Superfan

“When I was 7 or 8, we lived in Malberg,” Hakke says. “My brother collected LPs by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, among others. From the first time I heard the Stones, I was hooked. That’s how it started.” 

He gestures towards a wall displaying – precisely – 100 framed concert tickets. “In 1976 I went to my first show, in Brussels. That same year I saw them again in The Hague. After that I flew twice to New York, once to Chicago, once to Boston and once to Toronto.” 

People often say you are either a Stones fan or a Beatles fan. Hakke does not see it that way. “The Beatles certainly made some beautiful music,” he says. “Especially John Lennon and George Harrison. I was never really a fan of Paul McCartney, though. It’s mainly his voice – it just doesn’t do it for me.”

Has Hakke ever spoken to anyone from The Rolling Stones? He starts to laugh. “Yes, I have. That was in 1979. Mick Jagger was at Pinkpop that year, although he didn’t sing there. At some point he walked past the former Rotanhuis building at the start of Koestraat in Maastricht. I had a camera with me and wanted to take his picture. When he noticed, he told me: ‘Fuck off!’ That was our conversation.” 

“Not long after that, he did want to be photographed. He grabbed hold of a traffic signpost and stuck his tongue out at me. The photo was never taken, though. I’m an amateur photographer – it took me too long to set the camera properly. By the time I was ready, Mick was gone.” “That was a shame, but nothing more than that. I stayed a fan, and I always will be. The Stones are with me all day long. When I’m home alone, and when I invite friends over, which I do often. Friendship matters. That, too, is sjiek.”