Sir Mick Jagger admitted it was "poignant" returning to the stage without the late Charlie Watts.
The Rolling Stones in 2018
The Rolling Stones returned to the stage at the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on Monday (20.09.21) for a private gig ahead of their long-delayed US tour and the 78-year-old singer dedicated the show to their beloved drummer, who passed away last month aged 80.
Mick said on stage in a video shared on his Instagram: "This is our first show of 2021...I must say though, it's a bit of a poignant night for us, this is our first tour in 59 years that we've done without our lovely Charlie Watts and we all miss Charlie so much.
"We miss him as a band and we miss him as a friend, on and off the stage.
" I'm sure some of you that have seen us before have got memories of Charlie as well and I hope you will remember him like we do. We'd like to dedicate this show to Charlie."
His bandmate Ronnie Wood added: "Charlie, we're playing for you man, we're playing for you."
Before the band began playing again, the 'Sympathy for the Devil' singer admitted the moment had got to him.
He said: "I'm all emotional."
Mick, Ronnie, and Keith Richards were joined for the show - which was hosted by billionaire businessman Robert Kraft - by session drummer Steve Jordan, who had already been announced before Charlie passed away to be standing in for him on tour due to the drummer's health issues at the time.
The group played a career-spanning set for the invite-only crowd of 300, and also treated them to the first live performance of recent single 'Living In A Ghost Town' and the as-yet unreleased song 'Trouble's a Comin''."
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