Sam Fender Covers the Rolling Stones for John Lewis's Christmas Ad
Sam Fender released his cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on November 3, 2026, and it came with a built-in audience. The track soundtracks John Lewis's Christmas advert, which the UK retailer says is its 20th edition, per The Independent.
What the cover is
Per the release, Fender self-produced the song with his bandmates Joe Atkinson and Dean Thompson and recorded it in Tyneside, England. He leaned on home for the extra voices. The choir comes from John Spence Community High School in North Shields, where Fender was a pupil, and the brass comes from the Easington Colliery Band. The BBC reports he reunited with the band after they worked together on his last album.
"It was a privilege to rework such an iconic song by such a legendary band," Fender said in the release. "In the spirit of Christmas, we re-recorded the children's choir with the kids from my old school, John Spence Community High School, and we arranged a brass section with the Easington Colliery Band."
Mick Jagger signed off, too. "I'm a fan of Sam's work, so I was pleased to hear he was covering one of my songs," he said in the same release. "I think he's done a great job with it."
That choir choice is the smartest thing about the record. A Christmas ad cover can easily feel like a brief. Swapping in kids from his own old school turns it into a North Shields record that happens to sell department store gifts.
Sam Fender, "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Where it's from
The advert is titled Gloria and Pickles. Kristin Scott Thomas plays a grandmother, and Paul Whitehouse voices a vintage wooden pull-along dog, per The Independent. Official Charts calls the song "a brand-new rendition of The Rolling Stones' 1969 classic" and says the 7-inch vinyl and CD editions are available to pre-order, backed with his 2020 cover of Lindisfarne's "Winter Song." Profits from physical sales through John Lewis support Action for Children, and those through his official store go to Teenage Cancer Trust, per Official Charts. The single is out to stream now on Apple Music and through the official smartlink.
Where it fits in Fender's year
The cover lands at the end of a record-setting year. His third album, People Watching, won the 2025 Mercury Prize. Its duet "Rein Me In" with Olivia Dean spent 23 non-consecutive weeks at number one in the UK, which Official Charts says made it "the longest-running Number 1 single in Official Chart history."
Next comes his Proper Massive Stadium Tour '27. It opens June 3, 2027, at St. James' Park in Newcastle and includes three Wembley Stadium nights on June 18, June 20 and September 2, per his official site. Per the release, all nine original dates sold out in a day, and extra dates were added in Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.
He isn't the only artist reworking a classic this fall. Ally Salort has her own "Last Christmas" out, Lauren Daigle cut two holiday standards with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Bleech 9:3 took on The Cure's "Lullaby" for Halloween weekend. Fender's version has the bigger stage. Official Charts already names him a potential contender for the 2026 Christmas number one, and a hometown choir is a strong argument for the job.