Mick Jagger has praised Sam Fender’s new version of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Recorded for the John Lewis Christmas campaign, the cover features a children’s choir from Fender’s former school and the Easington Colliery Band. Its November 3 release arrived with warm words from Jagger, who said he was pleased to hear the younger musician reinterpret the song.
Mick Jagger has given Sam Fender’s new recording of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” his approval. The Rolling Stones singer said he already admired Fender’s work and was pleased to learn that he would cover one of his songs. After hearing the result, he praised the performance, adding a personal endorsement to a release that brings one of the band’s best-known compositions into Britain’s Christmas advertising season.
Mick Jagger’s comments were made public on November 3 alongside Fender’s recording. It soundtracks “Gloria and Pickles”, this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert. For Fender, the commission offered a chance to approach a familiar song through his own voice and musicians from the place where he grew up, rather than simply reproducing the arrangement and scale of the original Rolling Stones recording.
Fender recorded the track on Tyneside in north-east England, sharing production duties with Joe Atkinson and Dean Thompson. The version retains the melody while giving space to his lead vocal, the choir and the brass. It is noticeably shorter than the original, but preserves elements that make the composition recognisable. Those choices also give the recording a local connection through the people invited to perform on it.
For the children’s choir, he returned to John Spence Community High School in North Shields, where he had been a pupil. Students from the school recorded the choral part, bringing a place from his own upbringing into a campaign that will be heard across Britain. Fender described the opportunity to revisit a song by such an influential band as a privilege and explained how the choir and brass became part of that approach.
The Easington Colliery Band supplies another link to the region. Fender had previously worked with the brass ensemble on “Remember My Name” from “People Watching”. Here, its contribution accompanies the vocal build and adds to the recording’s reflective character. Mick Jagger’s response therefore concerns a version shaped not only by Fender’s singing, but also by the schoolchildren and musicians he chose to bring into the sessions.
The Rolling Stones released “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” on “Let It Bleed” in 1969. Its writing turns on the distance between what people want and what they may actually need. Rock instrumentation, choral sections and a gradual musical build are central to the original. Fender’s shorter treatment keeps that recognisable song at its core while introducing a performance connected to his own background.
The advert gives the music a specific story to accompany. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Gloria, a grandmother trying to find the right Christmas present for her grandchildren. Paul Whitehouse voices Pickles, an old wooden toy dog. Gloria’s search centres on choosing something personal rather than settling for a gift of money, placing the song’s distinction between wanting and needing alongside the campaign’s small family narrative.
The recording has been available digitally since November 3. Physical editions on CD and seven-inch vinyl have also been announced, with Fender’s 2020 version of Lindisfarne’s “Winter Song” on the reverse. That track receives its first physical release as part of the package. The formats give the new cover a life beyond the advert, pairing the Rolling Stones composition with another recording tied to the singer’s north-eastern roots.
The physical releases of the song praised by Mick Jagger also have a charitable purpose. Net profits received by Fender and Polydor Records from sales through his official UK online store will go to Teenage Cancer Trust. John Lewis will direct its profits from sales through its own shops to Action for Children. Those arrangements concern the specified physical sales channels; they should not be expanded into a claim about every stream or every sale of the recording. Teenage Cancer Trust supports young people with cancer, the cause linked to Fender’s store sales.
The release comes during a strong period for Fender. His third album, “People Watching”, arrived in 2025 and won the Mercury Prize. He has also announced the “Proper Massive Stadium Tour” for 2027, including British and European stadium dates and a Wembley appearance. Mick Jagger’s praise adds another moment to that period, but the two artists have not announced a joint recording or performance alongside the cover.
For Fender, the song links the Rolling Stones’ catalogue with the community he came from. Pupils at his old school and the Easington Colliery Band now form part of a recording accompanying Christmas across Britain, with physical releases supporting charitable work. Mick Jagger has already supplied his response to the reinterpretation, welcoming the choice and expressing his appreciation for what the younger singer made of it.
