, blasting g over the speakers. The opening guitar riff echoed through the cold cavernous hall and resonated with me immediately.
I would have been 13 or 14 back then. That’s more than 55 years ago.
The Rolling Stones came to Melbourne in 1973 and played at Kooyong. I should have been at the gig but for some reason I picked up an eastern European hitchhiker who ended up coming back to my share house in Bank St, South Melbourne and set up camp with us for what I remember as months. We couldn’t get rid of him, if you were unlucky and got home late he would pinch your bed. This happened to me a few times. Anyway for some reason I missed the concert, maybe I was broke.
One of the musicians who came to Melbourne with them back then was pianist, Nicky Hopkins. Nicky stayed with us at our house in Camberwell in the late 1980s. He’s dead now but it was such a blast having an ex Rolling Stone get up in the morning and put his slippers and dressing gown on and sit at our table eating an english breakfast prepared by Melanie. I wish I had asked Nicky more questions at the time.
The next time I saw The Stones was in the 90s. Paul and I went to the concert at the tennis centre. I’ll never forget the stage moving across the arena with the Rolling Stones rocking away on Miss You. I was amazed once again about the excitement that they could generate.
I suppose that they will continue to tour now that Charlie has gone. It’s still not the end of am era. I love that a bunch of old Englishmen in their late 70s can still get on stage and bring the roof down.
But now there are only two of the originals in the band. Keith and Mick.
Long live the Rolling Stones.
