The Rolling Stones' New Album 'Foreign Tongues': Bruno Mars Plays Cowbell, Robert Smith Guests on Two Tracks

The Rolling Stones have announced their upcoming album Foreign Tongues, revealing details about several guest contributors. Bruno Mars plays cowbell on the single "Never Wanna Lose You," while The Cure frontman Robert Smith guests on two tracks. The news arrived alongside a joint Billboard cover story featuring Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

How the guest spots came together

In the Billboard cover interview, Jagger explained how the collaborations happened: during the pre-mixing stage, visitors to the studio who liked what they heard were simply invited to pick up an instrument and join in. He recounted inviting Bruno Mars this way — Mars praised a groove, Jagger asked what percussion he wanted to play, and Mars ended up in the studio recording the cowbell part on the spot.

Robert Smith guests on two tracks, though the specific song titles have not yet been announced. The cover shoot was handled separately by photographers Joe Pugliese (Mick Jagger) and Kevin Mazur (Keith Richards).

Background: Jagger and Richards' joint cover

This marks a rare joint cover appearance by Jagger and Richards in mainstream music media, with Billboard framing the pair as rock's "yin and yang." Foreign Tongues has not yet had a full release date or tracklist announced; more details can be followed through The Rolling Stones' official channels.