Mick Jagger tells us he’s “had my Sam Fender moments lately” and hails ‘People Watching’ as “excellent”

Mick Jagger has revealed that he is a fan of Sam Fender, hailing his album ‘People Watching’ as “excellent”.

The Rolling Stones frontman was speaking to NME ahead of the release of the band’s new album ‘Foreign Tongues’, which is set to arrive on July 10 – pre-order it here.

Asked about younger artists he has been listening to recently, Jagger said: “I’ve had my Sam Fender moments lately, because I like a lot of his stuff. That ‘People Watching’ album was stunning. Yeah, I thought that album was excellent, earlier stuff I liked, you know, ‘Seventeen Going Under’, there’s some good stuff on that album.”

“It’s always the same when you hear songs for the first time,” he continued. “It’s just the general vibe and then the grooves. It’s rock music, you know, but his songs have good choruses – which is part of the game. I think a lot of the lyrics are really interesting too and reflective of his experience growing up.”

Jagger also noted that Fender’s writing has begun to move beyond the working-class themes that helped define his early material.

“He’s obviously very pop orientated,” he said. “He’s not only doing working class songs. The song he did with Olivia Dean was very successful.”

He then singled out ‘Crumbling Empire’ from ‘People Watching’ as “lyrically interesting”.

NME put it to Jagger that Fender could be a fitting guest at a future Stones show, perhaps on ‘Tumbling Dice’. “Yeah, he might be really good for that,” Jagger replied.

Fender released ‘People Watching’ in February 2025, following 2021’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’. In a four-star review, NME described the album as “Reflective, analytical and vulnerable”, concluding: “He approaches each track with sensitivity as he looks back on his life so far – perhaps even with an inkling of guilt – and contemplates who he may be next.”

The album went on to win the 2025 Mercury Prize, with Fender later donating his £25,000 winnings to Music Venue Trust.

Jagger’s comments come after he recently discussed a number of younger artists he has been listening to, including Geese, who he hailed as “very experimental”, and Rosalía for her “conceptual” album ‘Lux’.

The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, have previewed ‘Foreign Tongues’ with the singles ‘Rough And Twisted’, ‘In The Stars’, ‘Jealous Lover’ and ‘Divine Intervention’.

Speaking to NME about Paul McCartney’s appearance on the record, Jagger said it was “very easy” working with the former Beatle, who plays bass on ‘Covered In You’.

Robert Smith also features on ‘Divine Intervention’, although The Cure frontman initially turned down the chance to collaborate with the band because he “wasn’t really prepared for it”.

The Stones have also launched a six-part podcast series, Speaking In Tongues, exploring the making of the album.

Jagger also recently named ‘Sticky Fingers’, ‘Beggars Banquet’ and ‘Hackney Diamonds’ among his favourite Rolling Stones albums, while pointing to ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, ‘Start Me Up’, ‘Angie’ and ‘Honky Tonk Women’ as among his favourite songs.