The music biz isn’t the only industry mourning the death of The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. On Thursday night, tennis great John McEnroe, 62, performed an emotional tribute to Watts, who passed away on Tuesday, at the “Citi Taste of Tennis” at Tavern on the Green.
McEnroe took the stage with his rock band, The Johnny Smyth Band, and “stripped off his shirt halfway through their set and replaced it with a Rolling Stones t-shirt to honor Charlie,” a spy at the event told Page Six.
McEnroe and his band performed covers for a crowd including including 2020 Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, who applauded and yelled, “Bravo!”
“He responded and joked that that was something he rarely heard during his days as a tennis pro,” the source said.
The retired tennis star spoke about how he admired and wanted to honor the late musician’s marriage to Shirley Ann Shephard, his wife of 57 years.
Fans and celeb friends like Paul McCartney and Elton John have also posted tributes after Watts’ death was announced.
The band released a statement describing Watts as “a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones, one of the greatest drummers of his generation,” when they announced his death.
Watts performed with the band for more than half a century. His last performance with the Stones was on Aug. 30, 2019 in Miami, according to music bible Rolling Stone. The band is expected to pay tribute to Watts next month on their “No Filter Tour” in St. Louis, The Sun reported.