When the Stones were planning Hackney Diamonds back in 2023, Steve got the call.

Well, um, I think Ronnie called me first, and that was when they were cutting Hackney Diamonds, and said, "We want, want you to come and play a track." I said, "Yeah, sure.

Just let me know where and when." Then I never heard anything.

So I think that there were things going on, and then they were gonna record in, in London, and they did some stuff in LA that I was go- they wanted me to play.

Anyway, it just didn't work out.

And then at some point last year, Andrew Watt called.

And at the time I wasn't that familiar with his work.

During the Foreign Tongues sessions, Steve's extended engagement meant that he got to know the other honorary Stones on this record, bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Steve Jordan.

It had all the bits and it was already in a song.

I throw it to bones in a whiskey glass.

It all happens in, like, five minutes.

Yeah.

Hands off.

Jealous lover.

There is an element to The Stones that has always been improvisational, right? Which comes from jazz, which was Charlie's love of jazz, right? And reacting, and it's really present on this album.

There's definitely an element of divine inspiration comes on, whether it's well-deserved or not, I don't know.

But there, but there certainly is, uh, i- in some instances, and, you know, that's the nature of improvisation.

He plays keys on nine of Foreign Tongue's 14 tracks.

Improvisation is very closely linked to composition, and so, but it's just a different way of composing.

And then when you get people that are a, a bit on the same wavelength and understand each other and understand each other musically and probably little bit personally, then that's when you get all these ingredients come together and, and it doesn't take long before they come together and make something special.