Select September 1996 Issue



Begging You... ... To stop. The minute-by-minute highlights of the 'Roses' at Reading, as recorded by a dodgy bloke from Nawf Lahndan...

0:04 Riffology of a distinctly Indian nature begins. Brown says something indecipherable. Eventually, intro to 'I Wanna Be Adored' rings out.
1:20 Robbie Maddix yells, "How we doing out there tonight? Are we gonna have it? Woo!" 'Adored' begins in earnest. Ian Brown's vocals are in tune. Just about.
4:31 Vocals suddenly go very awry. Undeterred, Maddix hollers "Here we go!"
6:20 The song over, Brown spies a flag in the crowd. "Take that Union Jack down!" he says, "I don't wanna see it!"
7:06 'She Bangs The Drums'. Browns vocals are dreadful.
10:33 Song Ends. Someone shouts "Fuck John Squire!" Ian says, "On guitar! Aziz!" and emits the first of the night's bizarre monkey noises ("Oo-oo! Oo-oo!"). "He wanted to play with us," he adds, wittily.
11:23 'Waterfall'. The solo is 'fluffed' and the endpiece goes very Heavy Metal.
16:06 Premiere of 'High Time', founded on clever double-meaning - much like 'Whoops' could be a reference to the noises made by pockets of the crowd, or an exclamation vis-a-vis the sense that The Roses are in the midst of a big mess.
21:25 'Ten Storey Love Song' (written by Squire). Terrible vocals.
25:25 "Take that flag down," repeats Brown. Start of 'Daybreak', which was never much of a tune anyway.
32:28 The band go terribly Heavy Metal.
34:35 The song over, Brown emits more monkey noises. 'Love Spreads' (Squire) begins, augmented by foghorn-like 'oooooh' sounds from Brown. They are rather inevitably, out of tune.
40:33 A pause. A Scottish bloke shouts out "John Squire's a wanker! Judas!" Ian says, "You've gone a bit quiet."
41:14 'Made Of Stone', Brown has all but given up.
46:10 'I Am The Resurrection'. The worst Brown vocals yet. On two occasions, the band apparently almost stop. The chorus - during which Brown loses his place - is totally unlistenable.
53:48 New song 'Ice Cold Cube'. It sounds like Genesis. With shite vocals.
58:35 'Breaking Into Heaven' (Squire). At its close, Brown courteously says "Thank you". More monkey noises before exit.
68:18 The encore. Monkey noises and 'Drivin' South' (Squire).
73:31 "Thank you." Monkey noises. Exit.



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