The Rolling Stones are returning with their first collection of original songs since 2005. The new album, called ‘Hackney Diamonds,’ comes two years after the death of drummer Charlie Watts.
The British rock-music architects held a media event in Hackney, an area in east London, on Wednesday where they unpacked details of their new album, “Hackney Diamonds,” which arrives Oct. 20 and includes guest appearances by Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder. The band also premiered the music video for their new single, “Angry.”
As part of the event, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood fielded questions from American comedian and late-night show host Jimmy Fallon. The launch, which was livestreamed on YouTube, followed a teaser campaign that included a snippet of “Angry” and a mysterious advertisement placed in the Hackney Gazette, a local newspaper.
“You’ve done something that no one’s done,” Fallon told the Stones during the live event, referring to the band’s upcoming 24th studio album and its overall longevity. “Seriously, there is no band like you, ever.”
The 12-track “Hackney Diamonds” will be an eclectic mix of rockers and ballads, including two tracks featuring the band’s beloved late drummer, Charlie Watts. Bill Wyman, the Stones’ original bassist, also appears on one of these tracks, “Live by the Sword,” effectively bringing a celebrated lineup of the band back together.
For most of the album, Steve Jordan, a veteran drummer and friend of the Stones who coproduces, cowrites and performs on Richards’s solo albums, assumes the late Watts’s drumming duties. Jordan “was Charlie’s recommendation,” Richards said. Andrew Watt produced the album.
Even among the surprising number of 1960s rock bands that have sustained lasting careers long after their pop-cultural prime, the Stones stand out.
Jagger turned 80 in July; Richards, 79, will join him in December. Longtime guitarist Ronnie Wood is 76. Jagger underwent a successful heart procedure in 2019, briefly postponing a U.S. tour. Watts died in 2021 at the age of 80.
Despite such hurdles, the Stones, one of live music’s very biggest acts, have toured every year for the past decade, except for pandemic-stricken 2020. The Stones also won a Grammy award in 2018 for their 2016 blues-covers album, “Blue & Lonesome.” In 2020, they released a timely-sounding track, “Living in a Ghost Town,” that went No. 1 in Germany.
Over recent decades, however, the band’s output of new original music has slowed considerably: They’ve released only three studio albums since 1990, including 2005’s “A Bigger Bang.” For years, Stones fans have followed reports of Jagger and Richards hitting the studio, but little has materialized until now.
Joking about the 18-year gap between original albums, Jagger said the band has “been very lazy,” while noting how busy they’ve been on the road. He also said the Stones wouldn’t put out the new record “if we didn’t really like it.”
“When the singer wants to make a record, you record him,” Richards said. “Because you never know the next time you’re going to get it.”
By Neil Shah
Updated Sept. 6, 2023 11:12 am ET