The Rolling Stones
At press conference in Hackney, surviving Stones trio pay tribute to late drummer Charlie Watts by announcing album and new single ‘Angry’
The Rolling Stones have announced details of their first album of new songs in nearly two decades, titled Hackney Diamonds.
Featuring a constellation of guest stars including Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and former Stones bassist Bill Wyman, it also features the final recordings with the band of late drummer Charlie Watts, who appears on two tracks.
Hackney Diamonds – in East London slang referring to broken window glass during a robbery – features the still-exciting sight of “Jagger-Richards” mentioned in the songwriting credits. It marks the first time that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have written an album of new music since 2005’s A Bigger Bang, and the first studio album ever since 2016’s blues covers collection Blue & Lonesome.
Co-writing three songs is the album’s producer, Andrew Watt, known for having helmed a number of recent hit albums from artists as diverse as Elton John, Justin Bieber, Iggy Pop, Post Malone and Miley Cyrus .
The first single and opening track “Angry” was released alongside the album announcement: Driven by a classic Stones riff and strutting rhythms, Jagger is in top form as he mourns a quarrel between lovers. “It hasn’t rained in a month, the river has dried up / We didn’t love each other and I want to know why,” complains the 80-year-old singer, finally exiting in a huff in the coda: “I’m still taking the pills / and go to Brazil.”
Reviews of the album are currently embargoed ahead of the October 20 release date – and more high-profile guests are yet to be announced – but the Guardian got an early listen. The energy is often high, with a fast-paced rock and roll song joined by many others with the typical high-tempo Stones tempo, including one with a disco bassline. There are also reserved blues numbers, idyllic country rockers and lighter pop-rock ballads.
After announcing their appearance with an advert in the local newspaper Hackney Gazette, Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Wood announced the album at a press conference at the Hackney Empire Theater in east London, speaking to the US talk show host – and frequent Jagger impersonator – Jimmy Fallon. “I don’t want to be cocky,” Jagger said, surrounded by broken chandeliers and a sharded, glitter-strewn tongue logo, “but we wouldn’t have released this record if we didn’t really like it.”
It was a poignant sight without Watts, who died in August 2021 at the age of 80, having played with the group shortly after its formation, joining in 1963. Steve Jordan now plays drums with the group and will perform on their 60th anniversary tour in 2022 and on the ninth tour of Songs of Hackney Diamonds.
“It’s been different since Charlie left – he’s number four, he’s missed,” said Richards, now 79. “Of course he’s missed, unbelievable. But thanks to Charlie Watts, we have Steve Jordan – his recommendation that if anything were to happen to him, he would be your man.”
The cause of Watts’ death has not been revealed, but last year Richards hinted that he died of cancer, saying: “I think he tried to keep it a secret for a while last year, so [his death] was quite a shock. He had cancer a year or two ago. And he beat this one. He just got hit with a double whammy, thank God.”
However, on stage the trio were in great comic form. Jagger was sprightly in a black brocade bomber jacket as he jumped from his chair to introduce the record. “We were maybe a little lazy,” he said of the 18-year wait. “All of a sudden we said, let’s set a deadline… We did it pretty quickly. There were a lot of ideas floating around and we put them together just before Christmas.” The album was recorded and mixed on Valentine’s Day, with Watt, according to Jagger, “kicking our asses.”
Jagger and Richards arrive at the Hackney Diamonds launch in a London taxi. Photo: Toby Melville/Portal
There were touches of classic Stones lasciviousness, and the 76-year-old Wood said of playing with Van Morrison and others between tours: “When you’re our age, you’ve got to keep your fingers moving – keep everything moving.” On When asked if he had ever married anyone who came to see the Stones perform, Richards replied: “I could marry them all, maaaan!”
Richards sings one of the album’s twelve songs, Tell Me Straight, and tells the audience to roars of laughter, “I can tell you straight up that I have no idea what this is about. Mick tried to steal it, so you know it’s good.”
Sydney Sweeney, the US actor best known for his roles in The White Lotus and Euphoria, appears in the Angry video and sat front row at the Hackney Empire. “I freaked out, called my family and brought my mom,” she said of the call. “This is the greatest thing ever.”
With throngs of spectators outside and hordes of international media inside, it was a grander occasion than the first-ever Stones press conference, Jagger said. “Keith and I were in a pub on Denmark Street [in central London], and there were two journalists from NME and Melody Maker present. We bought them a pint of beer and said, here’s our album.”
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