The Stone Roses Artistfacts

1983–1996, 2011–2017
Ian BrownLead vocals1983-1996, 2011-2017
John SquireGuitar1983-1996, 2011-2017
ManiBass1987-1996, 2011-2017
ReniDrums1984-1995, 2011-2017
Paul GarnerBass1983-1987
Andy CouzensRhythm guitar1983-1986
Simon WolstencroftDrums1983-1984
The Stone Roses 1989 eponymous debut album was a watershed in British pop when the ecstasy-fueled club scene was at its height. By combining rocky guitar and acid house attitude, they spearheaded Britpop and the 1990s indie movement.
Frontman Ian Brown first formed a close friendship with guitarist John Squire at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys over a shared love for punk rock.
Brown, Squire, bassist Pete Garner, rhythm guitarist Andy Couzens and drummer Simon Wolstencroft formed The Stone Roses in 1983. Wolstencroft left the following year to join Terry Hall's band, The Colourfield. Alan "Reni" replaced him in May 1984 after seeing an advertisement the band had placed in Manchester's A1 Music shop on New Wakefield Street.
Brown met bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield for the first time when Mani and Brown's scooter mobs united to deal with a gang of right-wing skinheads in 1981. Mani joined The Stone Roses in 1987 after Couzens and Garner left the band.
John Leckie, producer of The Stone Roses' debut album, has revealed the band nearly called themselves The Angry Young Teddy Bears. "It sort of suits them in a funny way," he told Q magazine. "The thing with the Roses is that even though there is a punk heritage, they're hippies. Ian especially. It sounds corny, but there's a lot of love there, and you don't really get that with other Manchester bands."
In 2003, the music magazine NME voted The Stone Roses the #1 greatest album of all time, which is somewhat ironic in that upon release they rated it an unspectacular 7 out of 10.
After leaving The Stone Roses, Squire went on to found The Seahorses, denying there was any significance in the name being an anagram of "he hates roses."
The Stone Roses re-formed in 2011 and their three homecoming shows at Heaton Park, Manchester in June and July 2012 were named the fastest-selling rock concerts in UK history. All 220,000 tickets for the three concerts were sold in just 68 minutes.
Ian Brown made a blink-and-miss cameo in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban reading a paperback of Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time.
John Squire is an accomplished artist whose artwork adorned the record covers and promotional posters for Stone Roses' music. In 2010 Penguin Books commissioned him to make artworks for their Decades release series. Squire provided the artwork for the 1980s books.

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