Rolling Stones Match The Beatles With 15th UK Number One Album

‘Foreign Tongues’ puts the Stones joint second on the all-time UK chart behind Robbie Williams.

The Rolling Stones scored their 15th UK Number One album on July 17 when ‘Foreign Tongues’ debuted at the top of the Official Albums Chart, drawing the band level with The Beatles on the all-time list. Only Robbie Williams, who claimed his 16th solo chart-topper in January with ‘BRITPOP’, sits ahead of them. The milestone arrives more than 62 years after the Stones first reached the summit with their self-titled debut in 1964.

A Historic Chart Milestone

Released on July 10, ‘Foreign Tongues’ is the band’s 25th studio record and the follow-up to 2023’s ‘Hackney Diamonds’, which also debuted at Number One. The back-to-back chart-toppers cement a late-career run that few acts of any era could match. Taylor Swift sits just behind the Stones and The Beatles with 14 UK Number Ones, while Elvis Presley and Madonna each have 13.

The span between the Stones’ first and fifteenth chart-topping albums is itself a record of sorts. Their self-titled 1964 debut launched a run that has now stretched across more than six decades, a timeline that encompasses virtually the entire history of the album as a commercial format.

Star-Studded Guest List on ‘Foreign Tongues’

The album draws on an impressive roster of collaborators. Paul McCartney plays bass on ‘Covered In You’, and Mick Jagger has said that working with the former Beatle was ‘very easy’. The Cure’s Robert Smith plays guitar on ‘Divine Intervention’ and contributes synth and backing vocals to ‘Never Wanna Lose You’, though Smith initially turned down the collaboration because he ‘wasn’t really prepared for it’. Steve Winwood and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith also appear on the record.

Perhaps the most poignant contribution comes from the late Charlie Watts, whose drumming was drawn from one of his final recording sessions before his death in 2021. Watts has remained a presence across the Stones’ post-2021 work, a testament to how central he was to the band’s sound.

Launch Party and Podcast Series

The Stones marked the album’s arrival with a launch party in London attended by Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Sam Fender, Sacha Baron Cohen, John McEnroe, Glen Matlock and Vernon Kay. At the event, Jagger and Ronnie Wood signaled their desire to take the record on the road. ‘Ronnie and I are really into that, so we hope to see everyone on the road,’ Jagger said.

Accompanying the album is a six-part podcast series called Speaking In Tongues, narrated by Norah Jones. It features new interviews with Jagger, Keith Richards and Wood, along with archival contributions from Watts.

Jagger Already Writing New Material

Jagger has made clear the band has no intention of slowing down. He told NME he has already begun writing songs that could form a third album in the current run. ‘Yeah, it could be a trio,’ he said. ‘I’ve already started writing songs anyway. They could be for other people though. When you write a song, you sometimes decide, “That’s not for me, but it could be for the Chili Peppers”, or whatever.’

He added: ‘I’ve got a lot of stuff, and not all of it’s suitable for The Rolling Stones. It shouldn’t stop me writing them, you know. If you get an idea, just write it.’ The album also generated some cultural commentary when Jagger clarified that a lyric on ‘Mr Charm’ referring to Elon Musk as a ‘mad mogul’ was intended as a ‘sidewinding compliment’.

What we know

• ‘Foreign Tongues’ debuted at Number One on the UK Official Albums Chart on July 17, giving the Rolling Stones their 15th UK chart-topping album.
• The achievement draws the Stones level with The Beatles, with only Robbie Williams ahead of them on 16 UK Number One albums.
• Williams claimed his 16th UK Number One in January with ‘BRITPOP’.
• Taylor Swift has 14 UK Number One albums; Elvis Presley and Madonna each have 13.
• ‘Foreign Tongues’ is the band’s 25th studio album and was released on July 10.
• Paul McCartney plays bass on ‘Covered In You’; Robert Smith plays guitar on ‘Divine Intervention’ and contributes synth and backing vocals to ‘Never Wanna Lose You’.
• The album includes drumming from Charlie Watts recorded during one of his final sessions before his death in 2021.
• A six-part podcast series, Speaking In Tongues, narrated by Norah Jones, accompanies the album.

The take

The symmetry of the Stones matching The Beatles at 15 UK Number Ones is the kind of milestone that tends to get framed as a rivalry resolved, but the more striking story is the sustained creative momentum behind it. ‘Hackney Diamonds’ in 2023 was widely treated as a potential farewell statement, a final flourish from a band that had lost its drummer and seemed to be wrapping up loose ends. Instead it became the launchpad for a genuine second wind. ‘Foreign Tongues’ arriving two years later, also at Number One, suggests the Stones have found a working model that suits their current configuration: focused studio records built around a core of Jagger, Richards and Wood, supplemented by high-profile guests rather than a permanent fourth member. That approach echoes how some legacy acts have extended their creative lives well past the point where conventional wisdom said they should stop. The guest list on ‘Foreign Tongues’ is also worth noting in context. McCartney appearing on a Stones record carries obvious symbolic weight given the decades of friendly rivalry between the two camps, and Robert Smith’s involvement signals that the band is reaching across generational lines rather than simply trading on nostalgia. If Jagger’s talk of a third album in this run proves more than optimism, the Stones could be looking at the most productive stretch of their career since the early 1970s.

Why it matters

For Classic Rock fans, the Stones matching The Beatles at 15 UK Number Ones is a genuine landmark, but the deeper significance is what it says about the album format’s continued relevance for legacy acts. In an era when streaming metrics dominate the conversation, a band in their seventh decade is still moving enough units to top the physical and digital album chart. It also reinforces that the post-Watts Stones are a functioning creative unit, not a heritage act coasting on catalog. That matters for the broader ecosystem of classic rock, where the question of how long foundational bands can remain artistically vital is always present.

What’s next

Jagger and Wood have expressed hope that the band will tour behind ‘Foreign Tongues’, though no dates have been announced. The six-part Speaking In Tongues podcast series is available now. Jagger has also indicated he is already writing new material, leaving open the possibility of a third album in the current run.

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