The band’s rowdy new record has hit No. 1 on the UK Albums chart
The Stones are back on top.
This week, The Rolling Stones’ new album Foreign Tongues has hit No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. The release marks the iconic rockers’ 15th chart-topping album in the UK. Their last effort – 2023’s GRAMMY-winning Hackney Diamonds – also took the top spot. This year also marks the chart’s 70th anniversary of tracking the best albums in the UK.
The Stones recorded Foreign Tongues in less than a month at Metropolis Studios in West London. The once again worked with producer Andrew Watt, who helmed the band’s GRAMMY® Award-winning 2023 LP Hackney Diamonds. The band’s core of Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and Ronnie Wood are joined by longtime collaborators Steve Jordan, Darryl Jones, and Matt Clifford. The album features a couple high-profile special guests, including Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Robert Smith (The Cure), and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The title of the band’s 25th album is a nod to their iconic tongue logo by artist John Pasche.
Also, Stones drummer Charlie Watts makes a posthumous appearance on the album, with drum parts taken from one of his final recording sessions before his passing in 2021.
In the midst of releasing new music, the band is also supposedly going to revisit the idea of potentially touring later this year or in early 2027.
Last December, The Rolling Stones scrapped their rumored tour plans. The band rock icons been reportedly plotting stadium trek across Europe and the UK this summer. The group had been supposedly working on the routing for some time, as the band’s touring pianist Chuck Leavell and a group spokesperson recently informed press in the UK that the band is almost finished with a new album with producer Andrew Watt who helmed The Stones’ Grammy-winning 2023 LP Hackney Diamonds, and were planning to tour in support of it.
However, guitarist Keith Richards – who turned 82 last December – was unable to “commit” to the trek. Over the last few years, Richards has been battling arthritis, which he has called “benign,” and said it forced him to change his style of playing. Although he cranked out a three-song Soho Sessions set last month in New York, the grind of a full stadium tour might be a bit more challenging.
“When they [The Rolling Stones] properly sat down to discuss the tour, Keith said he didn’t think he could commit and wasn’t keen on a big stadium tour over four months,” an anonymous American music critic reportedly told the British tabloid The Sun on December 15, 2025.
They added, “The band was looking to tour earlier this year but couldn’t make it work either. It’s hard for their fans but The Stones will get back on stage when they’re good and ready.”