Not every song comes easily. Ahead of the release of their latest album, Foreign Tongues, The Rolling Stones—Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood—sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
While much of the chat focused on the band’s forthcoming LP, the guys did look back at some points. One such example is when Richards brought up “Start Me Up,” a 1981 Rolling Stones song.
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“I remember ‘Start Me Up’ was 10 years from the writing of it to when it came out,” he said. “It’s like wine, good wine, some of it’s better aged.”
“I remember the first hundred takes were reggae rhythm. It went through a lot of styles before we said, ‘Hey, why don’t we just play rock and roll?’” Richards continued. “That’s the one that made it.”
That’s not the only time a song hasn’t been easy to pin down. On Foreign Tongues, for instance, “Some of Us” was borne out of a similar experience.
“That song had been hanging around in the head for years and years. I never quite got around to putting the finger on it,” Richards said. “Some songs are very elusive.”
The Rolling Stones Host Foreign Tongues Party
The interview was published during Foreign Tongues‘ release week. To celebrate the accomplishment, Jagger and Wood stepped out for a star-studded London bash on July 8.
Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Sam Fender, Sacha Baron Cohen, John McEnroe, and more were all present at the St. Clement hotel for the bash.
During the party, the rockers surprised the crowd with a performance of “Ringing Hollow,” a track that’s slated to appear on the LP. In a past interview with MOJO, Richards spoke about the track, which he said is about “America as an idea.”
“The American Dream is intact for some people, and I’m sure we can find some wonderful immigrant stories that happened in the last 12 months, but we read about the decline of the American Empire,” he said, per Louder. “… It’s not the same place as it was. I lived in New York for 19 years. I’ve seen lots of America that no Americans have seen.”
The fun continued after the “Ringing Hollow” performance. The London skyline lit up with The Rolling Stones iconic tongue and lips in a striking 500-drone display.
The image shone over iconic landmarks like the River Thames, Big Ben, and the London Eye. Patrick Woodroffe designed the display, which was set to the new Stones track “In The Stars.”
Foreign Tongues is due out July 10.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG