Greenock Telegraph 3rd November 2004



Former Stone Roses singer to play town hall

Former Stone Roses front man Ian Brown is playing a gig at Greenock Town Hall.

Tickets for the concert go on sale next week and they are expected to sell out within hours.

Brown has agreed to play the concert for no fee and wants all proceeds donated to his favourite charity.

And he knows he is in for a warm welcome.

"Ian is well aware of the fanaticism of fans here — he told me that everywhere he goes he bumps into a Stone Roses fan from Greenock," said Andrew McDermid, one of the organisers of the gig.

Brown has been playing sell-out concerts throughout the UK. In Manchester he was joined by Oasis star Noel Gallagher on stage.

"It is going to be amazing," said Andrew today.


Ian Brown to play one-off charity gig

Stone Roses star Ian Brown is playing a one-off charity gig in Greenock Town Hall later his month.

The singer has agreed to come to Inverclyde and perform free after talks with Roddy McKenna and Andrew McDermid.

The duo, who work at James Watt College, have been relentless in their pursuit of the indie legend.

They even travelled to Manchester for face-to-face talks with his tour manager.

And yesterday their efforts were rewarded when Brown signed on the dotted line to play the town on 25 November on the condition that all proceeds go to his pet charity Sightsavers which helps people in the Third World.

Roddy McKenna, who has been pals with Brown since he signed Stone Roses to Silvertone Records in 1987, is delighted his old mate has come up with the goods.

"Ian and I have stayed in touch since 1987 and he visited Greenock during the summer because he was interested in what I was doing at James Watt College," said Roddy earlier today.

Tickets go on sale on Saturday 13 November from Rhythmic Records and Andrew is expecting music fans to be mad for it!

"There will be no advance bookings so if you want a ticket you'll have to queue and they will be limited to four per person," said Andrew today.

"I'm ecstatic Ian is coming. He is a huge hero of mine and when I saw him play Glasgow earlier this year the crowd was going wild.

"I didn't think we would get him, but Roddy was always convinced Ian would play. He kept saying 'Ian is a man of his word' and that he wouldn't let us down."

The gig is being organised by James Watt College's School Of Music and Inverclyde Council. It is open to all ages so under-18s can go along too.

Chris Bradley, head of the college's school of music and performing arts, said today: "We are delighted Ian Brown is becoming involved in this area."






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