Has Charlie Watts Quit the Rolling Stones After Nearly Half a Century?

Update: A spokesperson for the Rolling Stones released a statement to Uncut magazine stating that Charlie Watts has not, in fact, left the band. “Contrary to a fabricated story that ran this morning on a small music web site in Australia," it reads, "drummer Charlie Watts has not left The Rolling Stones.” Fair enough.

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If you shed a tear when Oasis disbanded late last week, you might need a willing friend's shoulder for this one: After 47 years playing in the Rolling Stones, it looks like drummer Charlie Watts is calling it a day.

According to Australian magazine Undercover, a source in the Stones' inner-circle revealed that "Charlie Watts has quit the band. He will never record or tour with the band again."

Now, the Aussie pub cites an anonymous source, but if it's true, the Energizer bunnies of rock 'n' roll may actually grind to a halt. Undercover reports that "The Stones are looking to Keith's Expensive Winos drummer Charlie Drayton to fill the void in all future Stones' callings," but something already feels distinctly Led Zeppelin reunion-y about the legendary band trucking on without its longtime timekeeper.

With the Stones' most recent tour—the Bigger Bang jaunt that kept them on the road for two full years—stacking up as the most successful tour of all time, it seems likely that Watts simply decided it was time to gracefully bow out.

Still, it would've been wild to see the old boys slug it out to the half-century mark, which would've been 2012. Guess you can't always get what you want.

Related links:
News: Are the Rolling Stones Road-Weary at Last?
Undercover: EXCLUSIVE: Charlie Watts Quits the Rolling Stones
RollingStones.com