The China Mail - Satisfaction as Rolling Stones drop track under Cockroaches name

The track -- called "Rough and Twisted" -- went on sale Saturday, reportedly in extremely limited numbers in selected independent record stores around the world.

Sounds of the Universe, in London's Soho, was the only place in the British capital to receive the coveted records, which were sold in a plain white sleeve without any reference to the Stones.

The store -- located in the same building where the legendary band held its first rehearsals -- got just 14 copies to sell, according to Angela Scott, whose partner owns the record retailer and who was working there Saturday.

The Stones' record label Universal Music "called us on Friday and told us that they had some records for us and could we sell them on Saturday," she told AFP.

"They told someone here maybe that it was the Rolling Stones and they're called the Cockroaches," Scott explained.

"They said it was because of the building being the Rolling Stones' building -- that's how we were selected."

Scott noted the label insisted the record had to be sold for exactly £10.07 ($13.54).

"They didn't explain but one of the fans in the queue said he reckons that it might be the release date of the album."

The 14 copies in London sold out instantly, after some fans got wind of the release and queued up in advance.

"One of the guys had queued from three o'clock in the morning," noted Scott, even though the store does not open until 10 am on Saturday.

- '64 & counting' -

The first 14 in line had "all finished buying them by five past 10" but one was willing to play the new track in-store.

"All of the people that queued were all able to hear it and that was a moment for them. They loved it. They were all very happy," she recounted.

"Then we had to put a sign up that said 'Cockroaches sold out', because obviously everyone was turning up and disappointed."

Saturday's limited sale followed days of teasing the release online on a newly-created Cockroaches Instagram page and website and, in London at least, through posters featuring a QR code linking back to the website.

One video featured on the Instagram channel included a caption that read "64 & counting" -- an apparent reference to the number of years since the Rolling Stones were founded.

The Cockroaches is an alias that lead singer Mick Jagger, fellow founding bandmate Keith Richards and bass guitarist Ronnie Wood have used in the past to play secret shows.

The band released their first album in 18 years in late 2023, with "Hackney Diamonds" topping the album charts in more than a dozen countries and earning some critical acclaim.

The new record appeared to be following suit, with The Daily Telegraph's chief music critic Neil McCormick saying the band were "back with a pile-driving blues stomp".

Fan Harry, 21, who works at a Rolling Stones clothing store also in London's Soho district, welcomed the snippets of the new material that he had heard, calling it "very old school".

"It's a lot of really old blues-style playing," he told AFP. "I definitely think fans will enjoy it."

However, some appear willing to part with the new record, with several appearing for sale on eBay and one listed for a minimum of nearly $600.

R.Yeung--ThChM