Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have shared touching tributes to their later bandmate Charlie Watts following The Rolling Stones drummer’s death at the age of 80.
Charlie, who been a member of the legendary rock band since 1963, died at a London hospital on Monday.
Sir Mick paid tribute to his colleague of almost 60 years on Twitter, simply sharing a picture of Charlie smiling while seated behind a drumkit.
The Rolling Stones frontman did not add a caption.
Guitarist Keith also posted a picture of Charlie’s drumkit with a “closed” sign hung on it.
Sharing a picture of him and Charlie, Ronnie wrote on Twitter: “I love you my fellow Gemini ~ I will dearly miss you ~ you are the best.”
During their decades together, the four piece had worked on era-defining tracks including (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Paint It Black, Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Brown Sugar.
Charlie was considered the most mild mannered of The Rolling Stones, providing an essential counterbalance to his more exuberant bandmates.
Their tributes came as many other figures from the music world lined up to honour Charlie.
Sir Paul McCartney described him as a “fantastic drummer, steady as a rock” while Sir Elton John called him “the ultimate drummer”.
The Beatles’ Sir Ringo Starr also tweeted a picture, writing: “God bless Charlie Watts, we’re going to miss you man, peace and love to the family, Ringo.”
Queen drummer Roger Taylor said on Instagram: “How sad, we’ve lost a true gentleman. The immaculate beating heart of the Rolling Stones.”
Charlie’s publicist Bernard Doherty confirmed news of his death in a statement issued to the PA news agency on Monday.
It said: “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts. He passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.
“Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also, as a member of The Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation.
“We kindly request that the privacy of his family, band members and close friends is respected at this difficult time.”