"Mick's not good on his own problems, but he's very good at other people's. He's been wonderful over the years. I don't mean I ring him up every week, but he's fantastic"
About this Quote
There’s something disarmingly British about the way Charlie Watts praises Mick Jagger: affectionate, precise, and carefully bounded. The line isn’t a tribute in stadium-sized adjectives; it’s a character sketch built on restraint. Watts gives Jagger a compliment that doubles as a gentle diagnosis: self-management, not his strong suit. Empathy and triage for everyone else? Elite.
The subtext is the quiet machinery of a band that outlasted trends, scandals, and its own mythology. Jagger, the hyper-visible frontman, is often cast as ego incarnate. Watts flips the angle: the guy who can seem all appetite and ambition also has a practical attentiveness when the spotlight isn’t on him. That’s a more human kind of charisma, the kind you only notice if you’ve logged decades in close quarters - buses, studios, hotel corridors, funerals, divorces, relapses, boredom. “Other people’s problems” hints at the unglamorous emotional labor that keeps a touring organism alive.
Watts’ wording also protects their relationship from sentimentality. “Wonderful over the years” signals loyalty without melodrama. “I don’t mean I ring him up every week” is both a joke and a boundary: closeness doesn’t have to perform itself. For musicians of their generation, intimacy is often coded as reliability, not constant disclosure.
Context matters: Watts was the band’s anchored center, famously steady where the Stones’ brand was excess. His praise lands because it comes from the least promotional voice in the room - a man whose authority was understatement. That makes “he’s fantastic” feel earned, not marketed.
The subtext is the quiet machinery of a band that outlasted trends, scandals, and its own mythology. Jagger, the hyper-visible frontman, is often cast as ego incarnate. Watts flips the angle: the guy who can seem all appetite and ambition also has a practical attentiveness when the spotlight isn’t on him. That’s a more human kind of charisma, the kind you only notice if you’ve logged decades in close quarters - buses, studios, hotel corridors, funerals, divorces, relapses, boredom. “Other people’s problems” hints at the unglamorous emotional labor that keeps a touring organism alive.
Watts’ wording also protects their relationship from sentimentality. “Wonderful over the years” signals loyalty without melodrama. “I don’t mean I ring him up every week” is both a joke and a boundary: closeness doesn’t have to perform itself. For musicians of their generation, intimacy is often coded as reliability, not constant disclosure.
Context matters: Watts was the band’s anchored center, famously steady where the Stones’ brand was excess. His praise lands because it comes from the least promotional voice in the room - a man whose authority was understatement. That makes “he’s fantastic” feel earned, not marketed.
Quote Details
| Topic | Best Friend |
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