Hitting Number 1 in 19 countries on release, Hackney Diamonds marked the return of The Rolling Stones as their first original studio album since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. The album includes the GRAMMY nominated lead single Angry alongside Sweet Sounds of Heaven featuring vocals from Lady Gaga and keys & piano from Stevie Wonder. Late drummer Charlie Watts features on two tracks, ‘Mess It Up’ and ‘Live By The Sword’ alongside Bill Wyman. The album also includes collaborations with Paul McCartney & Elton John. On 15 December 2023, The Rolling Stones released via Polydor an expanded live edition of Hackney Diamonds. The limited edition 2CD version includes the standard album on CD 1 paired with Live at Racket, NYC on CD 2 which features the seven tracks the band performed at the launch event on 19 October 2023 at the Racket in New York, including debut live performances of "Angry", "Bite My Head Off", "Whole Wide World" and "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" (the latter song with Lady Gaga). Also included is a 24-page booklet with photos from the performance by Kevin Mazur.
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano). Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985…
Heavily bootlegged over the years, the Rolling Stones' BBC sessions from the '60s didn't see official release until 2017, when Universal put out On Air as both a single-disc and double-disc set. The Stones first entered a BBC studio in October 1963 when they were peddling their debut single, "Come On," and their last session arrived in September 1965, just after releasing "Get Off of My Cloud" as the sequel to the smash "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." During these three years, the Stones racked up several number one hits in the U.K., but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards didn't start writing in earnest until 1965, which means On Air winds up drawing a portrait of the Stones as a working covers band…