The Rolling Stones are close to completing the follow-up to ‘Hackney Diamonds’.
Sir Mick Jagger and co. will release their first studio album of new material since 2005’s ‘A Bigger Bang’ on October 20, but they’ve been having so much fun in the studio that they’re almost done with another record.
Speaking on the Canadian podcast ‘Q with Tom Power’, Mick said: “This is not going to be the last album. We are two thirds of the way through the next one.
Mick, 80, also revealed that the band`s collaboration with former rival Sir Paul McCartney, 81, was a surprise.
He shared: “Paul was in LA when we were recording and he was supposed to work with Andy for a week.
“Andy had said, ‘I’m working on this record and I’m going to be on it for six months if I do nothing else.
“Andy said, ‘Why don’t we get Paul to come in? We suggested he play on this song and he really rocked it. We were all in the same room together.
“It seemed so natural and Paul was so relaxed and enjoying it. John [Lennon] was a close friend of mine and he was so sharp.
“Paul is a different personality. We don’t see each other that much, but we text.”
Late drummer and original member Charlie Watts – who died of cancer in August 2021 at the age of 80 – appears on two tracks of the new album, with replacement Steve Jordan playing on the other 10.
On ‘Live By The Sword’, the trio – which also includes Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – are joined by both Charlie and former bassist Bill Wyman, reuniting the original Rolling Stones rhythm section. Mess It Up” is the second song featuring Charlie.
Speaking about how Charlie’s absence has affected the band, guitarist Keith, 79, said at a special event at the Hackney Empire in London hosted by Jimmy Fallon earlier this month: “Since Charlie’s gone it’s different, of course he’s number four, he’s missed. Of course he’s missed, unbelievably. But thanks to Charlie Watts we have Steve Jordan – who was Charlie’s recommendation if anything happened to him, Steve Jordan is your man.
“It would have been a lot harder without Charlie’s blessing.
As for Charlie’s musical contribution, Mick added: “There are 12 tracks on the album. Most of them are with Steve, but two of them are tracks that we recorded with Charlie in 2019. We used two of the tracks that we had previously recorded with Charlie.
“Bill played on one track, so we have the original Rolling Stones rhythm section on one track.”
Ronnie, 76, also confirmed that Lady Gaga will make an appearance on the album, singing a duet with Mick on ‘Sweet Sound Of Heaven’.
Stevie Wonder is also rumored to be on the album.
To date, the lead single ‘Angry’ is out.
