Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts reveals the secret to his long marriage

He's been married to wife Shirley Ann Shephard for 54 years.

The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has revealed the secret to his 54 year marriage.

Watts met wife Shirley Ann Shephard before the band hit the big time, and they married in 1964. They have one daghter, Seraphina, born in 1968.

The couple stayed together even while the band were on tour, and the other members were partying hard.

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In a recent interview with NME, Watts was asked how he’s managed to have such a long marriage – a rare feat for a rockstar, with many musicians gaining a reputation for straying while on the road.

“Because I’m not really a rockstar,” he explained to NME.

“I don’t have all the trappings of that. Having said that, I do have four vintage cars and can’t drive the bloody things. I’ve never been interested in doing interviews or being seen.

“I love it and I do interviews because I want people to come and see the band. The Rolling Stones exist because people come to the shows. There’s nothing worse than playing in a club with three people sitting in the front – one’s your girlfriend and the other’s your mate – and that’s the audience.”

Charlie Watts and wife Shirley, pictured at Royal Ascot in 2009
Charlie Watts and wife Shirley, pictured at Royal Ascot in 2009

“If you wanna play Old Trafford you’ve got to fill the place up,” he continued.

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“For 20 years I never did an interview, you know? I did one with Ray Connolly and I didn’t like the quote. I did say it, it wasn’t Ray’s fault. But I thought ‘that’s it!’ and I never did an interview. Then Mick got fed up with having to do all of them and I was roped in.”

This week has seen The Rolling Stones announce details of a huge tour of UK and Ireland for this summer, including dates in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Their first UK tour in five years, the band have also been criticised for the prices of tickets for the No Filter tour.

The drummer also recently spoke out about the demise of the band, and how “it wouldn’t bother” him if The Rolling Stones called it a day.

Meanwhile Keith Richards has been discussing about “novel” sobriety is, and how today’s drugs are “bland”.

He also apologised for saying that Mick Jagger “needs a vasectomy”…

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