May 5, 2026, 6:33 p.m. ET
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Rolling Stones are speaking in “Foreign Tongues.”
On May 5, the rock icons announced their 25th studio album “Foreign Tongues” (out July 10), which they teased with two bluesy new songs: rollicking lead single “In the Stars” and the tempestuous “Rough and Twisted.”
That same day, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood touched down at the Weylin in Williamsburg for an afternoon launch party, greeting fans at the cavernous, historic former bank-turned-event space. Inside, projections of the Stones’ famous tongue-and-lips logo danced across the ceiling, and guests were served a selection of passed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails poured with the group’s signature Crossfire Hurricane rum.
The band joined superfan Conan O’Brien for a freewheeling, roughly half-hour conversation, in which they discussed the recording process and how they stay vital more than 60 years into the Stones’ career together. O’Brien began by asking Jagger, 82, how he still sounds exactly as he did when he was in his 20s.
“Well, I was taking a lot of drugs back in 1968,” Jagger quipped.
“This is an intervention, by the way,” O’Brien volleyed back.
“Oh, God, not another one!” Jagger exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “No, the secret is practice, I think. It’s simple.”
Richards, 82, meanwhile, spoke at length about he comes up with his classic guitar riffs.
“You can’t write em, you can’t force em — they come to you,” Richards said into his microphone, before apologizing to the crowd that most of his response was inaudible. “I keep waving this thing around! I’m so sorry, ladies and gentlemen.”
Jagger is known for his athletic concert performances, and he shared that will often extend to the studio, where he’ll carry around a hand mic and walk around while recording.
“Foreign Tongues” is the band’s first album since 2023’s “Hackney Diamonds,” which won the Grammy Award for best rock album. The new album was recorded in just under a month in London, where the group reunited with “Hackney Diamonds” producer Andrew Watt.
It includes a special appearance from original drummer Charlie Watts, captured during one of his final recording sessions before his death in 2021 of squamous-cell carcinoma at age 80. The song is called “Hit Me in the Head.”
“It’s real fast, like a punk rocker,” Jagger described. “Charlie plays great — it’s a super-fast song.”
Steve Jordan, the band’s current drummer, is otherwise featured on the album.
“He was recommended by Charlie,” Wood, 78, explained.
Guest artists on “Foreign Tongues” include Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, The Cure’s Robert Smith, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. O’Brien asked whether any of their collaborators were nervous to hop on a Stones song.
“Paul really wanted to jump in there, he was next door at the studio,” Jagger recalls. “There was no intimidation from Paul!”
“He wanted to tick that box,” Wood joked, chuckling to himself. “He said, ‘Now I can say I’ve played with the Rolling Stones! Wow!’ “
The one-liners flew fast and furious throughout the talk. O’Brien compared Jagger’s gold-and-apricot-colored jacket to Willy Wonka, jesting that he chose not to wear it himself. (“That would’ve been a disaster!” Jagger playfully fired back.)
They also showed off Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s eye-catching album cover art, which is an amalgamation of the band’s faces.
“I call it Mr. Ugly,” Jagger joked.
Wood quipped: “It’s made to look like Mick!”
Much of the conversation was about how the Stones continue to challenge themselves, and are more ambitious than ever on the 14-track “Foreign Tongues.”
“The Stones is a rock band, but the Stones also has the ability to do ballads and country music and dance music,” Jagger said. “It’s not just stuck in one kind of style. We’ve loved all kinds of music over our lives, so we expressed that in the way we recorded and what songs we play.”