Why does Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones not have a drum kit at home?

Charlie’s performance of “air drums” at the One Audience show last year wowed the world, but there’s a good reason why he didn’t have a proper set.

Charlie Watts, the drummer for the Rolling Stones, turned 80 on June 2nd this year, and the seasoned stickman continues to draw attention.

When The Rolling Stones played a great hit at the One World: Together At Home concert in April 2020, the world was ecstatic.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts were among the celebrities that attended Lady Gaga’s charity event, which was organized in collaboration with Global Citizen and the World Health Organization. The veteran band performed their 1969 song You Can’t Always Get What You Want via webcam from the comfort of their own homes.

Watts’ use of a suitcase and the side of a chair to “air drum” his part in the popular song-playing along to a pre-recorded drum track was amusing to fans.

A fan tweeted saying: “Charlie Watts happily playing air drums for The Rolling Stones is the kind of feel-good content we need.”

https://twitter.com/cdixon25/status/1251856134371250182?s=19 (embedded tweet)

Some people were perplexed as to why the famed drummer didn’t use real drums. “Very much enjoying that Charlie Watts spent his entire life as the drummer for The Rolling Stones and apparently doesn’t have a set of drums in his house,” was one typical tweet.

But there’s a reason Charlie doesn’t play drums at home: his wife doesn’t enjoy the noise, so he can only do so when on tour. In an interview in 1989, he addressed his predicament: “Because of what I do, I can’t play the drums at home, so to play the drums I have to go on the road, and to go on the road I have to leave home, and it’s like a terribly vicious circle that’s always been my life.

“I don’t like living out of suitcases. I hate being away from home. I always do tours thinking they’re the last ones, and at the end of them, I always leave the band. “

In 2000, he informed The Guardian that his daughter Serafina was having problems because of his traveling schedule. “It’s difficult to be a good father when you’re away from home so much,” he mused.