Time's Ticking: The Rolling Stones Set Timer for New Album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ Launch

The countdown is on! The Rolling Stones' official website and its offshoot entitled Hackney Diamonds have been teasing that new music is coming soon.

It all started earlier in August when fake ads placed in the Hackney Gazette announced a glass repair shop opening, with not-so-subtle references to Stones songs, including "Satisfaction," "Gimme Shelter" and "Shattered." Hackney is a borough located approximately 5 miles from the center of London.

Rolling Stones fans have been eagerly waiting September 6 — the day the new album Hackney Diamonds is set to drop. But according to their official website, there may be something else brewing.

In the past 24 hours, the Stones' social media channels have begun sharing images from landmarks across the world emblazoned with the iconic licking tongue logo.

The ubiquitous appearance and use of the logo does signal that the Stones are close to the album launch, a tour or both. But something's coming soon. There's a ticking clock on both websites that will expire on Wednesday, September 6 at 2:30 pm. Any further information is clouded in secrecy.

However, a search of the performing rights organization ASCAP's database suggests a list of songs ascribed to one Michael Philip Jagger and Keith Richards:

'Angry'

'Bite my Head Off'

'Depending on You'

'Dreamy Skies'

'Driving Me Too Hard'

'Get Close'

'Live by the Sword'

'Mess It Up'

'Morning Joe Cues'

'Sweet Sounds of Heaven'

'Tell me Straight'

'Whole Wide World'

"Angry," "Depending On You," and "Get Close" also credit Andrew Watt, the 2021 Grammy Producer of the Year who has worked with Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Hackney Diamonds will feature the Stones' current line-up — Jagger, Richards, Ronnie Wood, Darryl Jones (the band's bassist since the 1993 departure of Bill Wyman) and Steve Jordan, who has played with Richards since the '80s and took over drumming duties after the death of Charlie Watts in 2021. A guest appearance by Wyman has been confirmed by the band.

What generated a truckload of press prior to this "official" announcement was the news that former Beatle Paul McCartney would contribute his bass playing to the album and that Watts had already begun recording prior to his death.

In an interview with The Sun in October 2022, Wood confirmed they were working on an album, revealing that "we are recording the new album now and we are going to L.A. in a few weeks to carry it on and finish it off. Charlie is on some of the tracks and drummer Steve Jordan."

Hackney Diamonds, scheduled for release on September 6 will be the first album of original material from the band since 2005's A Bigger Bang.