Ashtrays for the Rolling Stones

Well, sometimes specific situations call for specific measures.
So what do you do if smoking on stage is a major desire but one of your bandmates successfully defeated throat cancer? – and wants to keep it like that.
Pierre Debeauford, main technician for the Rolling Stones for many years already constructed an ingenious system which sucks away the smoke from two on stage ashtrays so that Keith and Ronnie can each smoke their pack of cigarettes per show – and one has to admit that this is kind of ‘Stones cool’.
And the best thing about it: Charly doesn’t have to worry.


I know Dieter, CEO of Duesenberg Guitars, Front Man of “Los Dooros” and R&D fanatic long enough to know that this story would immediately fire up some neurons in his brain. He sat down in his workshop in Madrid (Dieter’s home town for almost 8 years!) and constructed some ashtrays which are attached via Neodym magnets to the existing air system. It goes without saying that these are also heat resistant up to 600°C. The current air stream of the system also prevents the cigarettes from burning out, which is a neat little side effect since modern cigarettes all have a safety built in which keeps them from setting you on fire in case you fall asleep while smoking. Which happened.


So for someone who wants to smoke during songs, this is a perfect invention.

A short time after Ingo Renner (Managing Director of Duesenberg Guitars) handed the two Johnny Depp guitars as gifts from Johnny to Keith and Ronnie in Berlin now here in the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid you can see Dieter on stage together with the Stone’s technicians doing a major soundcheck. And who knows, maybe Dieter and his band will support the Stones on their next tour? Dieter would definitely be in for it.
Anyway, after the soundcheck he also used the moment to deliver his updated version of the ashtrays to Keith and Ronnie.

So once again we know that where there is a will, there is a way.

Dieter’s comment on the story, “Smokers must be supported!”

Soundcheck: