Susanna Hoffs and Elvis Costello celebrate Keith Richards' 81st birthday by dropping an unexpected Rolling Stones cover

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"We both wanted to do the Keith part, but I won!" - Susanna Hoffs

Susanna Hoffs and Elvis Costello publicity shots
(Image credit: Susanna Hoffs: Shervin Lainez | Elvis Costello: Mark Seliger)

Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs and Elvis Costello have released a cover of the Rolling Stones' Connection to mark guitarist Keith Richards' 81st birthday.

Connection originally appeared on the Stones' 1967 album Between The Buttons, and found Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sharing the main vocal.

"I did the Keith part," says Hoffs. "We both wanted to do the Keith part, but I won! I had the great honour of singing with Elvis at a couple of his shows, and it was a lifelong dream to record a song together.

“I love Keith, his smile, his swagger, his songwriting – the way he moves on stage, as if his guitar is a part of his body and together they meld with the music and the emotion of the song. He’s sung lead on three of my most favourite Rolling Stones songs: Happy, You Got The Silver and Connection."

"What a gas to sing with Sue again," adds Costello. "I’d be the ‘Keith’ to her ‘Mick’ any day."

Hoffs and Costello's cover of Connection also features guitarist Albert Lee, bassist Davey Faragher, drummer Pete Thompson, guitarist/organist Jeff Alan Ross and mandolinist John Jorgenson.

Hoffs is no stranger to cover versions, having worked with several members of Costello's band The Imposters on last year's covers album The Deep End, which included a version of another Rolling Stones classic, Under My Thumb. She also released Under The Covers with Matthew Sweet, a series of three albums respectively devoted to songs from the '60s, '70s and '80s.

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Fraser Lewry
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.