The Rolling Stones paid tribute to Charlie Watts as they kicked-off their US tour.

Charlie Watts

Charlie Watts

The drummer passed away in August, at the age of 80, and his bandmates - Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood - paid a glowing tribute to Charlie as they resumed the No Filter tour in St. Louis on Sunday (26.09.21).

The show - which was previously delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic - was the iconic band's first public concert since Charlie's death.

The gig opened with an empty stage, a drum beat and a photos of the late star appearing on a video board.

The band then thanked their fans for their support over recent weeks.

Mick said: "This is our first-ever tour we've ever done without him. We'll miss Charlie so much, on and off the stage."

The legendary group then dedicated a rendition of 'Tumbling Dice' to their former bandmate.

Meanwhile, Mick recently claimed that Charlie held the Rolling Stones together.

In a tribute to the late musician, he said: "Charlie held the band together for so long, musically, because he was the rock the rest of it was built around.

"He brought this beautiful sense of swing and swerve that most bands wish they could have. We had some really nice conversations in the last couple of years about how all this happened with the band.

"We had a lot of wonderful times apart from playing music together. We used to go and watch cricket. And when we’d get together, we didn’t talk about music. We talked about art, which he knew a lot more about than I did. It’s a huge loss to us all. It’s very, very hard. But we had wonderful times, and Charlie made some wonderful music."