The Rolling Stones pay tribute to late drummer Charlie Watts while launching new album Hackney Diamonds
The Rolling Stones paid tribute to late drummer Charlie Watts while launching their new album Hackney Diamonds.
The rock band also announced the first single from the album, “Angry”, alongside a music video starring Sydney Sweeney.
Hackney Diamonds is scheduled for release on 20 October. The Stones, comprising Mick Jagger, 80, Keith Richards, 79, and Ronnie Wood, 76, hosted an event for the album at the Hackney Empire in east London on Wednesday (6 September).
Onstage, the “Paint It Black” band were interviewed by US talk show host Jimmy Fallon about the record, and why it’s taken them 18 years to put out a new album of original songs.
Speaking about the absence of founding Stones member Watts, who died in 2021, Richards said: “Ever since Charlie’s gone it’s different – he’s number four, he’s missing. 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. He’s been a friend of ours, I’ve worked with Steve so it was natural progression. It would’ve been a lot harder without Charlie’s blessing on that, you know.”
Hackney Diamonds will include two tracks featuring Watts on drums.
Fans were also shown a first look at the music video for “Angry”, which stars Euphoria actor Sweeney. The 25-year-old was in attendance at the event with her mother.
Speaking at the event, Sweeney said that she had “freaked out and called my family” upon being asked to appear in the video. “This is the biggest thing ever,” she said. “I didn’t know it was going to be the first single but I love the song, it’s stuck in my head.”
While discussing the new record, Jagger joked that he and Richards had originally “thought the theme of the album should be ‘anger’”, adding: “We had a second idea, which was to make them a bit more eclectic, with ballads. So we’ve got a mixture.”
A number of other details about the album were also announced, including the titles of the other tracks and potential collaborations.
Jagger also confirmed that original band member Bill Wyman features on one of the tracks. “We asked Bill to come in and do one track so we have the original lineup on one track,” he said.
As for other features, the band announced that they would be collaborating with Lady Gaga on the song “Sweet Sound of Heaven”.
You can find the full tracklist below:
1. “Angry”
2. “Get Close”
3. “Depending On You”
4. “Bite My Head Off”
5. “Whole Wide World”
Sweeney in the video for ‘Angry’
