Robert Smith has shared that he almost missed the chance to appear on the Rolling Stones' upcoming album Foreign Tongues after unexpectedly turning down Sir Mick Jagger's invitation during a drinks fueled visit to the studio.
The Cure frontman plays guitar on Divine Intervention and also contributed synths and backing vocals to Never Wanna Lose You, both of which appear on the band's forthcoming record.
Robert explained that although he and the Stones' producer Andrew Watt had spoken over the years through calls and online messages, they had never actually met in person.
Speaking on the Rolling Stones' Speaking In Tongues podcast, he said: “Andrew Watt [producer] and I have kind of exchanged online conversations and phone conversations over the last few years, but we’d never met up.
“Every time he’d wash up in London with some big cheese or other, either I wasn’t around or it just didn’t seem the right time to hang out.”
Everything changed when Andrew invited Robert to Metropolis Studios in London while the Rolling Stones were finishing one of their recording sessions.
Looking back on the visit, he said: “And when it got nearer to the end of the session, was I interested in coming up and finally grabbing that cold beer with him?”
Andrew also let him know in advance that Mick could still be recording vocals when he arrived.
Robert recalled: “He said that they’d pretty much done all the tracking and Mick was just left to pick up some vocal stuff. He told me the day before, ‘Mick might still be around’, and I was like, You know, That’s OK.”
Not wanting to disturb the recording process, Robert decided he would stay out of the way.
He explained: “I know what it’s like being in the studio, particularly when you’re singing. The last thing you want is guests… So I said I’d wait in the bar until they’d be done.”
Before long, a studio assistant told him that Mick was “happy for [him] to come down”.
As he made his way into the studio, Robert was surprised to find the Gimme Shelter singer in the middle of recording.
As the evening continued and the beers kept coming, Robert admitted that his ideas became “more and more absurd”.
The biggest surprise came when Mick suddenly made an unexpected request. Robert recalled: “Out of nowhere [Jagger] said, ‘Do you fancy doing something on the album?’ And I was like, Whoa, hang on! And he said, ‘Oh, play a bit of guitar…’ And I was like, Well… I wasn’t really prepared for it.”
Feeling completely unprepared after a few drinks, Robert initially declined the opportunity.
He said: “Much to everyone’s astonishment, I said, No, no thanks, I can’t do that. I went up there expecting just to get drunk, really. And I wasn’t expecting to play on the Rolling Stones album.”
After Mick left the studio, however, Robert had a change of heart.
He remembered: “And then time elapsed and I said to Andrew, Oh, come on then. Let’s plug a guitar in and I’ll have a go at some of the songs.
“So I just started playing and, yeah, one thing led to another.”
Foreign Tongues is scheduled for release on July 10.
