{"id":527412,"date":"2026-07-01T10:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/527412\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T10:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:20:09","slug":"the-cures-robert-smith-initially-turned-down-rolling-stones-collaboration-i-wasnt-really-prepared-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/527412\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cure\u2019s Robert Smith initially turned down Rolling Stones collaboration: \u201cI wasn\u2019t really prepared for it\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Smith<\/a> has revealed that he initially turned down the offer to collaborate with The Rolling Stones<\/a>, saying he \u201cwasn\u2019t prepared for it\u201d.<\/p>\n

The frontman of The Cure<\/a> contributed guitar to Mick Jagger<\/a> and co\u2019s recent song \u2018Divine Intervention\u2019<\/a> from their new album \u2018Foreign Tongues\u2019<\/a>, which is released next Friday (July 10). He also provided synth and backing vocals on the cut \u2018Never Wanna Lose You\u2019.<\/p>\n

During an interview on the official Stones podcast, Speaking In Tongues<\/a>, Smith discussed how he came to be in the studio with the legendary band.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrew Watt<\/a> [producer] and I have kind of exchanged online conversations and phone conversations over the last few years, but we\u2019d never met up,\u201d he began (via Mojo<\/a>). \u201cEvery time he\u2019d wash up in London with some big cheese or other, either I wasn\u2019t around or it just didn\u2019t seem the right time to hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith went on to recall how Watt had then \u201cgot in touch\u201d last year to say he was in London to work on the next Rolling Stones album \u2013 the follow-up to 2023\u2019s\u00a0Grammy<\/a>-winning \u2018Hackney Diamonds\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when it got nearer to the end of the session, was I interested in coming up and finally grabbing that cold beer with him?\u201d the singer continued, adding that the Stones were recording at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said that they\u2019d pretty much done all the tracking and Mick was just left to pick up some vocal stuff,\u201d Smith explained. \u201cHe told me the day before, \u2018Mick might still be around\u2019, and I was like, You know, That\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Smith wasn\u2019t sure about visiting. \u201cI know what it\u2019s like being in the studio, particularly when you\u2019re singing,\u201d he reasoned. \u201cThe last thing you want is guests. It sounds a bit miserable, but the dynamic and the atmosphere is kind of a really crucial part of what you\u2019re trying to get done.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the worst thing in the world is people bursting in, having a party when you\u2019re trying to do something. So I said I\u2019d wait in the bar until they\u2019d be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was then told by an assistant that Jagger was \u201chappy for [him] to come down\u201d, adding: \u201cSo I went down and I walked into the control room and through the glass, there was Mick Jagger singing, which was not was expecting at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair began \u201cchatting\u201d, with Jagger making Smith feel \u201cvery, very welcome\u201d in his working environment. According to Smith, the evening \u201cdeveloped\u201d as the Stones frontman began playing him songs and asking to hear his thoughts.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Cure. CREDIT: Press<\/p>\n

\u201cI was availing myself of the refreshments and my tongue was loosening, and my suggestions were getting more and more absurd, I suspect, as they often do,\u201d Smith remembered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then out of nowhere [Jagger] said, \u2018Do you fancy doing something on the album?\u2019 And I was like, Whoa, hang on! And he said, \u2018Oh, play a bit of guitar\u2026\u2019 And I was like, Well\u2026 I wasn\u2019t really prepared for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shared: \u201cAnd so I, much to everyone\u2019s astonishment, I said, No, no thanks, I can\u2019t do that. I went up there expecting just to get drunk, really. And I wasn\u2019t expecting to play on the Rolling Stones album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said that Jagger eventually went home, leaving him at the studio. \u201cAnd then time elapsed and I said to Andrew, Oh, come on then. Let\u2019s plug a guitar in and I\u2019ll have a go at some of the songs,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo I just started playing and, yeah, one thing led to another.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a new interview with NME<\/a>, Jagger talked about Smith\u2019s work on \u2018Divine Intervention\u2019, describing his part as \u201csort of an indie lick\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Andy Watt invited him to come and listen to some of the tracks because we\u2019d almost finished\u2026 I said, \u2018Let\u2019s get him to do something.\u2019 So he sings on \u2018Never Gonna Lose You\u2019 \u2013 and he does a few synths,\u201d he told us.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the conversation, Jagger revealed that he\u2019d \u201calready started writing songs\u201d for The Rolling Stones\u2019 next album. \u201cThey could be for other people though,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen you write a song, you sometimes decide \u2018that\u2019s not for me, but it could be for the Chili Peppers<\/a>\u2019 or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jagger also told NME about the chances of the Stones returning to Glastonbury<\/a>, their future tour plans, him being in \u201ca Sam Fender<\/a> moment lately\u201d, working with Paul McCartney<\/a>, and more. Read the interview here<\/a>, or watch in full in the video above.<\/p>\n

Speaking to\u00a0Vulture<\/a> about how he enlisted Smith, Jagger recalled how \u201cthere was this bloke standing there with his back to me with his long gown on\u201d in the studio, \u201cand when he turned around he was covered in lipstick\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"RollingRolling Stones \u2018Foreign Tongues\u2019 album artwork<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019ve never met\u2019,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd then I said, \u2018Well, while you\u2019re here then you\u2019d better go and do something\u2019. That\u2019s how collaborations work sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Foreign Tongues\u2019 will also include the previously released singles \u2018Rough And Twisted\u2019<\/a>, \u2018In The Stars\u2019<\/a> and \u2018Jealous Lover\u2019<\/a>, as well as a cover of\u00a0the Amy Winehouse classic \u2018You Know I\u2019m No Good\u2019<\/a>. It\u2019ll also feature the group\u2019s late drummer,\u00a0Charlie Watts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Check out the full tracklist for \u2018Foreign Tongues\u2019 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last month,\u00a0NME\u00a0attended the \u2018Foreign Tongues\u2019 launch event<\/a>\u00a0in New York City, where the Stones discussed the diversity of sound on their new album and a country track called \u2018Ringing Hollow\u2019.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, The Cure are currently on tour in the UK and Europe<\/a>, and will play huge outdoor shows in Manchester and Edinburgh<\/a> next month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robert Smith has revealed that he initially turned down the offer to collaborate with The Rolling Stones, saying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278,640],"class_list":["post-527412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music","tag-rock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}