Hackney Diamonds, the first rolling Stones album of new material in the 18 years, is slated for an October 20 release. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood joined Jimmy Fallon at the Hackney Theatre in London to make the official announcement on Wednesday (9/6).

R..I.P. Gary Wright. His entertainment career started as stage and TV child actor. Wright was in a couple of bands in high school before deciding to pursue a medical degree, which led to studies in Europe, where he met Island Records head honcho Chris Blackwell, who arranged for him to join a UK band that soon became the on-again-off-again band Spooky Tooth. Wright played on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass during the first Spooky Tooth hiatus and later worked on other Harrison solo projects. Wright's one big solo album came out in the summer of 1975. The title song became a staple of Album Rock radio and Love Is Alive was a moderately big song, too. Wright passed away at 80 after battling Parkinson's and dementia.

Photo Helge Øverås CC-4.0

Dire Straits guitarist Jack Sonni died on August 30 at 68.  Sonni got acquainted with Dire Straits member brothers Mark and David Knopfler in 1978 while working at a music store in Manhattan.  During a London visit five years later, he met-up with Mark Knopfler and was invited to join the band as a second guitarist.  His time with the group was limited to a few years.  He put his musical career on hold when he became the father of twin girls in 1988, but stayed connected with the music indiustry as a marketing exec for a company that made digital equipment for musicians and was later  named the VP for marketing communication by Guitar Center.  Sonni eventually resumed playing music in a band called The Leisure Class and played with other former Dire Straits members as the Dire Straits Legacy Project.