Lady Gaga and Mick Jagger duel onstage during Rolling Stones’ ‘Hackney Diamonds’ launch
Sweet sounds of Lady Gaga!
The “Shallow” singer joined the Rolling Stones onstage in New York on Thursday to mark the release of the legendary rock band’s new album, “Hackney Diamonds.” Gaga is featured on the group’s new single, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.” The singer took the stage in a sequined maroon pantsuit and belted out the song alongside the band’s core trio: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.
The Stones’ first album of originals in 18 years, and first since Charlie Watts died, is surprisingly spry, sparked by the deathless riffs of Keith and Ronnie.
Bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Steve Jordan accompanied the group at Manhattan’s Racket NYC club — a tiny and unexpected choice for one of the biggest and most enduring rock bands in the world to debut their first new album in 18 years.
“New York, the Rolling Stones!” Gaga said before leaving, exchanging kisses with Jagger and Richards, the Associated Press reported. “Take a bow!”
The Oscar winner, who came onto the small stage after watching the show from the wings all night, recited the lyrics to the shaggy, slow-building R&B epic with shrieking guest vocals. AP described her and Jagger’s duet as more of a duel and fan footage posted on X supported that assessment, highlighting the crackling back-and-forth between the generation-spanning superstars. Rolling Stone magazine said it “was an impossible moment to top,” with attendees fully aware that they had just witnessed a historic moment.
Gaga has previously performed with the band, joining Jagger, Richards, Wood and drummer Charlie Watts at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., back in December 2012.
Thursday night was a whole new vibe though.
As the 80-year-old Jagger swaggered onstage, he told the attendees that the band would “play some old, and we’re gonna play some new.” The three-time Grammy-winning act performed four songs from “Hackney Diamonds” as well as some of their classics. The band opened with their grimy 1978 hit “Shattered.” Then they played “Angry” and “Whole Wide World” in the first live performance of the songs from “Hackney Diamonds,” before adding “Tumbling Dice,” the Paul McCartney-featuring “Bite My Head Off” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger turns 80! Keith Richards wishes his ‘Glimmer twin’ a happy birthday: ‘Long may we keep saying this’
Stevie Wonder, who was a featured instrumentalist on “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” was not among the guests joining the band onstage. Alas, the iconic Beatle was not among the guests joining the rival band onstage either.
“They did just fine without him, playing the tune at a breakneck speed while Richards and Wood gleefully traded licks,” Rolling Stone magazine’s Andy Greene reported, adding, “There weren’t any signs of rust. Jagger was in pristine form.”
It was the Rolling Stones’ first live show in more than a year after their Sixty tour got off to a rocky start last summer. “Hackney Diamonds,” the veteran rock band’s 24th studio album, was announced in early September and released Friday. It’s the band’s first set of original songs since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang” and the band’s first LP since the death of founding drummer Watts in 2021.
Deejays Questlove and Samantha Urbani also played Thursday’s invitation-only gig, whose 650 attendees included comedians Trevor Noah, Chris Rock and Jimmy Fallon, actors Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, fellow musician Elvis Costello and a slew of music industry insiders and media, USA Today and Rolling Stone reported. The event was billed as an “album release party” that barred high-profile attendees from coming with “armed guards” or “personal security” and directed guests to “dress cool” because “it’s a party.”
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