On July 10, 2026, The Rolling Stones will release their new studio album "Foreign Tongues" - and anyone taking a look at the contributors will discover a surprising number of famous names alongside Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood - from the ex-Beatle to the head of The Cure to a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

According to the band's official announcement, the 25th studio album comprises 14 tracks, recorded in less than a month at Metropolis Studios in London. Production is once again handled by Andrew Watt, who also oversaw the predecessor "Hackney Diamonds".

A Beatle on Bass

The biggest name comes from an old acquaintance: Paul McCartney takes over bass on the track "Covered In You". For the former Beatle, this is already his second guest appearance on a Stones album in a row - he recorded his part according to "NME" magazine in the same session as "Bite My Head Off" for "Hackney Diamonds".

Jagger described how smoothly things went in his conversation with "NME". "It was very easy", he said. Although he has known Paul for ages, McCartney had never played bass for the Stones before. For the almost punk-like song, he wanted a distorted, no-frills bass and was initially skeptical. In the end, however, McCartney delivered exactly what the song needed "in about ten minutes".

McCartney himself was genuinely thrilled by the request. Of course you could dismiss such a thing casually, he told the magazine, but for him it was exactly the opposite. "I went home that day and said to everyone: 'I just played with the Stones!'", the musician said. "Not everyone plays with the Stones!"

Robert Smith Initially Said No

The collaboration with Robert Smith was less straightforward. The singer of The Cure contributed according to "NME" guitar to the song "Divine Intervention", plus synthesizer and backing vocals for "Never Wanna Lose You". However, he originally didn't want to participate.

In the band's own podcast "Speaking In Tongues", Smith told the story of how he ended up at the studio in London's Chiswick district through producer Andrew Watt. When Jagger asked him there whether he wanted to contribute something to the album, Smith initially declined. "I wasn't really prepared for that", he said. He had come with the intention of getting intoxicated - not to play on a Stones record.

Only after Jagger had already left the studio did Smith become curious after all. He turned to Watt and said: "Come on, let's plug in a guitar, I'll try my hand at a few of the songs." That's how one thing led to another. Jagger later described Smith's contribution to "NME" as a kind of "indie lick".

Winwood, Bruno Mars and a Chili Pepper

That's not nearly the end of the guest list. Steve Winwood, who is featured on several songs with piano and organ, has a long history with the Stones. "I met Stevie when he was about 15 years old. At that time he had just had the huge hit 'I'm A Man' with the Spencer Davis Group", Keith Richards recalled in an interview with "oeticket" magazine "Headliner".

Bruno Mars, meanwhile, can be heard on "Never Wanna Lose You" according to "NME", while Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performs on the cover version of Chuck Berry's "Beautiful Delilah". In addition to their own numbers, the Stones also pay tribute to Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011: They have re-recorded her classic "You Know I'm No Good".

A Final Greeting from Charlie Watts

However, the most moving guest contribution comes from Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 and can be heard on "Hit Me In The Head". "That's from the sessions we recorded in Los Angeles back then", Jagger explained to "Headliner". "That's also where 'Mess It Up' came from, which ended up on 'Hackney Diamonds' - also with Charlie."

Careful manual work was required to make the old tracks fit the new sound. Ronnie Wood explained in the same conversation that Watt had "very carefully adjusted Charlie's drum tracks so they blend seamlessly with Steve Jordan's playing on the rest of the album".

First samples were already available in spring: "In The Stars" and "Rough And Twisted" were released in May, later followed by "Jealous Lover" and "Divine Intervention". "Foreign Tongues" is the successor to the Grammy-winning album "Hackney Diamonds" from 2023.