THE ROLLING STONES' 'Hackney Diamonds' Tops U.K. Album Chart

This week, THE ROLLING STONES achieved a significant milestone by claiming their 14th Number 1 album in the United Kingdom with "Hackney Diamonds", outperforming all other albums in the Top 5 in terms of sales.

In its first week, "Hackney Diamonds" amassed an impressive 72,200 chart units, making it the third highest-selling album of 2023 so far.

With 11 different studio albums reaching the top spot, THE ROLLING STONES have now tied with THE BEATLES, Robbie Williams and Bruce Springsteen, all of whom also have 11 studio albums that reached Number 1 on the U.K.'s Official Albums Chart.

Additionally, "Hackney Diamonds" has claimed the top position on this week's Official Vinyl Albums Chart, marking the album with the highest number of copies sold in the vinyl format over the past seven days, and making it the biggest week for vinyl sales of any album this year.

The 12-track album, was recorded in various locations around the world, including Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles; Metropolis Studios, London; Sanctuary Studios, Nassau, Bahamas; Electric Lady Studios, New York; and The Hit Factory/Germano Studios, also in New York.

"Hackney Diamonds" album opener, the recently released single "Angry", is followed by a further 11 tracks. Late drummer Charlie Watts features on two tracks, "Mess It Up" and "Live By The Sword". "Live By The Sword" additionally features bass from former STONES bassist Bill Wyman. "Bite My Head Off" has bass from Paul McCartney, and "Get Close" and "Live By The Sword" feature piano from Elton John.

Last month, THE STONES launched the album at a globally livestreamed event from Hackney Empire in East London. The livestream was followed by the premiere of the video for "Angry" starring Emmy-nominated actress Sydney Sweeney ("The White Lotus", "Euphoria", "The Handmaid's Tale"),which to date has had over 20 million views.

"Hackney Diamonds" is THE STONES' first studio set of new material since 2005's "A Bigger Bang". Since then, THE STONES have continued to smash box office records for fun on a series of global sellout tours and released 2016's Grammy Award-winning "Blue & Lonesome", which featured their brilliant versions of many of the blues tracks that helped shape their sound, and topped album charts around the world. Last year, they thrilled European audiences totaling nearly a quarter of a million on the anniversary "Sixty" tour.

"Hackney Diamonds" marks THE ROLLING STONES' first collaboration with New York-born producer and musician Andrew Watt, who was named "Producer Of The Year" at the 2021 Grammy Awards and has worked with Post Malone, Iggy Pop and Elton John.

The bespoke artwork for "Hackney Diamonds" is by digital animator Paulina Almira.

THE ROLLING STONES' new LP is the first since Watts died in 2021.

THE ROLLING STONES released a new track, "Living In A Ghost Town", in 2020.

In 2016, the band released "Blue & Lonesome", a covers collection paying tribute to old-school blues.

Photo credit: Mark Seliger