Sir Mick Jagger has said it will be “very difficult” for The Rolling Stones to carry on without former bandmate Charlie Watts.
The drummer died in hospital last month aged 80.
Sir Mick, 78, the band’s frontman, reflected on the challenges of continuing without the late drummer in an interview with Apple Music.
He said that without Watts “it’s going to be very difficult” for the band.
“It seems like only yesterday that I was in the studio with Charlie, joshing around,” he added.
“It’s just so weird and then very sad.”
Watts urged the group to go ahead with their upcoming No Filter tour, according to Sir Mick.
He said he is “glad” the tour is going ahead, adding: “I know Charlie wanted us to do it. I think the audience wants to do it. They seem to.
“And of course it’s different, and of course, in some ways it’s sad and so on.
“But I mean, you just go out there and rock out and you feel better, and it’s very cathartic.
“So I think it’s really good.”
The Rolling Stones have previously shown “resilience in the face of adversity”, Sir Mick said.
“And we’ve had ups and downs, mostly ups, to be honest,” he said.
“We’ve had adversity, and this was probably one of the most difficult ones.”