The Rolling Stones have shared a cryptic teaser about their forthcoming album in a local London newspaper advert.
To many readers, the advert in the Hackney Gazette might have looked like a standard notice for a new glass repair store named Hackney Diamonds. But eagle-eyed Stones fans, who noticed references to classic Stones songs such as “Gimme Shelter”, are certain it revealed the title of the forthcoming project.
“Hackney Diamonds, Specialists in Glass Repair, Opening September 2023,” the advert read on page three of the paper.
It then states: “Our friendly promises you satisfaction. When you say gimme shelter we’ll fix your shattered windows.”
References to three of the band’s best-known hits are included in the text of the advert: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “Gimme Shelter” and “Shattered”.
The ad also reads “Est. 1962”, which is the same year the Stones were formed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
The “i” in Diamonds is also dotted with the band’s iconic tongue and lips logo.
The phone number listed on the ad goes through to a pre-recorded message. A man with a Cockney accent says: “Hackney Diamonds, specialists in glass repair. Don’t get angry, get it fixed.”
“Opening early September, Mare Street E8,” the voice says, suggesting that the album could be released next month.
Meanwhile, the website for the Hackney Diamonds states that emails from its mailing list will be sent on behalf of Universal Music, the label that the Stones are signed to.
Fans of the Stones are speculating that the forthcoming album will be titled Hackney Diamonds. The phrase is perhaps based on an old east London slang phrase, “Dalston diamonds”, which refers to broken shards of glass left on the street, usually from broken car windows as a result of theft.
Hackney Diamonds would be the band’s 31st studio album and their first without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021.
The Independent has representatives of the band for comment.
