| Latest News |
| 26.01.2008 |  |
 Hello all, firstly I hope you're all having a good start to 2008 - no doubt you will have noticed the lack of updates on the site lately which is why I've taken (the strangely somewhat easy) decision to make this my last update for the foreseeable future. Due to some rather large changes in my personal life back in September-December last year, updating the site became difficult and because of the nature of the changes, I had to concerntrate on the real world. Since things have settled down now a little I find I don't have the same passion I once felt and don't feel the need to spend my free time keeping the best Stone Roses website on the net the best. Thanks to everyone for the repeated visits, comments and support over the last 5 years or so, it's made it all worth while. I would've prefered to have finished the Discography 100% to meet my new design but I guess it was always a massive project for just one man, I would've liked to have added all the latest John Squire art to the gallery too, I may do if I miss updating the site at any point. I've met some great people through doing the site a number of which I still talk to today on msn, email and that and I've been able to talk to people around the world that I would not otherwise been able to and of course trading my way to an almost complete set of Roses/Brownie/Squire bootleg gigs. Have no fear though, all the sites will remain and I will maintain them from time to time but at present there is no plan to add any new content, I've finally escaped the Stone Roses world of the internet and since I'm enjoying life so much right now, I have no desire to get as caught up as I was in the past. Of course I might be tempted to make a few posts if some really tasty Roses news came my way - you never know. The forum will of course stay open, so keep posting your Stone Roses memories. Hopefully I'll bump into some of you at a gig at some point, a Stone Roses one in the not to distant future would be nice... but I'm not gonna start saving just yet! Take it easy, Paul x |
| 16.09.2007 | |
 'The World Is Yours' gets a full NME exclusive preview on their website. By visiting the site you'll be able to get your first listen to the album in full including tracks 'Sister Rose' and 'Save Us' which have been played on various radio stations this week. Click the "Ian Brown - Album 'The World Is Yours'" link (on the page) to launch the player - you will need to register for the site to listen to the tracks.The album (out a week tomorrow - 24th September) can be preordered from Amazon, Play and HMV. 'Illegal Attacks' sees its release tomorrow (17th September) on CD, download and 2 x 7"s, the first a limited edition yellow 7" (numbered) gatefold sleeve designed to house the other 7" format. The second 7" includes a Free IA Artwork Stencil, all are available to preorder from Amazon and HMV. |
| 16.09.2007 |  |
 ...and of course with the 5th anniversary of the website comes the 5th anniversary of the release of John Squire's debut solo album 'Time Changes Everything' which hit the shops 5 years ago today on the 16th September 2002.Time's certainly flown past but has it changed everything? Well John enjoyed a very successful tour of the album and a number of festival dates and everything looked great for a while, he played summer 2003 festival dates and debuted a couple of new songs that were destined for release on Marshall's House and b-side to the single. There was even a lot of excitement around the release of the 2nd album tied in with John's first art exhibition ever, giving visitors their first look at Stone Roses original artworks that they had previously viewed for years as part of their record collections but sadly something went wrong and Marshall's House was not quite put out there, a number of visitors (to this site) claimed that they couldn't find it or the single in the shops, John and the band only played a handful of dates, in fact John played his last live date (to date). From then on in John has taken time to concentrate on his prolific artistic career, apparently leaving a 3rd solo album in progress to create a 40+ strong collection of pieces that currently form his New Work exhibitions. John did tease us last May when some brand new instrumental tracks appeared alongside a new website, which were well received by all but were only ever to be an accompaniment to John's art and since then he's said in interview that that's it for music but lets hope that the lure of the guitar can bring him to back us musically at some point, in whatever form it takes. Five years on, Time Changes Everything is still an album that I listen to often and am grateful for - it remains well and truly in my Top 10 albums of all time and shows some of John's most reflective writing, in a very different and possibly uneasy move for Squire, he successfully put together, what I consider a masterpiece. |
| 16.09.2007 |  |
 Through a bulletin on myspace, (latter-day Stone Roses drummer) Robbie Maddix confirms that he is to support Ian Brown on his upcoming tour; "Ian Brown has asked me to be his special guest on his upcoming tour. I will be performing tracks from my solo album. It is gonna be a great tour dont miss it. Tour starts 27th Sept see you there."To listen to a couple of Robbie's tunes, visit his myspace. |
| 07.09.2007 |  |
 Well, that's the half-decade done then... can't believe it's been yet another 12 months since my last post of this similar nature. Yes it was way, WAY back in 2002 when I first opened the doors to the then 'John Squire - The Unofficial Site', which of course mutated into 'JSU' before re-branding earlier this year into the Stone Roses design of 'Don't Stop' which you are all now familiar with.Of course, I'd like to send thanks out to all the usuals for repeated visits, inspirational messages via email and myspace and the ever-so-rare emails requesting that I send them loads of bootlegs of gigs they've been searching for for years. It was upsetting to hear John Squire say first hand (in interview) that that's it for him and music... I am hoping that he may go back on that decision as I'm sure I'm not the only one who needs one more live show and one more tune. Still we have 'The World Is Yours' to look forward to and drool over, another album from Mani and Primal Scream sometime soon, perhaps and maybe even a little more from Freebass and here's hoping that after the monumental offer Ian made of having a coffee with John that he is quick enough with his response for the two to finally meet and begin the healing, even if nothing musical comes out of it... but how about a one-off Squire/Brown collaboration single for charity? Too much to ask?! As for the 'JSU is 5' (as it would've been) gift, I've got an exclusive Seahorses video interview with John Squire and Chris Helme that should be new to nearly all of you as I've had it in my possession for a number of years but only very recently acquired some free software capable of converting it. Enjoy. To view the video interview in full, click here. |
| 06.09.2007 | |
 The second leg of the new John Squire artwork exhibition kicks off today at The Dazed and Confused Gallery, London EC1V and runs until 4th October 2007.A range of brand new works (different from those that appeared at the last exhibition) with titles such as: Arch Light, Burning Powder, Crashing Dreams, Islamic Ceramic, M105, Off To War and others making up around 22 which will be on show under the title - New Work 2. All of the pieces from both New Work 1 and 2 are also now viewable on John's official site. |
| 31.08.2007 | |
 The formats for Ian Brown's forthcoming album 'The World Is Yours' (24th September) and single 'Illegal Attacks' (17th September) have been confirmed. The album is to be released on CD, Double LP, download and a limited edition 2CD version with bonus disc featuring the Orchestral Mix of the record.The album can be preordered from Amazon, Play and HMV. 'Illegal Attacks' is to be released on CD, download and 2 x 7"s, the first a limited edition yellow 7" (numbered) gatefold sleeve designed to house the other 7" format. The second 7" includes a Free IA Artwork Stencil, all are available to preorder from Amazon but the best deal that I have seen is for all three formats for £5 from EIL.  TracklistingsGatefold 7" Vinyl: Illegal Attacks (Feat. Sinead O’Connor) Illegal Attacks (Sway Soldier Story Remix) 7" Vinyl: Illegal Attacks (Feat. Sinead O’Connor) Keep What Ya Got (BBC Live Lounge Session Feat. Noel Gallagher) CD: Illegal Attacks (Feat. Sinead O’Connor) Illegal Attacks (Sway Soldier Story Remix) In other news, Ian Brown adds 2 extra UK dates to his already busy forthcoming tour: Monday 26th November at Sands Centre, Carlisle and Tuesday 27th November at Carling Academy, Oxford. |
| 31.08.2007 | |
 The Reform The Roses myspace project to get the Stone Roses back into the charts has officially started this week. The man behind the project set up the page to ensure 20,000 Roses fans were on hand to mass download the Stone Roses classic tune 'I Am The Resurrection' and that's exactly what they've been doing since Monday (27th August) but there's still time if you want to help the Roses back into the charts.The charts will, of course, be announced on the Sunday and so we'll have to wait until then to see how successful the project has been. You can purchase the track simply from Woolworths or visit the Reform The Roses myspace for the full list of internet sources that count towards the chart. |
| 08.08.2007 | |
 Ian Brown's forthcoming single 'Illegal Attacks' (17th September) was debuted on radio stations yesterday evening and has since been put on his myspace page for your listening pleasure. On first listen it's a lyrically-heavy wake-up call of a pop record which is a great follow on to 2005's 'All Ablaze', borrowing a little of the darkness that fuelled the track but here, delivering his more serious message. It also has a nice little melody 'steal' from (Golden Greats album track) 'So Many Soldiers' which all long-time fans will pick out instantly and if, like me, you weren't sure how the collaboration with Sinead O'Connor would work out on this track, rest assured that her voice only adds to Brown's message, especially the haunting vocal solo at the end. The video for the single is rumoured to be premiered on Channel 4 on 17th August at 12.10am then again at 1.15am. In other news Ian Brown will play Big Top at Phoenix Park, Dublin on Sunday 28th October. The Big Top has a limited capacity of 5,000. Tickets are priced 34.50 euro including booking fee and go on sale Friday 17th August at 9am from the following outlets: In person: From 99 Ticketmaster outlets Nationwide 24hr hotlines: Tel: (ROI) 0818 719 300 / (NI) 0870 243 4455 Buy online: www.ticketmaster.ie . |
| 06.08.2007 | |
 The artwork for both the forthcoming Ian Brown album 'The World Is Yours' (out 24th September) and single featuring Sinead O'Connor 'Illegal Attacks' (out 17th September) was revealed today, both below.Ian Brown - The World Is Yours 01. The World Is Yours 02. On Track 03. Sister Rose 04. Save Us 05. The Eternal Flame 06. The Feeding Of The 5000 07. Street Children (Pity The Child) 08. Some Folks Are Hollow 09. Goodbye To The Broken 10. Me And You Forever 11. Illegal Attacks 12. The World Is Yours (Reprise) To preorder the album, click here.  In other news Ian is to play Brixton Academy (Thurs 29th Nov & Fri 30th), Doncaster Dome (Sat 1st Dec), Aberdeen AECC (Mon 3rd), Glasgow SECC (Tue 4th), Wolverhampton Civic (Wed 5th), Manchester Central (Gmex) (Fri 7th).Tickets are now available for both the English venues and Scotland venues. |
| 02.08.2007 | |
 An article on Manchester Evening News' website today revealed that Ian Brown's first single from the forthcoming 'The World Is Yours' LP will be a track entitled 'Illegal Attacks' (due for release 17th September) which is one of two tracks on the album featuring outspoken Irish vocalist Sinead O'Connor. Brown revealed: "The song's about Iraqi and Afghan wars. I needed a woman singing the line, 'Soldiers come home', to give it gravitas." The other track featuring O'Connor is 'Some Folks Are Hollow'.Later, when asked of a Stone Roses reunion, of course he denied it completely and added: "I haven't spoken to John in 11 years. He left me to drown but I ended up doing the butterfly." but when asked if he'd meet Squire for a drink he, unexpectantly, answered: "I don't drink... but I would have a Starbucks with him. But only if he's buying." Brown also confirmed that the album was recorded at London’s RAK Studios, was produced by New Yorker Emile and features former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, ex-Happy Mondays bassist Paul Jones and ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Paul Jones and drummer Paul Cook. He did once again mention the attempt to get Sir Paul McCartney on board but explains: "He had too much on, I got the impression he was flattered to be asked, but I got two Sex Pistols which is better than one Beatle!" To read the full article, click here. |
| 30.07.2007 | |
 A provisional tracklisting for the forthcoming 'The World Is Yours' album has appeared on online retailers with 24th September pencilled in as the release date, both may be subject to change. The tracklisting currently runs as:01. The World Is Yours 02. On Track 03. Sister Rose 04. Save Us 05. The Eternal Flame 06. The Feeding Of The 5000 07. Street Children (Pity The Child) 08. Some Folks Are Hollow 09. Goodbye To The Broken 10. Me And You Forever 11. Illegal Attacks 12. The World Is Yours (Reprise) To preorder the album, click here. In other news Ian Brown announces 7 UK new dates for November/December 2007. Ian is to play Brixton Academy (Thurs 29th Nov & Fri 30th), Doncaster Dome (Sat 1st Dec), Aberdeen AECC (Mon 3rd), Glasgow SECC (Tue 4th), Wolverhampton Civic (Wed 5th), Manchester Central (Gmex) (Fri 7th). Tickets are available from 10am Friday 3rd August for the English venues and from 10am Thursday 2nd August for the Scotland venues. |
| 09.07.2007 | |
 Mani appeared as part of a one-off supergroup on this Friday's Jonathan Ross show. He joined Paul Weller, Graham Coxon and Zak Starkey on stage to perform the Weller/Coxon collaboration single 'This Old Town'.The single, featuring This Old Town, Each New Morning and Black River, is available as a download. A 7" single, limited to 5,000 copies, will be released on July 30. To view the full performance, click here. |
| 03.07.2007 | |
 The brand new John Squire artwork exhibition is due to kick off tomorrow (Wedsnesday 4th July) at The Smithfield Gallery, London EC1A, where it will stay until 29th July before moving to The Dazed and Confused Gallery, London EC1V, 6th September - 4th October 2007.As previously reported there is expected to be around 15-20 new pieces on show (although in interviews John has said that he's still working on new pieces, so there may be plenty more by the end of the exhibition) and they will all be available to purchase; according to The Sun: "TV chef JAMIE OLIVER also showed up and bought two of the 20 canvases that were selling for between £2,000 and £28,000." And as John has mentioned in a number of interviews lately, he has worked on some sound installations to accompany the exhibitions. A selection of new pieces and an interview with John (conducted by exhibition consultant Vivienne Gaskin) are all available to view on his website. |
| 06.06.2007 | |
 According to an email from Xfm DJ Dave Haslam, John Squire is to appear on the 'Music Response' show."Guitarist and songwriter from one of Manchester's most loved bands - John Squire of the Stone Roses - is talking exclusively to Dave Haslam on Wednesday 13th June. From the story of the Stone Roses to his days with the Seahorses, to his current activities as an artist, with two exhibitions lined-up - it'll be a unique and indepth hour. Don't miss the John Squire special on XFM Manchester. Wednesday 13th June. On 'Music Response', with Dave Haslam, from 7pm." Tune into XFM Manchester 97.7FM in the Manchester area or Online at www.xfmmanchester.co.uk |
| 05.06.2007 | |
 John Squire's official website is back up and showing off his latest artworks.The website, featuring a few black and white graphics of John working on pieces has a New Work foreward written by exhibition consultant Vivienne Gaskin, details of the forthcoming exhibitions, and an artistic statement from John Squire himself. It also features a forthcoming 'film' section, which sounds very intriguing - perhaps it will show some footage of John working on the latest pieces or perhaps it will appear after the exhibitions have started and provide a virtual walkthrough, similar to those that appeared after the ICA and Deansgate exhibitions in 2004 - either one could come with a soundtrack of new material, I (optimistically) presume. The site also shows off 6 of his brand new artworks (you can view more on the forum). Sadly the site informs that the previous signed art prints are no longer for sale. The first day of the The Smithfield Gallery exhibition is 4th July. Full details on the website. |
| 22.05.2007 | |
 John Squire has kindly donated a piece of artwork to Paint For Poverty."Paint 4 Poverty is a dynamic new initiative from Robin Hood Ministries (RHM) in partnership with Prime Arts. With your support, this unique venture will help us jointly to relieve poverty in the Third and Developing Worlds." The piece John Squire contributed is the huge, 8ft piece Hubris, one of the spiraling designs from his late 2006 range of artworks. 'Hubris' according to its modern usage, is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence (overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution. You can bid on the piece by visiting the website and selecting through the many artworks they currently have at auction. The highest bid for each piece of artwork will be accepted as a preliminary bid and taken forward to the auction on Saturday 13th October 2007 as a commission bid and all (100%) of the money raised goes towards poverty reduction projects around the globe. Click here for a larger picture of Hubris. |
| 18.05.2007 | |
 One of the brand new John Squire artworks is revealed in an article from Manchester Evening News. The piece, one of many from a collection built up in the last three years (since he gave us his last musical offering, 'Marshall's House') is called Priapism (pictured right) which, I imagine would be one of the artworks on display at the forthcoming exhibitions. A quick wikipedia search of the term will give us the gist of it.The article, obviously with some insight into the newest pieces, describes them: "Working on large canvases, the paintings are often built up of layers of plaster, sand, glue and oil paint, which he cuts into, forming shallow pathways and trenches in the canvas, which are then marked with layers of colour. "Abstract, often cellular shapes move across the canvas, with areas of bold colour buried beneath paler layers." A definition which to me describes the process that was possibly used on the recent '462' RCA Secret artwork, albeit on a much smaller scale (the piece was postcard-sized; in fitting with the Secrets theme). The two exhibitions are at The Smithfield Gallery, London EC1A, 4th - 29th July 2007 and The Dazed and Confused Gallery, London EC1V, 6th September - 4th October 2007. The official site remains underconstruction but it is believed that the new work will appear on the site in its new format within the next week or so. Read the full article or see a larger picture of Priapism |
| 18.05.2007 | |
 Tickets for the forthcoming September/October Ian Brown UK tour are now on sale to the general public. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, Gigs And Tours or by calling the 24 hr CC Hotline - 08712200260.See you at the gigs! |
| 18.05.2007 | |
| Former latter-day Stone Roses drummer Robbie Maddix has set up a myspace page with a few new tunes. The pick of the four available is 'Rivers Deep', which I really like and has a lot of different sounds/influences, it cries out Jimi Hendrix 'Hey Joe' to me with some Bob Marley with maybe just a little Lenny Kravitz thrown in served up with an almost 'My Star' drumming intro. Also available is the laid back, stripped-bare Ghetto Boy, the electro-R&B instrumental 'The Zone' and the last is a 19 second clip of Bob Marley talking about music, simply entitled 'Bob's Words'. Robbie is also due to play four Italy dates in July (according to the page). Visit his myspace for all his latest news and tunes. |
| 14.05.2007 | |
| Ian Brown finally announces new UK dates for 2007 ahead of his fifth studio album 'The World Is Yours' which is due out later this year. Newcastle Academy (27th Sept), Hull City Hall (28th), Sheffield Octagon (29th), Middlesbrough Town Hall (1st Oct), Lincoln Engine Shed (2nd), Halifax Victoria Hall (3rd), Leeds University (5th), Warrington Parr Hall (6th), Dundee Caird Hall (8th), Motherwell Civic Hall (9th) Edinburgh Corn Exchange (10th), Llandudno Venue Cymru Arena (12th), Preston Guildhall (13th), Derby Assembly Rooms (15th), Nottingham Rock City (16th), Reading Hexagon (18th), Birmingham Academy (19th), Cambridge Corn Exchange (20th), Southampton Guildhall (22nd), Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall (23rd), Bristol Academy (25th), Liverpool University (26th). Manchester and Brixton dates are still to be confirmed. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am on Friday 18th May here 24 hr CC Hotline - 08712200260. A presale link will be made available on Thurs 17th May and that link will be announced on the Official Ian Brown forum on Wed 16th May in the evening and will be available to registered forum members only. |
| 03.05.2007 | |
 Strawberry Studios is to be recognised with a blue plaque. The studios were founded by Peter Tattersall and Eric Stewart in 1967 and were used by artists including The Stone Roses, Paul McCartney, Joy Division and The Smiths. The studios finally closed in 1993 and have been used as offices since.The newest heritage sites were nominated by Stockport Heritage Trust and Stockport Council in November 2006, who asked the public to vote for 10 new blue plaques for Stockport. |