THE RETURN - THE 5-DAY JOURNEY FROM A FAN'S POINT OF VIEW by Paul Stevens It all started with a visit to my Don't Stop forum on Friday. I had taken a few weeks away from the site, scaling back my involvement in the site a little since my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child together. But on this Friday, I found a thread entitled 'Brace Yourselves…!!!' (started by one of our forum moderators - candy_floss_girl). I had to catch up on the first couple of pages but the very first post read "Clash (Magazine) has learned that there is to be a major announcement next wee regarding the four original members of Manchester's indie legends The Stone Roses'. After years of unsubstantiated claims, I was thoroughly and understandably sceptical and awaited the usual denial by a member of the band (usually Squire or Ian) but the first hours passed and it hadn't come. It made it worse that the main source of information was UK Newspaper, The Sun as so many of the previous rumours had started there and all had been destroyed by the Roses as they took turns to deny them and remind us of what we couldn't have but so badly craved. Although the first articles didn't even confirm that it was the Roses that were to hold the Press Conference, the first day ended and still nothing from any member except a mysterious message apparently from Reni to the NME, "Not before 9T will I wear the hat 4 the Roses again" sparking fears that even if a reform was on the cards, he would not be present. I reluctantly wrote up the day's events on my news page, summarising the story so far but I knew as much as everyone else and only had hope on my side. As Sunday came around, more and more details were revealed and the story had virulently across the internet and still no word from the band doused our hopes. More and more people flocked to the forum for any and all tit-bits to be revealed from other members trawling the web for anything to add to the story so far. This was enough to inspire me to update my Road To The Reunion feature, which had been a permanent fixture on my site/forum since I re-branded the site to 'Don't Stop' back in 2007. (The feature starts with the demise of the Roses in the late nineties then tracks the individual members road to mended hurt in their highly publicised 15 year 'feud', hoping to end with a high on Tuesday). Although I was enthused by now, I tried to remain restrained and would not allow myself to enjoy the excitement for fear of the disappointment that could be around the corner. John Robb, Stone Roses book author and journalist started Monday off, tweeting that a "Stone Roses reformation definite and new album as well" and various sources started to reveal the first details of the Press Conference. Finally Tuesday arrived, knowing that I was working all day and would only be able to steal a few glances throughout the day at the forum, I knew it would be tough and it was, my concentration was not up to my usual standard and a nervous grin/grimace alternated across my face all morning. At the point at which John Robb tweeted a pic of himself and Ian Brown on the way to the Press Conference an announcement by the band was guaranteed. The last half an hour took an age to pass. 2.55pm finally arrived and I made my way downstairs to lunch. Listening to Radio 6Music on my iPad and browsing the net for any live audio feed (sadly there was none), live text feed but most of the info came direct from the 144 fans that decided to see the events unfold on Don't Stop Forum. A BBC 6music journalist present, left early to reveal the first few details, two big dates booked for June at Manchester's Heaton Park with a world tour around the corner and new material to be released as well. Promo photos appeared of the four together, it was indescribable, although this was what I wanted to see for so many years, I had admitted to myself that I had started to doubt that I would every see such a photograph. It was incredible enough to see the only picture of Ian, John and Mani that had surfaced earlier in the year at the sad time of Mani's loss. Then an official website and what looked like a new piece of John Squire artwork for the two new dates. All too soon my break was over and while I tried to grab a few extra details over the last few hours of the day, I would have to wait until I got in from work. I rushed home and sat down to watch the video footage of the Press Conference, The Stone Roses (all four) walked in and took their seats (left to right, Mani, Reni, Ian and John) they began to talk and there was definitely a feeling throughout that the magic that the four of them shared back in 1989 was rekindled the very second they all walked back into a room together, even though 16 years had passed since they all were present. But surprisingly, there were some obvious changes to the dynamic, John, having in recent years been the focal point of his careers having had a solo music career and a reasonably successful artistic career took more of a backseat here (it seemed perfectly comfortable to him but maybe he was also deliberately taking a step back after the way the Second Coming-era Roses played out). Surprisingly, Reni, the man who had been gone the longest and remained the most aloof lead the responses to the media's flurry of questions. Ian responded well to questions but spent an equal amount of time signalling and waving to members in the audience and playing with his water, whilst looking like he was thoroughly enjoying the experience. It's still sinking into my head, I haven't been able to process it all yet, all I know is that I watched Mani, Reni, Ian Brown and John Squire tell the world that The Stone Roses have reformed, have already started writing new material, have two first dates booked and aims of taking on the world again. Fifteen years of waiting patiently (well, for the most part) have finally paid off. With the birth of my first-born child due in early 2012, I truly feel like the luckiest man on the planet. At time of writing, the thread that had started it all spread across 79 pages, with 1,173 posts and 9,515 page views. Paul Stevens, at the end of a very busy and emotional Tuesday 18th October 2011. All content copyright © Paul Stevens / www.stoneroses.eu 2011. All rights reserved.