Bill Wyman on The Rolling Stones continuing after Charlie Watts’ death: “It surprised me. It would’ve been a good time for them to end”

Bill Wyman has opened up about his feelings regarding The Rolling Stones‘ decision to continue as a band after the passing of Charlie Watts.

Watts had been a part of The Rolling Stones’s line-up since January 1963 serving as a drummer. His death was announced in August 2021 – shortly after he was forced to pull out of the band’s tour to undergo surgery, which resulted in complications. He was aged 80.

At the time of the drummer’s passing, Wyman shared a heartfelt tribute to his old bandmate. He wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of Watts: “Charlie, you were like a brother to me. In the band and in life. Rest in peace.”

The band – comprised of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood – have continued on without their drummer of nearly six decades. Steve Jordan has taken the spot and played on the majority of their last record, ‘Hackney Diamonds‘.

Now, the former Rolling Stones bassist – who departed the group back in 1993 – has opened up about his shock that the legendary group chose to proceed without Watts, claiming that the drummer was irreplaceable.

In an interview with Classic Rock, Wyman shared: “When Charlie left, I thought they would close. I really did. They could replace the bass, but I didn’t think they could replace Charlie, and his charisma, and what a great guy he was.

“But they went on, which surprised me. I wouldn’t say it disappointed me, but it surprised me. I think it would’ve been a good time for them to (end). But I don’t think they’ve got anything else to do – otherwise they’d do it, wouldn’t they?”

He then went on to express that he felt like the reasoning as to why the Rolling Stones decided to continued despite losing a Watts was due to the remaining members having nothing else going for them outside of the band.

“I’ve got six different things I’m doing all the time, and I’m so happy doing them, but I don’t think they… Well, Ronnie (Wood)’s got art as a second thing. And Mick (Jagger)’s tried to do movies and things but hasn’t really succeeded; and he’s done solo stuff which really didn’t work as well as it should’ve done either. And so they just… It’s just the Stones all the time,” Wyman explained.

Last year, guitarist Keith Richards revealed that the band have no plans of stopping anytime soon, sharing that they have “plenty more material” and will keep making albums until they “drop”.

“We can put our feet up for a little bit, but you know. You’re into this thing all the way. This is what we do. We’ve gotta see this Rolling Stones through,” he told SiriusXM NPR (per Music News).

Elsewhere in Wyman’s interview with Classic Rock, the bassist also opened up about his time in the Rolling Stones and revealed that he and some of his bandmates were struggling financially.

“Mick [Jagger] and Keith [Richards] were totally wealthy, so they weren’t bothered, but me, Charlie [Watts] and Ronnie [Wood] were scraping by,” he said. “Ronnie started to do art to feed his family. Anyway, I only started playing with them again in the hope it’d only be a couple of years, because I had all these other things I wanted to do.”

In other news, The Rolling Stones recently announced details of a special edition re-release of ‘Hackney Diamonds’.

Elsewhere, The Stones played a 20-date ‘Hackney Diamonds’ North American tour this year, between April and July.

Keith Richards also gave a surprise performance at the Country Music Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in October, for a version of Gram Parsons’ ‘I Can’t Dance’ with Eagles‘ Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, and drummer Steve Jordan.