The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds: Could this be the band’s first album of new songs in almost 20 years?
The Rolling Stones appear to have teased a new album – by placing an advert in a local newspaper.
Fans are convinced an innocuous-looking promotion for a new glass repair store, featured in the Hackney Gazette, is actually a hint of new work from the rock legends.
Representatives for The Rolling Stones – now featuring the core trio of Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards – are remaining tight-lipped, but the clues are there.
The advert for “Hackney Diamonds” features lyrics from the band’s best-known hits and says the store was established in 1962, the year they formed. It also includes a link to a website which includes privacy terms under the group’s music label Universal.
If this is indeed a new Rolling Stones album, it would be the first since blues covers record Blue & Lonesome in 2016 and potentially their first album of original music in almost 20 years – the last was A Bigger Bang in 2005.
It would also be their first without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021.
‘Don’t get angry, get it fixed’
“Our friendly team promises you Satisfaction. When you say Gimme Shelter we’ll fix your Shattered windows,” says the advert, which featured in the newspaper’s 17 August edition.
Call the phone number on the ad and it takes you through to a recorded message.
“Welcome to Hackney Diamonds, specialists in glass repair,” is the greeting from a male voice with a Cockney accent. “Don’t get angry, get it fixed.”
The “store” is set to open early in September.
The Rolling Stones marked their 60th anniversary with a European tour in 2022, covering 10 countries including the UK.