When solo star Ian Brown decided to end his self-imposed ban on Stone Roses songs in his set list, he took off in search of Fools Gold in the Granite City.
King Monkey needed a guitarist if he was going to be the resurrection and he went north armed with the knowledge that the best Stone Roses tribute act was from Aberdeen.
The strummer, Steve Davidson, and bass player, Frazer Clark, took little convincing, signed up and – putting the band back together without putting the band back together – Mr Brown proceeded to belt out his Roses back catalogue and make himself adored.
Again.
The Stone Roses
Formed in Manchester in 1983, the band’s classic line-up consisted of singer Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary “Mani” Mountfield and drummer Alan “Reni” Wren.
The band’s breakthrough came with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1989 and by that point, they were selling out shows across the country.
Fool’s Gold gave them their first top ten hit and the band seemed on the verge of global domination when they played an iconic gig to 30,000 fans at Spike Island in 1990.
It all went horribly wrong and the relationship between Brown and Squire fell apart during the recording of the Second Coming which came five years after their debut.
The group disbanded in October 1996 after limping on through several line-up changes following the departure of Reni in March 1995 and Squire in April 1996.
Brown was written off in 1996
When The Stone Roses broke up in 1996 Brown was considered the least likely to survive in the music industry and he actually considered becoming a gardener.
Thankfully, he decided to embark on a solo career with his unashamedly raw debut album, Unfinished Monkey Business, which was followed by Golden Greats in 1999.
He confounded the critics – and it wouldn’t be for the last time.
Brown initially refused to perform any Stone Roses songs on stage at that time but still managed to bludgeon his way through the rule book to fill his allocated time.
This often meant performing the same song twice to start and end the set or giving the Madchester stamp to covers of the Michael Jackson songs Billie Jean and Thriller.
Brown eventually amassed an impressive solo back catalogue including 2001’s Music of the Spheres containing the epic F.E.A.R. – which remains his best-ever song.
Solarized followed in 2004 and he began including songs from The Stone Roses back catalogue in his set lists.
Fools Gold Aberdeen
Speaking to the Evening Express in 2006, Brown explained how it all happened: “About 18 months ago I arranged a one-off gig in Essex, in the middle of nowhere.
“I thought that if all the fans were going to make the effort to come out and see me I should give them something special – some Roses tunes as a surprise.
“But I needed someone who knew the songs.
“Everyone said that of all the tribute bands Fools Gold from Aberdeen were the business.
“I clicked with them straight away because Fools Gold were into the spirit of Roses, that feeling we all had in ‘89, and were not playing to chase the dollar.
“Steve was a top bloke and his playing was spot on so I asked him to join us and we have been doing Roses songs in the set ever since.”
Brown was quick to kill off any rumours of a Roses reunion.
“It will never happen, no way,” he said.
Brown told the EE he was offered £1 million to reform the band.
“That was the offer, but I don’t want to cheapen what the Stone Roses had,” he said.
“That band meant everything to us, we spent five years on the dole, penniless and struggling.
“But we always had the self confidence and the spirit, we never stopped believing we were a great band.”
Indian meal in Aberdeen
Brown was speaking before he performed at the AECC in February 2006 and Summerhill lad Steve took the boys to Shahbaaz Indian Restaurant in Rose Street.
Steve said: “Our percussionist, Inder Goldfinger, comes from Punjab. The staff really went out of their way to look after us.
“It got the thumbs up from Ian and that takes some doing because he’s from Manchester, home to the UK’s best Indian restaurants.”
Steve and Frazer performed on Brown’s 2007 album The World Is Yours and appeared at the likes of Glastonbury, T in the Park, the V Festival and Isle of Wight.
Speaking to the EE in 2006, Steve gave his take: “Our bass player Frazer Clark and I were brought to the attention of Ian Brown two years ago by a mutual friend.
“Ian was keen to let others recreate the sound of the Stone Roses.
“That’s where Frazer and I fitted in with his plans.”
Brown followed up The World Is Yours with 2009 solo album My Way and Steve remained with the band until things took an unexpected twist.
Steve was back in Aberdeen dedicating his spare time to giving budding north-east guitarists tuition when The Stone Roses announced they were reuniting.
All 220,000 tickets for three 2012 homecoming shows in Manchester sold out in less than an hour and more gigs followed, in Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania, including Glasgow Green in June 2013, plus they headlined T in the Park in July 2016.
On May 12 2016, the band released All for One, their first new single in more than 20 years, with second single, entitled Beautiful Thing, released on June 9 that year.
When the Roses played Glasgow’s Hampden Park on June 24 2017, Brown addressed the crowd with the statement: “Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened.”
On September 16 2017 guitarist John Squire confirmed the band had dissolved.
Ever the workaholic, Brown returned to the studio and recorded his first solo album in a decade, which was entitled Ripples and released in February 2019.
Brown didn’t tour the album because of the pandemic and became an outspoken critic of lockdown restrictions, Covid vaccines and the wearing of face-masks.
He finally embarked on that long-awaited UK tour in September 2022, which prompted criticism in some quarters when he performed on stage without a band.
But, then, he has always been unconventional.
That’s what makes him Ian Brown.
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