Rolling Stones top charts with new album

Ronnie Wood, left, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards at the launch of the new Rolling Stones album ‘Hackney Diamonds’. (Photo: Scott Garfitt/AP)

The Rolling Stones’ first album of original material since 2005 has claimed the number one spot in this week’s UK and Australian charts.

The Rolling Stones has topped the British music charts securing their 14th UK No.1 album with new record “Hackney Diamonds”.

Rockers Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, who released the record last week, outsold the rest of the top five of the Official Albums Chart, the Official Charts Company said in a statement.

The band, which formed in 1962, join The Beatles, Robbie Williams and Bruce Springsteen as acts with the most studio albums – 11 – to reach No.1 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart, it added.

“Hackney Diamonds”, the Stones’ first album of original material since 2005 and the first recording since drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021, also topped the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.

The album also topped charts in Australia and Germany.

Critically-acclaimed “Hackney Diamonds”,  a title that refers to broken glass after a robbery, features collaborations with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga. Former Stones bass player Bill Wyman joins the rhythm section along with drummer Steve Jordan.

Jagger, 80, and guitarists Richards, 79, and Wood, 76, recorded the 12-track album in London, New York, Los Angeles and Nassau. Watts features on two songs.

The Stones have had eight number-one singles in the UK including “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “Paint It Black” and “Honky Tonk Women”.

First published at Canberra City News, via AAP, October 29, 2023