The Stone Roses (formed 1983) The Stone Roses are a British indie rock band consisting of Ian Brown, John Squire, Gary 'Mani' Mounfield and Alan 'Reni' Wren. The Stone Roses: Formation The Stone Roses started out with Andy Couzens and Brown who enlisted Simon Wolstencroft, Pete Garner and, later, Squire. Brown and Squire had previously had a band in school called The Patrol with Couzens and Wolstencroft, though that eventually fell through and Squire and Couzens eventually started a new band called The Fireside Chaps with Mani, a singer called Kaiser and Chris Goodwin before changing their name to The Waterfront and recruiting Brown. Wolstencroft soon left The Stone Roses to be briefly replaced by Goodwin. They then auditioned for a replacement and were landed with Reni in 1984. The Stone Roses: Musical career The Stone Roses started out their career by sending round demos on cassettes and they played their first gig supporting Pete Townshend at the Moonlight Club in London. Howard Jones, Martin Hannett and Tim Chambers set up Thin Line Records to release their debut album but it was shelved (though later released as 'Garage Flower'. They did release their debut single 'So Young'/ 'Tell Me'. In 1985 they played a gig in Preston but it turned into a riot due to technical problems and other issues. To earn themselves more publicity, they graffitied the band's name all over West Didsbury. In 1986, Gareth Evans became their manager. Brown and Squire caused conflict in the band for wanting the biggest share of their earnings for being the songwriters. Couzens and Reni briefly left in protest but both returned, though Couzens was fired by Evans for not joining the rest of the band after a show. In 1986, they recorded songs 'Sugar Spun Sister' and 'Elephant Stone'. In 1987, they released single 'Sally Cinnamon' though some of their original fanbase had mixed views on it. Pete Garner then left the band and was replaced by Rob Hampson briefly before Gary 'Mani' Mounfield took over. In 1988, they played a concert in Manchester with the band James prior to which they advertised themselves wrongly as headliners and limited James' play time. They later signed to Zomba records. In 1989 they release their self-titled debut album which had positive reviews but only hit the UK charts at number 32. Their subsequent single 'She Bangs the Drums' reached number one on the UK Independent Chart. In 1989, they performed on BBC's 'The Late Show' during which the power failed and Brown shouted 'Amateurs!' again and again at Tracey MacLeod. That year also saw them release single 'Fools Gold/ What the World Is Waiting For' which reached number eight on the UK chart. That year, their album rose to number 19. They won four NME Readers poll awards and their album become famously influential. They played a popular concert at Spike Island in Widnes in 1990 which saw 27,000 attend. 1990 saw them release 'One Love' at number four in the UK chart but it became their last for a while as they became embroiled in a legal battle to end their contract with Zomba's Silvertone records. They were released from the label in 1991 and subsequently signed with Geffen Records. They released their second album 'Second Coming' in 1994. Single 'Love Spreads' reached number 2 though the album received mixed reviews. In 1995, just before their 'Second Coming' tour, Reni left after an argument with Brown and Robbie Maddix became a replacement for the tour. They planned another tour soon after but it was cancelled along with their Glastonbury Festival dates as Squire had a mountain-biking accident and broke his collarbone. He left in 1996 to be replaced by Aziz Ibrahim but they only lasted another six months before splitting entirely. In 2007, they had a half-reunion at Manchester Versus Cancer charity concert with Brown, Mani, Cressa, Andy Rourke, Maka Simato and Steve White and Reni declined to join them. Mani said that he, Reni and Squire wanted to regroup for their 20th anniversary but Squire denied any plans in 2009. In 2011, Brown and Squire reunited at Mani's mother's funeral, though Mani insisted they were not getting back together. Later that year, they finally announced their reunion with a massive world tour and in 2012 said they would soon release a third album. A documentary on their career and reunion directed by Shane Meadows was later announced.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
