One of the peerless founding bands of British rock music, The Rolling Stones formed in London in 1962, enjoying a career spanning 7 decades, 24 studio albums, and thousands of sold-out shows. The Stones lineup since 2021 consists of frontman Mick Jagger plus guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood – the band had been active since 1993 as a four-piece with Charlie Watts on drums before his death, but released 2023’s ‘Hackney Diamonds’ as a trio using some of Watts’ recordings. ‘Hackney Diamonds’ was their first full studio album since 2005, becoming their 14th UK number one album and winning them their fourth Grammy award.

Rumours of an album began earlier this year with the mystery emergence of ‘The Cockroaches’, a new group who released single ‘Rough and Twisted’ exclusively on a limited vinyl run this April. From snippets of the song posted during its social media campaign, the band was swiftly revealed to be The Rolling Stones acting under an alias, with the single being positively received as another strong release from the group. During the furore The Times reported that ‘Rough and Twisted’ was taken from their new album, which was due for a July release.

Their next promotional move was the plastering of cryptic messages on billboards in cities around the world, containing the phrase “foreign tongues” in various languages. As this unfolded in late April, fans quickly identified that it was the name of the new Stones album, before the band themselves confirmed everything on the 5th of May with the release of lead single ‘In The Stars’.

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‘Foreign Tongues’ will release on the 10th of July, boasting 14 tracks with appearances from Sir Paul McCartney, Robert Smith of The Cure, drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chilli Peppers fame, and Steve Winwood. As well as singles ‘In The Stars’ and the full release of ‘Rough and Twisted’, the LP will also feature one of the last tracks recorded by Watts, ‘Hit Me In The Head’, and country song ‘Ringing Hollow’. The whole album was completed at London’s Metropolis Studios in less than a month, and was developed with returning producer Andrew Watt, who previously worked with the band on ‘Hackney Diamonds’.

Following the announcement, the trio were guests on Conan O’Brien’s US talk show to discuss the album. Reported by The Guardian, Jagger discussed the diversity of music on the record, saying “The thing about this record is – the Stones are a rock band that also has the capacity to do ballads, country music or dance music. So we don’t get stuck in one kind of style.” They also talked about their desire to keep things interesting so deep into their careers, with Richards remarking “You don’t just want to sit on what you’ve done before. We put it together, we love to do it, and there is always something more in there.” Host O’Brien enthused that the album, which he claims to have received early and listened to “25 times”, bore similarity to 1972’s iconic ‘Exile on Main St.’ in its “vibrancy” and “urgency”.

‘Rough and Twisted’ and ‘In The Stars’ are out now, with a physical release for the latter coming on the 15th of May. ‘Foreign Tongues’ releases on Polydor and Geffen on the 10th of July, with pre-order links up now. The Rolling Stones have suggested that this won’t be their last album, and they have at least 10 songs written for a future release.

The legendary guitarist of The Rolling Stones was recently speaking at a Q&A alongside The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Yungblud, in an event marking the launch of the new book Buddy Holly: Words Of Love.

Speaking to those in attendance, Wood raised concerns over the growing reliance on technology, especially AI, in creating music. This has become a contentious talking point within the arts world as AI becomes more prominent.

The ‘Gimme Shelter’ musician can’t seem to get no satisfaction regarding how music is created today compared to back in his day, saying: “We were throwing shit at the wall and some of it stuck.

“There’s something about the technology… I feel personally, we’re losing the heartbeat. Maybe it’s because I’m older, but there’s not much new music.”

The Rolling Stones recently won the Grammy Award for ‘Best Rock Album’ with ‘Hackney Diamonds’, beating off competition from exciting and young bands such as Fontaines DC and IDLES.

This garnered lots of criticism from within the music world, but producer of the award winning album, Andrew Watt, offered his support to the band, appearing on the podcast Rolling Stone’s Music Now, he said: “They’re 82 and 83 years old. Tell me another band ever in history that has made a latter-day album that good in their 80s, with that level of songwriting, that level of performance?”

Yungblud offered an alternative perspective to the future of rock music at the Q&A event, saying: “Modern music’s been in a strange place, but it’s exciting because it’s really, I feel it’s very democratic again.

“If you have a story to tell, you can tell it and tell it to the world. You don’t have to go through seven steps.

“The balance has never changed. I think that’s what’s really cool about rock music at the minute, and modern rock and roll music, I really feel like it’s finding it’s bounce back, and it’s becoming hysterical again and it’s exciting. It’s becoming younger again. That’s really cool.”

Last month, the Doncaster born singer-songwriter released his newest single, ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’, check out what mxdwn.co.uk had to say about it here.

Ronnie Wood, Yungblud and Roger Daltrey were promoting the new hardback copy of Buddy Holly: Words Of Love. Hitting shelves on April 8, the book documents the career and legacy of original rock ’n’ roller Buddy Holly.

It will include stories from those close to him as well as never-before-seen photography and personal items. The ‘Peggy Sue’ singer left a heavy mark on the world in his short time, being known as one of the most influential musicians ever.

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He was killed in a plane crash at just 22 years of age alongside fellow musicians ‘The Big Bopper’ J.P. Richardson and 17 year-old Ritchie Valens, in what later became known as ‘The Day the Music Died.’

The hardback book will be available in stores with a RRP of £60, with proceeds from the sales benefitting Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

Ronnie Wood is neither the first nor the last musician to speak out against AI. Back in February, over 1,000 artists, including Damon Albarn and Kate Bush, released a silent album to protest against a planned change to AI copyright laws by the UK government. Check out what we had to say about it here on mxdwn.co.uk.

Stewart and Wood first worked together in 1967 as part of the Jeff Beck group. They would record two albums with the group before departing in 1969, and later being known as the first lineup of the band. Wood joined The Small Faces, and was followed by Stewart, renaming the band ‘Faces’.

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With Faces, Stewart and Wood released four studio albums, achieving a UK number one album with ‘Ohh-La-La’. Tension would arise as Stewart’s solo career grew, with the musicians feeling like they were simply his backing band. Wood’s increased involvement with fellow rockers The Rolling Stones only added fuel to the fire, and the band broke up in 1975.  

Despite these two breakups, Stewart and Wood have maintained a close friendship, reuniting as part of Faces multiple times, including as recently as 2021. Kenney Jones, the band’s original drummer, is still an active member of the group, and could possibly complete a Faces lineup at Glasto.

Wood headlined Glastonbury in 2013 as part of The Rolling Stones, who were appearing for the very first time at the festival. Tickets for that year’s event sold out in less than 90 minutes and The Stones’ set drew an audience of 2.6 million on a BBC Two broadcast.  

Wood was asked about a potential return to the festival in 2023, telling the NME, “Me, I’d love it. I think it’s a must. If not next year, then… If not the Stones then the Faces. It’ll be me, Rod [Stewart] and [drummer] Kenney [Jones]. That’s not out of the question, you know. I know they want to do it…”

Rod Stewart turns 80 years old today. This is one of his legendary performances. Rod Stewart & Ronnie Wood – Maggie May (Unplugged 1993) pic.twitter.com/wNHZ5prW19 — Rock History (@historyrock_) January 10, 2025

According to an article in The Sun, a festival source has said: “Rod is really excited about his big Worthy Farm gig and wanted to give a nod to the beginning of his career, so thought it would be fitting to bring out Ronnie. He knows the pair of them together will be a huge crowd pleaser.” 

The Legends slot has become one of Glastonbury’s most popular performances, bringing musical icons to the fields of Somerset. Some of those to grace the stage have included the genius behind The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson (2005), national treasure Tom Jones (2009), and the Queen of Disco, Diana Ross (2022). Upon the announcement of Stewart’s slot, some festival-goers questioned if the ‘Young Turks’ singer was a big enough draw. Glastonbury may also be the frontman’s last major show after he suggested he would be moving to more intimate shows from next year.

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Stewart’s most recent performance has shown that ‘Rod the Mod’ is still in fine form. His appearance at the FireAid benefit concert in Los Angeles saw him sing ‘Maggie May’ and a cover of The Impressions’ ‘People Get Ready’, a song he recorded with Jeff Beck in 1985.

With Wood joining the bill, fans may see plenty of classic Faces hits being performed, but regardless of the setlist, the reunion will be one of the highlights of this year’s festival, and the wider UK festival calendar. Stewart has 17 dates across North America and Europe between now and 29 June, giving him plenty of time to warm up before taking to the Pyramid Stage.

The Stone’s new album released after teasing the idea, comes almost two decades after their last album was released back in 2005, and their first since the death of Charlie Watts.

Mick said, “Most are Steve, but two are tracks we recorded in 2019 with Charlie and so we, er, we used two of the tracks we recorded with Charlie before.” Ronnie Wood then picked up from that and confirmed the name of both singles, he said “Live By The Sword” and “Mess it up.”

Fans will have to patiently wait until October 20 when the album is officially released. You can access the Rolling Stones web page and pre-order the album now.

Charlie Watts previously proclaimed as the greatest drummer of his generation, sadly died in 2021; however, the reason behind his death has never been disclosed. Charlie was previously diagnosed in 2004 with throat cancer but was in remission in 2005.

Keith Richards recalls and tells Jimmy during their press conference that Charlie had recommended Steve Jordan. “Thanks to Charlie Watts also we have Steve Jordan, who was Charlie’s recommendation, If anything should happen to him, Steve Jordan’s your man.”

Charlie Watts, appearing on two tracks from the new album, wasn’t the only surprise that the Rolling Stones had up their sleeve for their comeback release.

The first long-awaited new single off the album, to be released, is entitled Angry. The band reunited with host Jimmy Fallon in Hackney London on September 6, to premier their iconic new music video.

At the conclusion of the premiere, Jimmy Fallon had another special guest, Sydney Sweeney, the star of the Rolling Stones’ new music video. Famous for her acting performances in ‘Euphoria’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ and, most recently, ‘Reality’.

In the video, Sweeney is being driven down Los Angeles Boulevard, in a Stones-branded convertible, passing billboards of the Rolling Stones through the decades. She is seen enjoying the open top, lip-syncing to the lyrics, and playing air guitar.

After the Rolling Stones leave the stage, Jimmy steps down to the front row, where Sydney Sweeney and her Mum, Lisa, are sitting. Jimmy asks Sydney “What goes through your brain when you get asked to do a Rolling Stones video?” Sydney replies with, “Oh gosh, Freaked out, called my family and brought my mum.”, Sydney then turns to the seat behind her, where her mum is sitting.

Jimmy, turns and says to Lisa, “Hi mom, You’ve gotta be very proud of your daughter.” With a beaming smile on her face, she nods and says, “Very proud.”

Fallon asks “Have you done a video before?”.  Although Sydney has appeared in one other music video, she goes on to add, “But nothing like this” and “This is the biggest thing ever.”

September 20, Rolling Stones, new album, Hackney Diamonds featuring Charlie Watts, and it is clear, that his contributions to the band over the past 58 years and talent as a drummer will be sorely missed on tour and from the recording studio.

The Stones just keep on rolling! We are thrilled to announce the Rolling Stones 2022 Tour! Titled SIXTY to celebrate 60 special years together-Mick, Keith & Ronnie will be playing dates across Europe this summer including 2 shows at London’s BST Hyde Park:https://t.co/cimRWrDl07 pic.twitter.com/qQDZfDc96K

— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) March 14, 2022

The band’s lineup for this string of dates will remain consistent to their last tour, ‘No Filter’ that concluded last year. That means that original members – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood – will still be taking to the stage, but after the unfortunate passing of the band’s drummer Charlie Watts last August, his position has been covered by Steve Jordan. It seems that Jordan is here to stay too, after an interview with Keith Richards on guitar.com confirmed that the band are actually working on new music together. “It’ll be interesting to find out the dynamics now that Steve’s in the band,” Richards claimed. “It’s sort of metamorphosing into something else.”. He went on to add, “We came up with some, eight or nine new pieces of material. Which is overwhelming by our standards, other times, [writing songs] is like a desert.” Perhaps the anniversary tour will reveal a few new gems? Let’s wait and see.

In celebration of the special dates, award-winning British designer Mark Norton has taken the classic Stones tongue logo and reworked it into something ultimately more psychedelic. The same shape and outline have been maintained, but instead of the classic red colour, a more colourful approach has been taken with lots of pinks and oranges surrounding a floaty blue pattern. After being designed in 1970 by John Pasche, the logo has become synonymous with the band, the classic logo will probably always remain. But the limited-edition merch that will inevitably get sold on the tour could come with this funky new look.

As mentioned before, so far there are only 3 UK dates on the tour. 2 at BST Hyde Park, and one date at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. See below the dates for the UK dates:

9/6/22 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
25/6 – BST Hyde Park – London
3/7 – BST Hyde Park – London

Despite having a combined age of 229, that’s just the 3 of them by the way, Jagger believes that he, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards will keep touring for as long as they remain fit, well, and continue to love being on the road. Jagger even added that he is “sure we’ll do shows.”. With this in mind, the beginnings of the band without core member Charlie Watts were tough on Richards, he stated “’I can’t pick this up without Charlie.’. But later the apprehension of playing without his old friend was ironed out as Richards and Jordan locked themselves in as “Once Steve and I got into it: ‘Hey, this is the way it’s supposed to be.”. The band have since done 10 shows together, with another 4 confirmed including a show in Detroit tonight.

The No Filter tour has motored in to Detroit! Tonight the Stones play @fordfield Stadium, we’ll see you there! pic.twitter.com/eiyZ9yQvbd

— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) November 15, 2021

With such an immense position to fill, The Stones began to reflect on just how well Jordan fits into the band. Not as a replacement, but as a respectful ode to Watts. “From a musical point of view, it’s incredibly energetic and wonderfully inspiring.”. As well as revealing just how daunting it can be to join a band in such a high calibre position, “Steve is so aware of the seat he’s sitting in.”, “[he] said to me: ‘Charlie played the drums. He didn’t hit them.’”.

Prior to Jordan’s involvement, Richards also confessed his worries about the future of the band, stating, “Charlie Watts was my bed. I could lay on there and know that not only would I have a good sleep, but I’d wake up and it’d still be rocking.” Adding, “It was something I’ve had since I was 19. I never doubted it. I never even thought about it. Only now am I thinking about it.”.

As well as touring, the band are also re-releasing a 40th-anniversary version of their 1981 album Tattoo You.  The package also contains a bonus disc, with a 26 song live show recorded at Wembley Stadium in 1982.

The 40^th anniversary re-issue of the album features nine additional tracks on top of the eleven original songs, including an alternate version of “Start Me Up” and a cover of R&B group Chi-Lites’ “Trouble’s a’ Comin”. Another bonus disc on the album includes a 26-song live album entitled Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982, which is a recording of a show from the Tattoo You tour. The album is available on all streaming services, and physical media can be found here.

Most excitingly, the album features a previously unheard track entitled “Come To The Ball”; a swaggering, danceable tune packed with attitude, introduced by a razor-sharp earworm riff by Keith Richards. The song was produced by Jimmy Miller, who had previously worked with The Rolling Stones on albums such as Let It Bleed and Exile on Main St. You can listen to the song at the YouTube link below.

The original Tattoo You is made up almost entirely of outtakes from previous studio albums from the ‘70s. The album also features one of the group’s biggest songs, “Start Me Up”. The album was considered a critical and commercial success for The Rolling Stones, however it was the result of numerous difficulties, namely the band facing touring obligations and personal feuds (particularly between Jagger and Richards) that prevented them from arranging recording sessions for a follow up to their 1980 album Emotional Rescue. A few songs were released as they were, but the majority of the album consisted of half-finished songs that the members would come in to work on when they were available to do so.

In other recent news concerning The Rolling Stones, the band are presently on tour in the United States on the No Filter tour, A North American/European tour which has been ongoing since its commencement in Hamburg on the 9^th of September 2017. As with many tours at this current time, it was originally supposed to reach its end in 2020, however this was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. No Filter officially resumed on the 20^th of September 2021, a date which not only marked the band’s first time on tour since August 2019, but their first time out on the road without their late drummer Charlie Watts. More information on the tour can be found here.

The tracklist for the second CD on the re-issue Lost & Found: Rarities is listed below.

1). ‘Living In The Heart Of Love’
2). ‘Fiji Jim’
3). ‘Troubles A’ Comin’ (Chi-Lites)
4). ‘Shame Shame Shame’ (Jimmy Reed)
5). ‘Drift Away’ (Dobie Gray)
6). ‘It’s A Lie’
7). ‘Come To The Ball’
8). ‘Fast Talking Slow Walking’
9). ‘Start Me Up’ (Early Version)

The band has been unofficially broken up since their initial split in 1975 after 6 years together. Ronnie Wood joined the group along with members from other bands during their early formation. Wood, also a member of The Rolling Stones since 1975, has revealed to The Sunday Times that the Faces have been working on new music along with new music with fellow Rolling Stone Mick Jagger. “I saw Mick [Jagger] here last week and Rod [Stewart] and Kenney [Jones] were here yesterday. Me and Mick have done nine new tracks for the [40th anniversary] re-release of ‘Tattoo You’. And me, Rod and Kenney have been recording some new Faces music. I’ve had a front-row seat on some amazing rock’n’roll projects these past couple of weeks.”

Faces were not just a supergroup but a collection of the era’s most talented musicians and songwriters. The group was formed in 1969 by the majority of the members from the 60’s rock band Small Faces famed for their era-defining tracks, ‘Itchycoo Park’ and ‘Lazy Sunday’. The group’s split was due to lead singer Steve Marriott departure to join Humble Pit.  The breakup led to the formation of Faces made up of the original lineup, Ronnie Lane on bass and vocals, Ian McLagen on keyboards and drummer and percussionist Kenney jones. The trio was then joined by members from the Jeff Beck Group, Ronnie Wood on guitar and lead vocalist Sir Rod Stewart, many will remember Stewart from his 1978 single ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’. But before his spandex-wearing days, Stewart was known for his gravelly vocals on Faces tracks such as the 1973 single ‘Ooh La La’.

Sir Rod Stewart has revealed what bonded himself and Wood together as friends and bandmates, the singer has stated that it was their noses and passion for fashion that propelled the friendship. “We introduced each other. I said, ”Ello Nose’ and he said, ”Ello Nose’. We both had big noses. I think what brought us together was our sense of clothing – we both liked style – and our unique sense of humour. That’s bonded us together over the years.”

However, during the recording of their final studio album ‘Ooh La La’, the band began to fall apart. One of the founding members, Lane decided to leave the group as he felt he was being pushed aside within the band’s hierarchy. The group replaced Lane with Tetsu Yamauchi as their bassist and continued with the new lineup. During the band’s last two years, they embarked on a yearlong tour and released the live album ‘Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners’ released 10th January 1974 recorded on 17th October 1973 during a live show in California at Anaheim Arena. Further line-up changes would proceed to occur, Wood had released a couple of solo albums during this time and began to drift towards The Rolling Stone and went on tour with them in 1975. Wood had a fleeting replacement, Jesse Ed Davis, before the group’s eventual breakup.

The group have reunited several times after their breakup, in the late 1970s the group played together again but unfortunately without Lane due to the musician’s illness which forced him to retire in 1997. Lane would tragically die on 4th June 1997 due to pneumonia, whilst in the final stages of multiple sclerosis. Between the years 2010 and 2011 the surviving members went on a reunion tour with an altered lineup, Mick Hucknall from Simply Red on vocals and Glen Matlock playing bass and vocals. In 2012 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted both Faces and Small Faces, Hucknall replaced Stewart within the performance due to illness, Lane was also posthumously inducted. The group reunited again in 2015 for a charity event, the line-up consisted of original members Sir Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones. More recently, the group appeared at the 2020 Brit Awards as part of the closing performance, unfortunately, the group would not be joined by McLagen who tragically died on 3rd December 2014.

74-year-old musician, Wood, has been very busy so far this year, he is also working with fellow musician Mick Taylor on a new album. The musical pair have been recording a tribute album to Jimmy Reed, a Blues legend famed for his influential style. Wood spoke to The Sunday Times concerning his unique work ethic. “I go through art phases when music is secondary, but right now I really want to get out there and play.”

Imelda spoke about the meaning of the seductive rock track on her Instagram saying; “That moment you know it can go either way. The sharp notion if you succumb you might just lose control. The split second decision you know might change everything with Just One Kiss. Could you resist?”

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11 Past The Hour is Imelda’s sixth studio album. The album will feature collaborations from Noel Gallagher, Ronnie Wood and Miles Kane and also feminist thinkers and activists Gina Martin and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu. The album was written with co-producer Time Bran and string arranger Davide Rossi.

Speaking about the album, Imelda said; “I always write with meaning and from my heart as that’s the reason I write, to connect with my own story at each particular moment and I hope therefore I connect with others during theirs, even if just for a while,” she said. “I’d like to think I can put into words and music what we all feel sometimes. We all laugh, sing, love, cry, dance, kiss, care. We all experience lust, anger, joy, worry, sorrow and hope.”

“Sometimes we stay silent and hold it all in and sometimes we dance and throw it all to the wind with abandon, but one thing is for sure is we are in this life together. Each song is a moment in my life. Each life is a moment in time. Every minute counts.”

11 Past The Hour will be out on April 23rd. Just One Kiss is out now on all platforms, the music video is down below.