The Rolling Stones pay tribute to Charlie Watts as they kick off ‘No Filter’ tour

The Rolling Stones kicked off their ‘No Filter’ tour in St Louis last night (September 26).

The band played without their late drummer Charlie Watts for only the second time since his death and paid tribute to him from the outset at the Dome at America’s Center.

The show opened with an empty stage and only a drumbeat, with photos of Watts flashing on the giant stage screens.

“This is our first-ever tour we’ve ever done without him,” frontman Mick Jagger said during the early part of the show. “We’ll miss Charlie so much, on and off the stage.” The band then dedicated “Tumbling Dice” to Watts. You can view footage below.

The legendary rockers went on to perform a host of classics hits from their back catalogue including ‘Paint It Black’, ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ and ‘Gimme Shelter’.

The Rolling Stones played:

‘Street Fighting Man’
‘It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)’
‘Tumbling Dice’
‘Under My Thumb’
’19th Nervous Breakdown’
‘Wild Horses’
‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’
‘Living In A Ghost Town’
‘Start Me Up’
‘Honky Tonk Women’
‘Happy’
‘Slipping Away’
‘Miss You’
‘Midnight Rambler’
‘Paint It Black’
‘Sympathy For The Devil’
‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’
‘Gimme Shelter’
‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’

Watts died at the age of 80 last month (August 24), prompting a huge outpouring of tributes from the music world and beyond.

In a recent interview Jagger said: “The thing about Charlie was that he was always there, always played beautifully and was always willing to discuss what to do about it – how he could make it better.

“He held the band together for so long, musically, because he was the rock the rest of it was built around… The thing he brought was this beautiful sense of swing and swerve that most bands wish they could have.”

He continued: “We had some really nice conversations in the last couple of years about how all this happened with the band. It’s a huge loss to us all. It’s very, very hard.”

You can view the original article HERE.