Knowing when to leave the party is crucial. The Rolling Stones’ storied 64-year career has been offering potential exits to its central protagonists for decades. Stones fans have been scooping up tickets for shows that ‘could be their last’ since at least ’76. The 2021 death of Charlie Watts seemed unsurvivable, yet the Stones endured. Not just for what felt a lot like a farewell tour, but for Hackney Diamonds, an unlikely zeitgeist-grabbing triumph of an LP that closed, appropriately enough, with Rolling Stone Blues. The circle complete, all that was left for the Stones to do was call a cab. But here we are.
Foreign Tongues had been rock’s worst-kept secret for some time before lead single (and album opener) Rough And Twisted dropped in April to acclaim and relief (a typical low-end-heavy Andrew Watt production captured the 21st-century Stones at their predictable best). Media duly frenzied. Mission accomplished.
