The Rolling Stones, photo by Mark Seliger
Since The Rolling Stones released Hackney Diamonds in 2023, rumors have swirled around another Andrew Watt-produced offering from the legendary rock group. It now appears that the band’s 25th studio album is in the throes of a mysterious viral marketing campaign behind the pseudonym of The Cockroaches, an old Stones alias. Over the weekend, the band let loose the first complete preview track from the project as a limited 12-inch single, uploaded in full through a fan’s vinyl rip.
“Rough and Twisted” was pressed to only 1000 numbered white-label vinyl records, distributed to independent record stores worldwide. While attributed to The Cockroaches, the track’s raucous blues-rock riff and Mick Jagger’s unmistakable howl make no effort to mask their signature sound; the grand, thundering bar-room stomp that kicks up at the hook is very much in line with what we’ve heard from the band in recent years. Jagger yelps over thick and jagged backed: “Yeah, all you feed me was just rancid ricе and bones/ All I drank was muddy water/ As lonely as a saxophonе/ Why don’t you take me/ To where I wanna go?/To Natchez, Mississippi, Sicily and Rome.”
The Stones’ covert single arrived after posters for The Cockroaches were plastered across London, featuring a QR code linking to a website owned by the Stones’ label, Universal Music. Last week, an Instagram user named thecockroaches2026 posted a pro-shot video of a man, wearing a “Who the Fuck are The Cockroaches” shirt, spinning the new record until Jagger’s first words, with a caption that reads “64 & Counting.” The band officially claimed the antics with a post to its own account yesterday.
Hear the fan recording of “Rough and Twisted” below.
@georginapascoe Replying to @ssstafford531 The Cockroaches/The Rolling Stones – Rough and Twisted. Full song. #RoughAndTwisted #TheRollingStones #TheCockroaches #vinylcollection #recordcollection ♬ original sound – ⚡️georgina • vinyl • gigs • cd
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