The Rolling Stones have announced their first album of new material in 18 years, Hackney Diamonds. Published by BMG, the band’s 24th album will be released on October 20, 2023. Along with the album announcement, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have shared the single ‘Angry’ together with a music video featuring The White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney.
Written, recorded, and mixed in just a few months, Hackney Diamonds features a number of guest stars including Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and former band bassist Bill Wyman. It also features the late Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 after nearly six decades with the band. Recorded in 2019, his drumming appears on two of the album’s 12 songs, with Steve Jordan playing on the rest.
On September 6, the band introduced the album in a live-streamed conversation with US talkshow host Jimmy Fallon from the Hackney Empire Theatre in London. On recording the album without Charlie Watts, Richards said, “Ever since Charlie’s gone it’s different – he’s number four, he’s missing.” He continued, “Of course he’s missed, incredibly. But thanks to Charlie Watts we have Steve Jordan – his recommendation, that if anything should happen to him, he’s your man.”
In 2016, the band released an all-covers album, Blue & Lonesome, on which BMG released eight of the 12 tracks, including works by blues legends Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, and Willie Dixon. Their last album of original material was 2005’s A Bigger Bang, but they continued to record occasional tracks, such as ‘Doom and Gloom’ and ‘One More Shot’, which appeared on their 2012 greatest hits album Grrr! and the 2020 single ‘Living in a Ghost Town’.
In 2020, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood chose BMG for their neighboring rights. BMG also represents the music publishing rights of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as much of the recorded catalogue of Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts.
Source
BMG
