Earlier this month the band featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood released Foreign Tongues – their 25th studio album which went to number one on the UK Official Albums chart.
Steve Winwood, who lives in the Cotswolds, achieved fame during the 1960s and 1970s as a member of three successful bands – The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and supergroup Blind Faith – which also featured Eric Clapton,.
During the 1980s, his solo career took off, and the album Arc of a Diver reached number three on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Steve Winwood (Image: Brian Marks)
Now the musician, who was made an MBE in 2025 for services to music, has revealed how he got to play on The Rolling Stones’ latest record.
He said in a post on his official Instagram account: “I think Ronnie Wood called me first, when they were cutting‘Hackney Diamonds.
“He said, ‘Hi, man. Come and play a track.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure, just let me know where and when.’
“I think I was asked just to play on one song, then they said, ‘There’s another couple you can do.’ I did a couple more and then they said, ‘Come next week and do some more.’”
The singer, who performed at Cropredy Festival in 2009, added: ” Everything they do has this wonderful vintage Stones thing going on.
“Much of the album was done with everyone playing together, which is a rarity these days and adds some magic and temperament.”
There are other guests on the album, including Paul McCartney, Robert Smith (The Cure), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Bruno Mars.
Stones singer Mick Jagger stunned pub goers at the Half Moon in St Clements, Oxford earlier this year with an impromptu rendition of folk song Handsome Molly.