Unexpected Encounters: Mick Jagger and Robert Smith Unite in the Studio
During a recent recording session for the Rolling Stones’ upcoming album,Mick Jagger experienced a surprising moment when he entered a London studio. To his astonishment, he found a familiar figure waiting for him.
“I arrived one day to lay down my vocals, and there was this guy standing there, facing away from me, dressed in a long robe,” Jagger recounted at an exclusive event on May 5. “When he turned around, he was wholly adorned in lipstick.”
The unexpected guest was none other than Robert Smith, the iconic frontman of The Cure, a musician Jagger had yet to meet.
(Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG)
“I exclaimed, ‘You’re Robert Smith from the cure!’ and he replied, ‘Yes!’” Jagger shared with the audience.
“What if it hadn’t been Robert Smith and he was just there to fix the air conditioning?”
– Conan O’Brien
“So I suggested, ‘Since you’re here, you might as well contribute!’” Jagger continued.
This spontaneous meeting sparked a collaboration that will feature on the Stones’ forthcoming album, Foreign Tongues, set to release on july 10.
Jagger recounted this amusing story during a discussion with Conan O’Brien in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he was joined by the Stones’ legendary guitar duo, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, to unveil the new album and preview some tracks.
O’Brien humorously envisioned an alternate scenario.
“What if it hadn’t been Robert Smith?” he mused. “You could have asked him to record a track, only to find out later he was there to fix the air conditioning!”
Foreign Tongues follows closely on the heels of the Stones’ 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds, which achieved global chart-topping success, garnered a Grammy Award, and reached multi-Platinum status.
“What do you care how the crowd is? You’re Mick Jagger! They’re just going to go wild when they see you!”
– Conan O’Brien
The led single from the album, In the Stars, was released digitally on May 5, alongside the opening track, rough and Twisted.
At the brooklyn event, O’Brien shared a story that highlighted Jagger’s ongoing curiosity about audience reactions, even after decades of performing.
The two first crossed paths backstage at the 96th Academy Awards, where O’Brien hosted and Jagger made a surprise appearance to present the Oscar for Best Original Song.
While waiting backstage, O’Brien recalled hearing someone repeatedly ask, “How’s the crowd? How’s the crowd?”
“I turned around, and it was you,” he told Jagger. “We had never met before.”
“And I said, ‘What do you care how the crowd is? you’re Mick Jagger! They’re just going to go wild when you come out!’”
“But it was the Oscars,” Jagger replied with a chuckle.
“yeah, but it doesn’t matter,” O’Brien said. “I just loved that you were like, ‘How are they? How are they?’ I think you’re going to be just fine. Something tells me they’re going to recognize you and be thrilled you’re there.”
O’Brien emphasized that the band’s attentiveness to their audience resonates throughout the music of Foreign Tongues.
“I always try to convey that no one reaches the level you guys have achieved without a unique approach. It’s an exceptional situation,” he noted. “But one of the key elements is – which you can hear repeatedly on this record – ‘We want to create something exceptional.’”
