The Rolling Stones
Bill Wyman, the longtime bassist of The Rolling Stones, has reflected on the passing of his former bandmate Charlie Watts, noting his 2021 passing would’ve been a perfect stopping point for the band.
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Wyman, who succeeded Dick Taylor as the group’s bassist, performed as part of The Rolling Stones’ first stable lineup in 1962, remaining with the band for over 30 years until his departure in 1993. Watts would join the group officially as their drummer in 1963, a role he held until his death in 2021 at the age of 80.
In a new interview with Classic Rock, Wyman looked back at his time in the band and his eventual departure, noting that while Mick Jagger and Watts attempted to get him to stay in the band, his desires for other projects outweighed the prospects of the band. Wyman also added that while he viewed himself as a replaceable member, he felt that the group’s demise would have coincided with the death of Watts.
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“When Charlie left, I thought they would close. I really did,” he explained. “They could replace the bass, but I didn’t think they could replace Charlie, and his charisma, and what a great guy he was, but they went on, which surprised me. I wouldn’t say it disappointed me, but it surprised me.
“I think it would’ve been a good time for them to… But I don’t think they’ve got anything else to do, otherwise they’d do it, wouldn’t they?” he asked.
“I’ve got six different things I’m doing all the time, and I’m so happy doing them, but I don’t think they… Well, Ronnie’s got art, as a second thing… And Mick’s tried to do movies and things but hasn’t really succeeded, and he’s done solo stuff which really didn’t work as well as it should’ve done either. And so they just… It’s just the Stones all the time.”
Prior to Watts’ 2021 passing, The Rolling Stones had last released a new album in 2016, with covers collection Blue & Lonesome following on from 2005’s A Bigger Bang. In 2023, the group returned with their first record of new material in almost two decades, Hackney Diamonds.
While Watts’ drumming was felt on two tracks – “Mess It Up” and “Live by the Sword” – Wyman also made an appearance on the record, performing bass on the latter. Despite having performed live with The Rolling Stones on a handful of occasions, it was his first time recording with the group since 1989.
Currently, Steve Jordan serves as the drummer of The Rolling Stones, having previously performed with Keith Richards‘ X-Pensive Winos when Watts had proved unavailable.
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The Rolling Stones are hitting the road for the Stones 2024 tour supporting their new album, Hackney Diamonds. The band will perform in 16 cities including Las Vegas, Houston, Seattle, Orlando, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. The 16-date tour launches in Houston on April 28, 2024 and ends in Santa Clara, Calif. on July 17, 2024.
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Pre-sale tickets went on sale on Nov. 29 and general admission passes went on sale on Dec. 1. Per to the Stones’ Instagram account, “A limited number of tickets will be sold at $39.50 plus service charges.”
How much are the cheapest tickets to the tour? From what we’ve found online, the cheapest tickets are priced as low $68+ at SeatGeek. Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats and StubHub’s prices start at approximately $78-$153 for the cheapest seats.
Some of the higher priced, general admission tickets will cost you around $300-$450. VIP tickets are priced at around $799 and up for standing room passes and upwards of $5,000-$7,000 for select dates. Vivid Seats offers ticketing deals available for select cities such as Philadelphia, Vancouver, Inglewood, Calif. and Foxborough, Mass. Want more deals? You can save $10 off $250+ at SeatGeek with code: BILLBOARD10 (offer valid on first purchase only).
Scheduled shows in Vancouver and the New Orleans Jazz fest are some of the faster selling tickets so if you’re interested in scoring passes, it’s best to act fast.
In honor of the tour, The Rolling Stones dropped a merch collection on Amazon comprised of T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and more. Shop tour merch here.
The Rolling Stones become the first act with newly-charted top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now the ‘20s. The band’s new studio album, Hackney Diamonds, debuts at No. 3 on the chart dated Nov. 4. It’s the group’s first album of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang (which also debuted, and peaked, at No. 3).
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The new Nov. 4-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 31.
Additionally, The Rolling Stones extend its record for the most top 10 albums, overall, among all artists in the Billboard 200’s history, which dates back to March 1956 (when the tally began publishing on a regular, weekly basis), as Hackney Diamonds marks the act’s 38th top 10-charting set. Barbra Streisand has the second-most, with 34, while The Beatles and Frank Sinatra are tied with the third-most, each with 32.
Hackney Diamonds is The Rolling Stones’ first album since the death of their drummer, Charlie Watts, in 2021, which left the group a trio comprising Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Before his passing, Watts worked on the new project, and he appears on two of the album’s songs (“Mess It Up” and “Live by the Sword”). Former bandmember Bill Wyman also appears on “Sword,” playing bass guitar. The 12-song album also features contributions from Elton John, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, among others.
The Rolling Stones claimed their first top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with 12 x 5, which reached the top 10 dated Dec. 12, 1964 (climbing 11-3, its peak position). The Stones logged 13 top 10 albums in the 1960s (12 x 5; The Rolling Stones, Now!; Out of Our Heads; December’s Children [And Everybody’s]; Big Hits [High Tide and Green Grass]; Aftermath; Got Live If You Want It!; Between the Buttons; Flowers; Their Satanic Majesties Request; Beggars Banquet; Through the Past, Darkly [Big Hits Vol. 2] and Let It Bleed), 12 in the ‘70s (‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!,’ Sticky Fingers, Hot Rocks 1964-1971, Exile on Main St., More Hot Rocks [Big Hits & Fazed Cookies], Goats Head Soup, It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, Made in the Shade, Metamorphosis, Black and Blue, Love You Live and Some Girls), six in the ‘80s (Emotional Rescue, Tattoo You, ‘Still Life’ [American Concert 1981], Undercover, Dirty Work and Steel Wheels), three in the ‘90s (Voodoo Lounge, Stripped and Bridges to Babylon), two in the 2000s (Forty Licks and A Bigger Bang), one in the ‘10s (Blue & Lonesome) and now one, so far, in the ‘20s (Hackney Diamonds).
Of those 38 top 10s, nine have reached No. 1: Out of Our Heads, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St., Goats Head Soup, It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, Black and Blue, Some Girls, Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You.
Notably, one other act has newly-charted Billboard 200 top 10s in each decade from the ‘60s through the ‘10s: Barbra Streisand, who would match The Rolling Stones’ new achievement with a new top 10 of her own this decade.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Keurig and the legendary rock group The Rolling Stones have come together for a first of its kind collaboration — and […]
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