The Rolling Stones sign up Gen Z favourite for comeback music video as rockers plot huge return to the charts
THE ROLLING STONES continue to champion new talent, this time signing up Marty Supreme actress Odessa A’Zion for their next video.
The wise old rockers previously cast Sydney Sweeney in the vid to accompany 2023 comeback single Angry.
Now they are hoping to repeat that success, as I can reveal they have got one of Gen Z’s buzziest names on board.
Odessa filmed the visuals during a hushed-up two-day shoot at Battersea Arts Centre in South London last week.
I’m told loads of extras of all ages and styles were brought in to reflect the Stones over the years.
A music industry insider said: “The video represents the Stones through the ages. There’s a lot going on. They brought in lots of extras to represent subcultures and sonic histories.
“The idea is it blends everything from blues souls and punk kids with old school rockers and Northern Soul dancers.
“Then there’s a load of glam rock attitude and DIY chaos to echo the legacy of the Stones.
“Odessa is at the centre of it all.
“The video should look really impressive when it’s all tied together.”
The return of the Stones has been talked about for a while, but there isn’t long left to wait at all.
The band is expected to drop a new song today, as I revealed on Wednesday.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have been teasing their return under the pseudonym The Cockroaches.
They are coming back with their 25th album, believed to be titled Foreign Tongues, which is largely being touted as their final record together.
It is a follow-up to their 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, with the tracks mainly being written and recorded during the same sessions.
Unfortunately for their fans, I’ve been told there are no immediate plans for the band to hit the road again just yet.
But I live in hope the band will rethink that — when they see just how many people snap up this new album when it drops later in the year.
Zara up to finny business
ZARA LARSSON is por-poised for action as she lifts a dummy dolphin over her head.
She dazzled in a sequined skirt split to the waist and a tiny bikini top while fronting Spanish label Desigual’s Life’s A Beach campaign.
Zara has signed a major deal with the clothing brand for a new range inspired by her Y2K look.
Meanwhile, her US tour ends tomorrow in Houston, Texas – then she’ll focus on a deluxe version of her 2025 album Midnight Sun, due out next month.
Zara has remixed tracks with female collaborators. Tyga, Madison Beer and Jade are among stars expected to be involved.
The record originally peaked at No36, but with Zara enjoying a popularity surge, I predict a massive leap up the charts.
Derm’s so Keane on his main man
DERMOT KENNEDY has a surprising role model in his music career – football great Roy Keane.
His inspiration during gigs is the memory of Man United hero Keane playing against Juventus in 1999.
Despite being yellow-carded, the captain put in a blistering performance that took them to the Champions League final.
Dermot whose album The Weight Of The Woods became his third No1 last night, said of Roy: “If you ask about the way I sing, it’s purely him.
“He has a thing in his book where, when he was younger trying to get spotted, he would play a match to 100 or 200 people, and he developed the skill of creating the atmosphere in his head.
“I think I have that in music. If I play to ten people, I will rip it because I don’t care how many people are there.”
Dermot also shares a love of football with Roy once playing for Dublin’s Crumlin United.
He said: “I’m a far better person when I’m playing football regularly. Whatever feeling everyone thinks I get from music, I get it from football. It’s the one time my mind is clear.”
But Dermot has another reason to be inspired after his wife Aisling Finnegan gave birth to their daughter.
Asked how long they have been together, he told the And The Writer Is . . . podcast: “I would have been eight years old.
“We went to school together. What age did I know? Early twenties, probably.”
Michaela in a flap
MICHAELA COEL looks amazing despite her suit falling apart at the seams as she steps out in New York.
The actress, whose outfit had several flappy features, recently admitted she didn’t love appearing in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in which she played warrior Aneka.
She said: “I really don’t think I was ready for that world of green screen acting. I don’t know how to do that.”
Maybe she’s struggling with new styles.
Nineties exhibition shines the spotlight on Scary’s catsuit
THE famous leopard-print catsuit Mel B wore when the Spice Girls performed at the Brit Awards in 1997 is going on display.
Former Bizarre editor Dominic MOhan has curated the exhibition, 1996: 30 Years On, and managed to get hold of the catsuit which was worn to perform their debut hit Wannabe.
Mel said: “It was all a crazy Nineties whirlwind but, in my leopard print, I knew I could take on anything. This outfit is sexy, naughty and bold, which pretty much sums me and the Nineties up.”
Also on display will be Emma Bunton’s dress from the same performance, Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack boots and a signed Liam Gallagher‘s tambourine.
It opens on Thursday at the Barbican Music Library in London and runs until September 19.
Dom will be launching his four-part show Cool Britannia on Virgin Radio tomorrow from 6pm.
OLIVIA DEAN is obsessed with Love Island.
She said: “I just watched Love Island All Stars and, oh my god, what amazing television that was.
“Thank you everybody involved for that. It really got me through the last couple of months and I loved it. No notes. Can’t wait for the next season.”
She also had a message for its host: “Maya Jama, I love you.”
Even pop’s busiest acts can’t resist a bit of villa drama.
Masterclass by B-Side Boys as jangling Mars Attacks
THERE aren’t many acts that can pull off five sell- out shows by promising only B sides, album tracks and no hits.
But the Pet Shop Boys did, without breaking a sweat.
I’d happily listen to Neil Tennant sing the back of a crisp packet, but he and Chris Lowe had something more special in store here in Camden, North London.
They whipped out guest Johnny Marr early on, who added some excellent guitar jangling on Up Against it from 1996 and 2003’s I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today.
They might be synthpop’s finest duo, but they can rock out too. With a back catalogue spanning more than 40 years, you can forgive Neil for needing lyrics printed out for the more obscure numbers, and being overjoyed at a stool, joking: “Ooh, I can sit down now, like Westlife.”
They finished by teasing the launch of their upcoming musical, Naked, performing a song from it called I Dream Of A Better Tomorrow.
Right now, that’s a mantra we can all get behind.