POP/ROCK - May 4, 1988

The owner of an Austrian novelty firm in Vienna said Tuesday that he’s asked Mick Jagger for permission to market his ashes in million-dollar hourglasses. “Mick Jagger is the best symbol for a whole generation of action and motion in music,” Guenter Roth, co-owner of the Trend Connection, told Reuters. “This is a chance for him to become a symbol for motion after his death.” If Jagger, 44, agrees, Roth said, his firm will issue option certificates giving holders the right to buy hourglasses for $1 million each, one month after Jagger’s death. How many hourglasses might Jagger fill? Reuters queried. “Between 100 and 1,000, depending on their size,” said Roth. “We want to use pure ashes.” Jagger couldn’t be reached in London for comment, but an office staffer--as she took the message--did offer: “Boy its gonna be a heavy thing for Mick to figure out an answer to that question. Even if it’s in death--what’s he going to value more, his body or money?”