We went to the Hackney Diamonds launch in London with Jimmy Fallon. It will be released on October 20 and features Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, as well as Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman in one copy.
“The secret to a long-lasting marriage is not to talk to each other too often,” says Mick Jagger of the Hackney Empire in East London, responding to a fan who refers him to Jimmy Fallon. We are talking about marriage to Keith Richards. He may be right, since the Stones lasted for over sixty years, with ups and downs, periods of intense activity and long breaks. They have now reached their twenty-fourth album. Hackney Diamonds. It will be released on October 20th, and the single was expected today Wickedwritten by Jagger and Richards with album producer Andrew Watt.
With some emphasis, the Rolling Stones not only announced the release of a single and an album, but also the beginning of a “new era.” They didn’t explain what that meant or who was making them do it in 80 (Jagger), 79 (Richards) and 76 (Wood), nor did they say if there would be a tour. Prompted by Fallon live on YouTube, they provided some information about the album to journalists, influencers and professionals from around the world. There’s a local and global dimension, the Hackney area and the presence of a TV superstar on stage imitating Jagger, who stands up and cheerfully reacts: “I don’t say that.” In short, the group’s first press conference is a long way off: “At that time,” Jagger recalls, “two journalists arrived, one of Melody Creator one of NME. We gave him a pint of beer and said: this is a record.”
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
at the Hackney Diamonds presentation. Photo: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock
The Hackney Empire in London, an early twentieth-century theater that hosted Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland and many others, was chosen because it is located in the Hackney area, as evidenced by the album’s title, which Jagger explains is a slang expression , evoking “something like a broken car windshield on a Saturday night” (Richards says they were thinking of “titles like Hit and run, Smash and Capture“). Despite the image, reminiscent of petty crime, and despite the title of the first single Wicked, this is not an angry album. “The original idea was to make an album with the theme of anger, where every song would be angry,” the singer said. But, Richards added, “you can’t be angry all the time.” The result was “a mix of strong songs, love songs, ballads and a little country.”
“We were pretty lazy,” Jagger says of the 18 years between them. Hackney Diamonds from the latest album of unreleased songs Big Bang. “But you make a record when you really believe in it.” So, the three set a plan to start working on the album by Christmas 2022 and then finish it by Valentine’s Day. 23 songs were released, completed in January 2023, mixed in February. “We did it very quickly,” Ron Wood said. After all, to quote Richards, when a singer like Jagger says he wants to make a record, you do it because you never know when it will happen again. “Good to know,” Jagger comments.
News for fans is that in the song Live by the swordthere’s a vintage band with Jagger, Richards, Wood, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, the latter on a 2019 recording. Watts is also featured in Mess it up, Steve Jordan plays the remaining pieces. “Of course it’s different now that Charlie has left, he was number four, we miss him incredibly,” Richards said. “The recommendation was to take Steve Jordan if anything happened to him. It was a natural progression.”
Presenting the tracklist, Keith limited himself to laconic “cute riffs” and the phrase “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (about Tell me straightT). “When we make a record, we don’t think about how the fans will react, but we keep our fingers crossed.” They certainly thought about exploits. This is confirmed, despite the fact that it was not officially announced that in Hackney Diamonds also present are Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga (in Sweet sounds of heaven) and Stevie Wonder.
The presentation ends with a standing ovation from all three and a video showing. Wicked in which Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, White Lotus, sitting front row at Empire) drives around the Sunset Strip as billboards of the Stones from different eras come to life, singing and playing a new single. It’s the old Stones playing the new ones, it’s the Stones of the last 60 years who are inside the history of the 2023 Stones. This isn’t just a narrative gimmick, it’s also the sign of a band that has more or less spent its energy. life doing the same thing, playing the same music, not caring about the need for change. In a way, it’s a rock ‘n’ roll anthem about being yourself when you’re so damn cool.