The Rolling Stones have added credibility to rumours of an imminent new album, teasing a worldwide announcement next week for a "new Stones era".
Last week the band's launched what appears to be a stealthy publicity campaign for their long-awaited 24th studio album via a cryptic advertisement placed in the Hackney Gazette, an East London newspaper. The advert purported to be for a company called Hackney Diamonds, a glass repair business, and featured a sales blurb that referenced three song titles by the band.
"Our friendly team promises you satisfaction," read the copy. "When you say gimme shelter we’ll fix your shattered windows" [emphasis ours]. The ad goes on to list a phone number and a website, hackneydiamonds.com.
"Anyone see this?", tweeted Scottish music journalist Simon Harper, a man who undoubtedly spends his time combing through the classified ads in local newspapers, and definitely wasn't selected by the band's record company to break the news via his music content consultancy. "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?"
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? pic.twitter.com/DFSnb2WE48August 21, 2023
Today (September 1) the English rock n' roll legends posted a 14-second-long augmented reality video clip of their iconic logo above an entrance to a New York subway station. The video is captioned, “A new Stones era Worldwide September 6th Join at http://hackneydiamonds.com♪ #hackneydiamonds”
A new Stones era Worldwide September 6thJoin at https://t.co/09XIP65sXt💎♪#hackneydiamonds pic.twitter.com/uV6xOXKDigSeptember 1, 2023
When the Stones played London Stadium in 2018, Mick Jagger made reference to the venue being in the same neighbourhood as an East London club named "Dalston Baths”, which could have been a slightly misremembered nod to Leyton Baths, which the band played in 1963, or Dalston’s Chez Don club, which was open around the same time.
A new Rolling Stones album would be the band's first full-length studio release since 2016's Blue & Lonesome covers album, and their first album of original material since A Bigger Bang in 2005.
