The Rolling Stones would be announcing the arrival at the beginning of September of their 31st studio album, entitled Hackney Diamonds, through a cryptic advertisement in a local London media, the Hackney Gazette. An advertisement in which a small glass repair company, Hackney Diamonds, advertises the opening of its new store on Mare Street in September 2023. And it does so with a text that directly alludes to three iconic Rolling Stones songs stones. And with the dot over the i in Diamonds replaced by the logo of the lips and tongue for which the band is famous.
The clues in the ad, which could pass for marketing a small business, are numerous, because the surprising text of the ad alludes to three songs by the band led by Mick Jagger: “”Our friendly team promises you satisfaction. When you say Give me shelter, we’ll fix your smashed windows.” An eye-catching text that references iconic songs like (I can’t get not) Satisfaction, Gimme shelter and Shattered.
But it is also that the font used for Hackney Diamonds is the same as the one used on the Stones’ 1978 album Some Girls. And it is also noted that the company was founded in 1962, the same year as the Rolling, of which Charlie Watts died now two years ago. Hackney Diamonds would also be the title of the album, an expression that in London slang alludes to broken glass from muggings and robberies in cars and shops breaking windows and shop windows.
In case there were any doubts, the advertisement, with a red background, includes a telephone number to obtain an immediate appointment -020 3932 6088- which, if called, will hear a recorded message that says “Welcome to Hackney Diamonds, specialists in glass repair : Don’t get mad, fix it. Opening early September, Mare Street, E8. Sign up for a call at www.hackneydiamonds.com.” On that website, fans are offered the chance to sign up for a mailing list run by the Stones’ record label, Universal Music.
