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Charlie Watts plays down The Rolling Stones standing

Jul 26, 2012, 10:01 GMT

(L-R) Charlie Watts, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

Charlie Watts doesn't believe The Rolling Stones are the best rock 'n' band ever.

The drummer with the 'Honky Tonk Women' group plays down the idea that the Rolling Stones - which are now comprised of himself, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood - were the greatest band in the world, as they were introduced in 1969.

He told Classic Rock magazine: 'What about Little Richard? Then you have Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino. Chuck Berry's studio band - there isn't a better rock 'n' roll band.

'That's where we got it from. 'Roll over Beethoven' by everybody else is a joke. We came close sometimes with 'Little Queenie' or 'Around and Around'.'

Charlie, who is known for his impeccable dress sense, also said he once lived off a diet of 'peanuts and sultanas' to lose weight he had gained through living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

He added: 'In the early to mid-80s I took drugs and that, and then by the mid 80s I stopped that but I drank rather heavily.

'I ballooned a bit and, god, I couldn't get some of my trousers done up. That was it. I stopped everything. I lived on nuts, peanuts and sultanas. That's all I ate for months.

'A well made suit that you try to keep getting into for 30 years is an incentive. I still wear clothes I bought 30 years ago. They cost so much money I refuse to let them go.'

The Rolling Stones are currently rehearsing in preparation of their 50th anniversary in 2013.