Rolling Stones Announce ‘Hackney Diamonds,’ Their First Album of Original Music in Nearly Two Decades

The Rolling Stones announced Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original music for 18 years and first since the death of drummer Charlie Watts, at the Hackney Empire theatre in east London on Wednesday.

“We’re here to present our new single, which is called ‘Angry’, and the video of it, and ‘Angry’ is the first single from our new album, which is called Hackney Diamonds, which is why we are in Hackney, and which comes out on October 20,” frontman Mick Jagger, 80, told U.S. talk show Jimmy Fallon in a live stream broadcast.

Jagger, Keith Richards, 79, and Ronnie Wood, 76 — the surviving core of the 61-year-old band, all dressed in black — arrived at the theatre in a London taxi, with Jagger paying the fare in cash.

Music fans have been awaiting the announcement since a cryptic advertisement appeared in a local newspaper last month, with references to some of the Stones’ biggest tracks and the name of the new album.

The video for “Angry”, which features actress Sydney Sweeney, premiered at the event.

The album, whose title refers to broken glass after a robbery, will be the first since Watts’ death in August 2021. Watts, the Stones’ original drummer, plays on two of the album’s 12 tracks.

Jagger said it was “a mixture” of music, including love songs and ballads.

“I don’t want to be big-headed, but we wouldn’t have put this album out if we hadn’t really liked it,” he said.

“We didn’t want to make just any record and put it out… Before we went in we all said ‘We’ll go and make a record that we really love ourselves. Other people may like it, other people may not’ … But we’re pleased with it and we hope you all like it.”

The band worked with award-winning producer and musician Andrew Watt on the album, which was recorded in locations around the world including London, Los Angeles and Nassau.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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