The Stone Roses...

This article featured in Issue One of British Awareness, and highlights the collapse of one of the greatest forces in British music history, the amazing John Squire and Ian Brown. Article by Lauren Murphy.

Anywhere you go you can hear the sounds of music. The sounds that make you live, cry, laugh, scream or quite simply listen. Sometimes you will come across a sound that is different to the others. A sound that is full of life and possess that dash of mystery that captures your heart and holds it gently between it's sweeping melodies. This is a sound that is hard to find, and only if your lucky will you ever hear it. I know that I have heard it, and that it changed the way I looked at music. This was the sound of The Stone Roses,a sound that will never be forgotten. You see The Stone Roses weren't just a band.....they were a group, with the arrogance and talent that made them seem the best band ever imaginable.

From the day they spray-painted their name over the walls of Manchester to the day Ian announced their end, The Stone Roses were something people could relate to and belong to. It didn't matter how old you were or what your background was. When The Stone Roses music rang out through the speakers you all joined as one. So when the day came that the end of the Roses was announce it seemed as if they didn't end, it was more like they split in two. The cult that we all followed was split into sides, where we were no longer one. You either became a follower of Ian or a follower of John. You could of followed Mani to Primal Scream, but I doubt that. The breakdown of Ian and John's friendship was perhaps the saddest thing about the Roses end. Those memories when you would see them standing with each other in interviews laughing together are now just that, memories.

All we can look at now in search of finding out what happened to the Roses are interviews with Ian and interviews with John. They might both of been your favourites when they were in The Stone Roses, but now only one of them is more likely to be. To help you make your decision here is a collection of quotes and memorabilia from the times of Ian and John. So let the records roll on and the battle begin........
And may the best Stone Rose win!!

#Who is Ian Brown?
The man that showed Britpop how to swagger with the Stone Roses. The singer that despite a limited set of vocal range carried himself like a true star. Ian Brown is King Monkey.

#John Squire?
The creative force behind the Stone Roses. He had the guitar style that was saluted by almost everyone. You could say that he is one of the best guitarists in the world today. Also the talented artist who produced all the cover are for the many Roses singles and albums.

#Ian and John first met in a sand pit as small boys. Ian was naked, John was wary but they soon became inseparable anyway.

Everything is easy enough to understand during those early years. They knew what they wanted and how they were going to achieve it. And on their way they gave us the songs that made the anthems for our generation.

The real debate doesn't begin until the 25th of August, 1996. The day this announcement was made: "After ten years in the filthiest business in the universe, it's a pleasure to announce the end of The Stone Roses. Special thanks to the people of Manchester who sent us on our way. Peace be with you all."
-Ian Brown

From here we disappear into the many comments made afterward about why John left, who hated who, and who loved the Roses the most............

"I thought we'd got it back again in 95. Some of those shows in the UK and Australia were the best shows that the Roses played. I watch those videos and no-one's telling me John didn't enjoy himself on that stage. So for '96 I'm thinking, 'Ok, we had a few knocks. Reni's gone, we've missed Glastonbury, but people are there for us again, people are back willing us again'. When it wasn't to be like that I felt like I'd had something taken off me."
-Ian Brown

"I didn't want to ruin anyone's memory for them, but I'm still living, I'm not just your memories. I understand if people feel close to a band, and I know the Roses was four characters, that's what made us strong, we were four individuals. And without John, without Reni, it couldn't be The Stone Roses."
-Ian Brown

"Around '93 I wanted to finish it. It was about '91/'92 that John didn't want to work with Reni no more. John had no belief in Reni's ability, at the same time as everyone's saying and knowing that this kid's the best drummer in the world. But my man, he didn't want to work with him now. So I'm saying we always wanted to be the JB Allstars, we always wanted to be the best players-how are we gonna be the best players if we're not playing together?"
-Ian Brown

"As we walk into the session for the 'Second Coming", John turns to me as Mani's putting his key in the door and says, 'I'm not working with him again', meaning Mani. Now I understand he had me in the same boat, but at the time I didn't."
-Ian Brown

"I can't let them down. So I didn't. And now I think, 'Couldn't he of waited for me like I'd waited for him."
-Ian Brown

And what did John have to say about the split?

"It wasn't something I dwelled on. Didn't bother me at all. I know a lot of people were upset by it. I mean, I left : I didn't try and disband the group."
-John Squire

And when asked in an interview about how he felt about what Ian said?

"What did he say?" He said you hadn't wanted to work with him since 1991.
(Huge pause) "That's preposterous!"

So when he was asked a hypothetical question- "If the phone rang and it was Mani-who John hasn't spoken to for at least six months- would you take it?"
"Yeah."
And if it were Ian?
"Yeah, I'd take that."
-John Squire

If he is quoted as saying yes then how do you explain this:
"I'm walking up the street with my newspaper in me hand and he's (John) in his Range Rover driving along. He gave me this look like there's someone at his feet pointing a gun. I was hurt 'cos I felt like, 'I've known you all these years, we've come from nowhere, we've done all that grafting, we've gone round the world, all the love that people's given us and you haven't even got the decency or the courtesy to come and tell me to my face, man to man."
-Ian Brown

So there was confusion over who is the one with the attitude problem. You make your choice of who is the decent bloke.
Meanwhile here's some more things that John and Ian have had to say about a range of topics.......

"Yeah, I'm a pessimist. By nature. Which is the best way to be: you end up making your life full of pleasant surprises."
-John Squire

"Make the world the way you want it - define the reason for your own existence."
-John Squire

"Yeah, but there's more to life than music."
-John Squire

"I don't think the kid ever knew the love people did have for the Roses."
-Ian Brown on John

"In '95 on those tour buses there were two buses: the cocaine bus and the non-cocaine bus. I was on the non-cocaine bus.......If you've got coke up your nose, I'm sorry, but your walking another way."
-Ian Brown on drugs

Then of course there is still one more thing to discuss. The Seahorses. A band that came as a shock to Stone Roses fans. Yet it didn't take long before the times of the Seahorses became reminiscent of the Roses. When Seahorses drummer Andy Watts was sacked it seemed like John was up to old tricks......

"John and Chris were cold and monosyllabic and I couldn't understand why I had to go."
-Andy Watts

"It wasn't a personality clash. He just didn't have the stamina to perform consistently. I heard he was on the radio, but I didn't hear it. I suppose he could be damaging about the band if he wanted to be, but I think it was just about money........I think from making the album everyone improved dramatically except him (Andy). We haven't got time to carry anybody, so he had to go."
-John Squire

"I think John thought all drummers could sing, 'cos of Reni, who was one in a million."
-Chris Helme

How does Ian feel about The Seahorses?

"They just sound weak, boring. Dull, I mean good luck to them kids. I feel a bit sorry for them, because of where he's put them, y'know they've come e from nowhere and they don't know how to say no to him, and they don't know how to say yes, either."
-Ian Brown

Now after Ian has had his taste as a gardener he has given us a new record. A solo album called 'Unfinished Monkey Business', that he has played every instrument in a few songs. And links up with old pals Mani and Reni for a song on the album, 'Can't See Me'. So now both Ian and John have released an album after the Stone Roses. Both are different in their own way, and both have their unique qualities.

The sad fact is that however great 'Unfinished Monkey Business' or 'Do It Yourself' are, they just don't work as well as The Stone Roses. The reality is that, however bitter John or Ian are now, they were best friends, and best friends make great teams. Charlatans front man Tim Burgess sums it up well, "If you can learn to last with lovers or friends, then that's the key." So perhaps if John and Ian had kept their ego's or drug habits under control, we would still be able to enjoy their music.

The Stone Roses were a band that blended beauty with belligerence. They were a band that stood out from the rest, and always will. Their music will always remain as it is made of stone. So although perhaps the most important group in British Music history is no - longer together, we will never let the breakdown of Ian and John's friendship stop us from being Roses.

I leave you now with the words of King Monkey, a man that believed anything was possible..........

"We were stone roses. Definitely. They're strong. They can go all the way. They're mates, they're friends and that's the first thing. If you're friends, your unstoppable. And if you lose the friend ship that's when it'll all go."