Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds: Album announcement or ‘new store in Mare Street’

The rumours began with an advert in the corner of a newspaper - a new Rolling Stones album could be on the way.

The advert for “Hackney Diamonds, Specialists in Glass Repair” ran in last week’s Hackney Gazette and comes with a Rolling Stones tongue logo in the dot of the ‘i’ in diamonds.

It says the company was established in 1962 - the year the Stones formed - and has a message packed with puns on song titles: “Our friendly team promises you satisfaction. When you say gimme shelter we’ll fix your shattered windows.”

A phone number is provided, 0202 3932 6088, on which a mystery man with a cockney accent refers people to the website www.hackneydiamonds.com which allows people to register their email address for further updates.

The website’s terms and conditions reveal it is registered to Universal Music.

Teasingly, the print advert says: “Opening our new store on Mare Street, September 2023.”

The advert was spotted by Clash Magazine and Sharper Content founder Simon Harper, who posted on X: “Anyone see this? An ad ran in Hackney Gazette for a company called Hackney Diamonds teasing Rolling Stones song titles. Their est. date is 1962, same year Stones formed. Website seems to be run by Universal Music, the Stones’ label. A clue their long-awaited new LP is on its way?”

A new album by The Rolling Stones would be the first collection of original material since 2016’s A Bigger Bang.

It is known that the band have recorded new material, and that Charlie Watts recorded drum parts before his death in August 2021, aged 80.