The Rolling Stones announce plans to record first album of new material in 12 years

The Rolling Stones have announced that they are heading back into the studio to record brand new material.

After months of speculation, the British rockers have confirmed that they are set to record their first album of new music in 12 years.

Keith Richards confirmed the band’s plans in a podcast, saying that they had made the decision after the successful release of their blues covers album, Blue and Lonesome, last year.

When asked when they would be returning to the studio, Richards said: “Yes, yes, we are — very, very shortly.”

He added: “We’re cutting some new stuff and considering where to take it next. Blue & Lonesome caught us a little bit by surprise in that we figured it was something we had to do, but we didn’t expect the response.”

Richards also hinted that the band could be set to record a second volume of the blues album.

“I don’t think we’re going to sucker into that straight away,” he said. “But it wouldn’t take a twist of the arm to do some more of that. It’s such fun to record, and there’s plenty more where that came from.”

Speculation that the band are going in a completely different musical direction surfaced when Mick Jagger posed with grime star Skepta earlier this month.

The pair were snapped with together in the recording studio, leading fans to believe that a collaboration could be in the pipeline.