Producer Andrew Watt is getting himself a reputation as a late career revival specialist. Beneficiaries of his studio know-how include legends such as Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stones and Elton John, and it seems that he might soon be adding another huge name to his CV.
In an interview with the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Watt reveals that, in his time off between his many other projects, he’s also been working with a certain Paul McCartney.
“He’s like my professor, Professor Paul,” says Watt. “We’ve been working on stuff in little chunks of time over the past couple of years. He also helped seal the deal for me in getting the Stones gig.”
That Stones gig was the band’s 2024 album Hackney Diamonds, which was widely regarded as a successful return to form. Despite its warm reception, some were critical of the decision to give the record the Best Rock Album Grammy earlier this month, arguing that a younger band who weren’t (to an extent) trading on former glories should have been given their dues instead.
Watt, though, is having none of it: “They are in their 80s,” he points out. “They’re 82 and 83 years old. Tell me another band ever in history that has made a latter-day album that good in their 80s, with that level of songwriting, that level of performance?”
There could be more to come, too, with Watt confirming that the Hackney Diamonds sessions yielded an abundance of material that has so far remained unreleased.
“I can’t tell you if [another album’s] gonna happen or not,” he says. “It’s up to them, but it would be great… Why not finish the material, you know?”
Another artist who’s recently returned to their signature sound is Hackney Diamonds guest Lady Gaga, whose recent single Abracadabra - which harks back to the star’s early breakthrough dance-pop hits - was co-written and co-produced by Watt.
Reflecting on his work on that song, Watt says: “She [Gaga] just heard something immediately, and grabbed the microphone and started flowing in the room. Once there’s this initial kind of thing she always runs to the piano because then it becomes a song, and then what are the chords and there’s this crazy fun synth part and then where can it go… Once you came up with the chords for the other parts then we recorded that on other synths… You keep running between the control room and the live room, the control room and the live room.”
This whirlwind session sounds like it was in contrast to Gaga’s duet with Bruno Mars on 2024 smash Die With A Smile, yet another song that Watt had a hand in writing and producing.
Discussing its creation, Watt says: “Bruno was there with [producer/songwriter] James Fauntleroy, and they just started playing together. Gaga wrote out all the chords and all the changing bass notes so she could know what she was going to play. Bruno was on the guitar, and they kind of just started breaking down the song together, really singing together and organically arranging their harmonies.”
Watt also reveals that he’ll be involved in Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert at Villa Park on 5 July, though he doesn’t yet know in exactly what capacity. “All I know is that I was asked to play in some concoction of things that they have put together,” he says, somewhat cryptically.
The producer does add, though, that Osbourne is buzzing at the prospect of going on stage one last time. “Ozzy is really excited for this concert,” he confirms. “Any time you give him a goal to hit or challenge, he’ll do it.”
