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Charlie Watts: The Beatles Suck and The Stones are an annoying pastime


Levis

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[big]Charlie Watts Blasts Beatles and Elvis[/big]

What's up with the Rolling Stones? As they fast approach the anniversary of their half century of playing together, guitarist Keith Richards recently hopped on the wagon after decades of pummeling his body and now drummer Charlie Watts has told an Austrian newspaper that he's always hated the music of Elvis Presley and 60s rival the Beatles.

The drummer, who is currently playing a series of concerts in Austria with blues-jazz ensemble The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie (named after the musicians in the band - pianists Axel Zwingenberger and Ben Waters, drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Dave Green), said, "I've never been a big Beatles fan.

"Of Ringo, yes, but not of the music. And I've always hated Elvis. He was the last one I wanted to use as a guide. Miles Davis and Fats Domino, yes, but Elvis, no."

The legendarily non-plussed Watts also said the he wouldn't be bothered if the Stones stopped rolling. "Honestly, I couldn't care less if it were over."

He added, "Jazz is my passion. This is the music that I really want to do. The Stones are merely an annoying pastime."

However, the Austrian tour's promoter, Willi Turk, was adamant that the Rolling Stones would be back in action soon.

He said, "The ABC & D concerts are only possible because the Stones are just taking a break. But when Mick Jagger calls, Charlie is ready. "

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I can only hope to speculate that perhaps the interviewer asked Charlie specifically about his musical taste as it relates to the Beatles and Elvis. Otherwise, I find it curious that one as normally restrained as Watts would volunteer - or even find it necessary - to demean the two acts that would seem to have done the most to have opened the doors to a particular marketplace, through which his band strutted and conquered. There remains the possibility that without those two acts' pioneering forages into that market, we could find a good argument that the snarling, sneering, the-joke's-on-you Stones may have only found limited success playing to a much smaller niche of record buyers. I don't feel that any of the Stones would find it difficult to answer in the affirmative, if the question were framed properly, that their band owes much to these two acts.

I did find it curious that a drummer who does not sing would think to clarify that a vocalist who does not drum (Presley) "was the last one I wanted to use as a guide." Well, duh.

I am pretty sure Charlie was simply telling the interviewer about the music he liked/likes to listen to and was baited, by specific questions, into those comments which were then recorded as if he formulated a rant during the interview.

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I've always thought of him as the nerd of the Stones. He's lucky to be part of that particular band. There are several drummers that are more talented and are in lesser known bands that dont get the same type of credit. The Stones would've been just as great with somebody else behind the drums.

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Since Charlie was inducted into the Hall of Fame (Drummer) with Buddy Rich and Keith Moon I guess somebody thinks he's a pretty good drummer. The thing is the Stone's songs are guitar driven, so when you think of their music the drumming certainly isn't your first thought. Plus, he's an integral part of the band, people absolutely love him. At every concert I've been to, he gets the biggest reaction from the audience.

He's always very much the gentleman though in public, and very savvy with the press etc (the man ain't no dummy). I can't see him dismissing the importance of others so very important to his industry. It's easy to twist words to make them sound shocking when they may have been entirely innocent.

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