Following the Rolling Stones’ epic album release party in New York City, Keith Richards (prematurely) appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show, briefly interrupting filming while Jimmy Fallon talked about his experience at the surprise Hackney Diamonds gig.
Richards was scheduled as a guest on the episode, so Fallon was setting up the interview by talking about the Stones show and how close he was to the band’s performance at the intimate venue and that the guitarist would be on The Tonight Show later in the episode.
Suddenly, perhaps hearing his name, Richards then popped out from the side of stage, walked in front of the cameras, and past Fallon to the amazement of the audience. After briefly soaking in the applause, Richards then went back to the backstage, awaiting his proper segment.
“Not now. He will be on the show. Not yet,” Fallon said after the interruption. “How cool is that dude right there? ‘Yeah, I’ll walk out.’ He don’t care, he’s Keith Richards, he’ll do what he wants.”
When it was time for his interview, Richards and Fallon discussed the previous night’s concert and playing Hackney Diamonds tracks live for the first time.
“Last night was the first time we performed new songs with the exception of one or two, but a great feeling. The band feels really great about it,” Richards said, adding of the tiny club gig. “The essence of a band is a small room with a lot of people, that’s where you work your stuff out.”
Richards also talked about how Paul McCartney appears on Hackney Diamonds, and how the Stones’ history with the Beatles dates back to “1962, 63” and the Lennon/McCartney-penned Stones single “I Wanna Be Your Man.” While “Bite My Head Off” — featuring McCartney — was proclaimed by Fallon as the first time McCartney has featured on a Stones song, Richards corrected him, saying John Lennon and McCartney previously appeared on the band’s 1967 single “We Love You.”
Richards, one of Rolling Stone’s 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, then showed off his techniques, strumming “Honky Tonk Women” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” on acoustic, with some off-camera help from the Roots and Fallon doing his Mick Jagger impression: