The Rolling Stones Kick Off ‘Foreign Tongues’ Era In Brooklyn With Conan O’Brien: ‘This Is the Gig of a Lifetime’
During a jokey chat, the English rockers explained how Paul McCartney and The Cure's Robert Smith ended up on their latest album.
Black News 
“Rats on the west side / bedbugs uptown” Mick Jagger once sang about Manhattan—and though New York City has changed a lot since the Rolling Stones released “Shattered” in 1978 (arguably more than they have), those memories were perhaps reason enough for the band to hold their new album launch event across the East River 48 years later.
Just hours after officially confirming a full-length titled Foreign Tongues was coming on July 10, the incalculably influential rock band took over The Weylin, a domed, churchlike events space constructed in 1875 that had long served as a neighborhood bank in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
To celebrate the upcoming Capitol Records LP, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood sat down with comedian/podcast host/noted ginger Conan O’Brien for a wide-ranging discussion about the 14-track LP, which includes guest spots from Paul McCartney, Robert Smith of The Cure, Steve Winwood and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, plus longtime collaborators Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford and Steve Jordan. (Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021, is also included on Foreign Tongues via one of his last recording sessions.)
“This is the gig of a lifetime,” O’Brien said before the bank’s vintage vault door swung open and Jagger, Richards and Wood waltzed out to join him onstage. Splitting the difference between wisecracking host and lifelong fan, O’Brien — who said he has listened to the new album 25 times so far — told Jagger his vocals on Foreign Tongues didn’t sound all that different from his recordings from 1968. “Well, I was taking a lot of drugs in ’68,” Jagger replied with a smirk, playing down the compliment. “This is an invention, by the way,” O’Brien shot back, to which Jagger moaned, “Not another one!”
O’Brien also had a great moment with the untamable Richards, who gamely answered many questions, only not necessarily into the microphone. At one point, O’Brien reached between their chairs to place his mic to Keef’s lips when the guitarist forgot to use his own. “That’s the Irish in you!” Richards quipped. “I keep forgetting this thing,” he laughed. Then, jokingly griping about the venue’s acoustics, Richards shouted out the album’s producer, Andrew Watt, who was seated in the front row (Watt also helmed 2023’s Hackney Diamonds). “Andrew, this is the worst echo chamber I’ve ever heard!” he said. “If I ever do a gig with you again, I’m gluing [the microphone] to your face,” O’Brien chided.
The chat, naturally, also delved into the new LP. For those wondering how The Cure frontman ended up on a Rolling Stones album, well, it turns out the reason is just as random as you’d expect.
“I turned up one day to do my vocals in London and there’s this bloke standing there with his back to me with a long gown on,” Jagger recounted. “When he turned round he was covered in lipstick. We’d never met before and I said, ‘You are Robert Smith of The Cure!’ And he said, ‘Yeah!'” Shortly thereafter, Smith was singing backup on a Stones track. “That’s how collaborations work sometimes,” Jagger mused.
As for McCartney, Wood explained how the Beatle ended up on their album. Apparently, Sir Paul decided it was time to check an item off his bucket list. “He says, ‘Now I can say I’ve played with the Rolling Stones. Wow!'” he laughed.
Prior to the official announcement, the Stones teased their new project by releasing Foreign Tongues’ first track, “Rough and Twisted,” on vinyl only under the name The Cockroaches mid-April; on May 5, melodic lead single “In the Stars” hit streaming services.
There’s no word yet on whether the Stones will tour following this LP. After Hackney Diamonds, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top Album Sales charts, the band embarked upon an 18-date tour in the summer of 2024 that earned them $235 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. That album also launched with a New York City event: the Englishmen shook the walls of Manhattan venue The Racket in October 2023 alongside special guest Lady Gaga.
