The Rolling Stones Share Secret Vinyl Single as The Cockroaches
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
