Nandi Bushell pays tribute to Charlie Watts with cover of ‘Gimme Shelter’

“I wanted to do something really special for Charlie”

Child music prodigy Nandi Bushell has paid tribute to late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts in a new video.

In what Bushell describes as “her most ambitious video yet”, the 11-year-old said: “I wanted to do something really special for Charlie.”

In the video, Bushell can be seen playing drums, guitar, bass, saxophone and piano as well as recording vocals for The Rolling Stones’ classic hit “Gimme Shelter”.

Describing the track as “such an incredible tune,” Bushell added: “This cover is for Charlie Watts ... I hope one day I get to jam with The Rolling Stones too. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – I love the Rolling Stones.”

You can see the video here:

Bushell became an internet sensation last year after posting videos of herself drumming along to tracks by a number of artists, including the Foo Fighters. It culminated with her taking part in a remote virtual drum-off with Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl last November. Prior to that, across lockdown, the pair took part in a series of back-and-forth musical challenges issued to one another.

Most recently, Bushell joined the Foo Fighters on stage in LA for a rendition of their hit song “Everlong”. The 11-year-old, from Ipswich, Suffolk, received huge applause both before and after her performance, with fans chanting her name and a video of her performance later going viral.

Following her appearance with the group, the song ended up back in the charts – 24 years after its first release.

Opening up about the experience of sharing the stage with the Foo Fighters to the BBC recently, Bushell said: “It was so much fun. It was the best night of my entire life and I’ve had a lot of good nights.”