'Not speaking too often': Mick Jagger on secret to successful partnership with Rolling Stones bandmate Keith Richards

Sir Mick Jagger has joked that the secret to his and Keith Richards' decades long partnership in The Rolling Stones is "not speaking too often".

The two rockers and their bandmate Ronnie Wood appeared at the historic Hackney Empire in London on Wednesday (Sept 6) to announce the release of their new album Hackney Diamonds, their first studio LP for 18 years.

During the special event, which was hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the trio answered questions submitted by fans.

Sharing a question submitted by Brando in California, Fallon, 48, said: "Keith and Mick have been together longer than me and my wife, what's the secret to a happy marriage?"

Keith, 79, reacted by saying: "Why don't they tell us!"

This prompted Mick, 80, to quip: "Not speaking too often!"

Guitarist Keith then joked that the true secret to their long-standing friendship was knowing "how to say shut up politely".

Mick and Keith became childhood friends and classmates in 1950 and after being estranged for several years a chance meeting at a train station led to them forming a band in 1961 which eventually became The Rolling Stones.

During the group's conversation with Fallon, the iconic singer addressed the almost two-decade gap between studio albums, insisting they had been busy "on the road most of the time" but admitted that they "were maybe a bit too lazy".

Stating that being in the studio as a band is the other "holy grail" along with playing live, Keith said: "When the singer wants to make a record, you record him, because you never know the next time you're gonna get it. So when Mick said to me, 'I want to make a record,' I said, 'Boom, let's go'."

The 12-track record is the first time Jagger and Richards have written a full LP of new music since 2005's A Bigger Bang.

The Rolling Stones did release Blue and Lonesome, an acclaimed album of blues covers, in 2016, whilst they unveiled single Living in a Ghost Town in April 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Hackney Diamonds comes out on Oct 20 and new single Angry is available now.

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