Lady Gaga is set to feature on The Rolling Stones' first album in 18 years.
The American pop superstar will make a guest appearance on the band's 26th album, which is set to be released on October 20. It will be the iconic band's first studio album of original music since 2005. Other guest stars include original member Bill Wyman and their late drummer Charlie Watts. Hackney Diamonds will have 12 songs and be the first since the death of Charlie in August 2021.
The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards confessed: "Ever since Charlie is gone it's different, he's number four. He's missing, of course he's missed incredibly, but thanks to Charlie we have Steve Jordan [the drummer] who was his recommendation if anything should happen to him. He's been a friend of ours so he was a natural progression, it would have been a lot harder without Charlie's blessing."
The band spoke about their hotly anticipated record at Hackney Empire in East London to US chat show host Jimmy Fallon. Mick Jagger shared most of the new tracks feature Steve Jordan, but two were recorded in 2019 with Charlie. On Lady Gaga's appearance, Ronnie Wood said: "Lady Gaga sings really sweet on [album track] Sweet Sound Of Heaven."
Original bassist for the band Bill Wyman features on one of the tracks. He was with the band from 1962 to 1993 and worked on their first 19 albums. Mick shared: "We asked Bill to come in and do one track so we have the original line-up on one track." The Rolling Stones' last album A Bigger Bang was released in 2005.
In 2016, they released Blue & Lonesome which comprised of blues covers rather than original material. Explaining the title of the new LP, Keith said: "We were flinging ideas around for titles and went from Hit And Run to Smash And Grab and we came up with Hackney Diamonds, which is variations of them both and we are a London band."
Asked why it has taken 18 years to release more music, Sir Mick joked they had been doing "other things". He added: "Maybe we were a bit too lazy, so we said let's put a deadline. We had this chat and said let's make this record at Christmas and finish it by Valentine's Day." The first single from the album, Angry, has been unveiled and the video for the track features actress Sydney Sweeney, best known for her roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus.
She said of being asked to appear in the video: "I freaked out and called my family and brought my mum. This is the biggest thing ever. I didn't know it was going to be the first single but I love the song, it's stuck in my head." The new music had been teased online and in an advert in the Hackney Gazette, which appeared to be for a fictional glass repair business. It included a website and a phone number which, when called, responded with the automated message: "Welcome to Hackney Diamonds, specialists in glass repair: Don't get angry, get it fixed. Opening early September, Mare Street, E8. Register for a call at hackneydiamonds.com. Come on then."
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