“I said, ‘What does it matter? If someone listens to it on their phone, they don’t know it was cut on tape – it doesn’t make any difference’”: Mick Jagger didn’t see the point in using tape on the new Stones album, but producer Andrew Watt had other ideas

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 08: Mick Jagger during the photocall for the launch of the Rolling Stones' 25th album "Foreign Tongues" at St Clement Hotel on July 08, 2026 in London, England.

He might be pretty long in the studio recording tooth, but Mick Jagger admits that, during the making of new Rolling Stones album, Foreign Tongues, he didn’t see the point in going old-school and recording to tape rather than digitally.

The issue was raised when producer Andrew Watt suggested going analogue for one song in particular – a cover of an old Chuck Berry record. “We haven’t used tape for ages, but Andy wanted to use tape for Beautiful Delilah,” Jagger tells Billboard. “I said, ‘What does it matter? If someone listens to it on their phone, they don’t know it was cut on tape — it doesn’t make any difference.’”