Watch Liam Gallagher dedicate 'Live Forever' to Charlie Watts at Leeds Festival

Liam Gallagher dedicated ‘Live Forever’ to late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts at Leeds Festival last night (August 27) – watch footage below.

Watts, who has appeared on every album in the legendary band’s discography to date, sadly died aged 80 earlier this week, prompting tributes to pour in from across the music world.

During his headline set at the festival, Gallagher took time to remember Watts, telling the crowd: “He’s probably having a great time up there somewhere.”

Then, as Liam and his band performed the Oasis classic, photos of Watts were shared on the big screen.

Liam Gallagher dedicated Live Forever to Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.

"He's probably having a great time up there somewhere." pic.twitter.com/igt30J5baD

— Oasis Mania Fanpage (@oasismania_uk) August 28, 2021

Liam will follow suit with a headline set at Reading festival on Sunday, performing alongside Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice, Yungblud, Gerry Cinnamon and many more.

Ahead of the R&L shows, he played a special free gig for NHS workers at The O2 in London. Reviewing the show, NME said: “You have not seen joy until you’ve seen thousands of NHS workers leg it back across the O2 Arena, belting out the lyrics to one of the greatest anthems of all time, a song about relying on one another and literally being someone’s saviour.”

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Stones are still set to play the upcoming US tour dates as planned despite Watts’ death.

Prior to his death, it was announced that Watts wouldn’t join the band on their autumn ‘No Filter’ tour dates, with his bandmates sharing messages of support. Longtime Stones associate Steve Jordan was announced to be replacing him on drums for the 13-date tour.

Many drummers have praised Watts in the wake of his passing – among them Pink Floyd‘s Nick Mason,  Ringo Starr, Questlove, Alex Van Halen and The E Street Band’s Max Weinberg.

Writing for NME about the sad news, Royal Blood‘s Ben Thatcher said: “When trying to remember Charlie, there’s one thing that sticks out: his style, both on and off-stage. Obviously there’s his drumming style, but it’s also how he went about himself. He was the smartest guy, and appeared very clean-cut and that showed even in his drumming. He was the glue.

“Everyone else in The Rolling Stones was wild, and still is, and that’s a great part of rock’n’roll music, but you also need the backbone and someone to keep everything and everyone together.”

Check back at NME all weekend for more reviews, news, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2021.