JOHN REED EXPLORES THE PHENOMENON OF THE MOST COLLECTIBLE NEW BAND OF 1989
1989 may go down in rock history as the year of the Stone Roses. After a minor hit at the end of 1988 and rave reviews in the early part of last year, the band were promoted from the tiny collage circuit to a 7000-strong extravaganza at Alexandra Palace, and a top 10 hit. Pigeon-holing them as part of some mythical Manchester explosion, the music press went overboard after hearing the band's debut album, which drew from the best aspects of the Sixties to produce a new sound for the Nineties. Yet despite numerous lucrative offers, the Roses are still on an independent label, the most successful such band since their fellow Mancunians, the Smiths.
FAME
Like so many artists who appear to enjoy a meteoric rise to fame, the band have actually been struggling in the backwaters of the northern indie scene for a number of years. These early years are still shrouded in mystery outside the north-west, though there are unfounded rumours that the band were once a sub-goth shambles playing at late-night warehouse gigs. And anyone visiting Manchester over the past four years would have probably stumbled across their name, either on the grapevine or courtesy of an un-authorised spray paint campaign throughout the city.
Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown and guitarist John Squire grew up together in the Manchester suburbs of Sale and Chorlton. While still at school, the pair put together a Clash-style outfit named the Patrol, who even managed to play one youth club gig. At that time, Ian also messed around on bass, though their eventual bassist Gary "Mannie" Mounfield was also involved.
After dismissing the doubtful title of the Angry Young Teddy Bears, the equally contradictory Stone Roses tag emerged when Andy Cousins was recruited on bass. Reni soon joined on drums, after replying to a local press ad, although he was already acquainted with the band, having previously met them at Belle Vue Fair. He recalled his first impressions in a later interview: "When I went to the audition, I thought that they were a horrible racket, but I was struck by their commitment. The whole group were such an oddball collection of long hairs, scruffs and smoothies that I just had to join." A second guitarist, Peter, was also found and the group began to put a set together, with Squire and Brown becoming the natural song writing team. It was during this period that early renditions of now familiar songs were created, notably "I Wanna Be Adored" and "This Is The One".
DEBUT
By 1985, the band had already played some gigs in Scandinavia, and a handful of gigs in London supporting Pete Townshend and the Chiefs Of Relief, while their debut home performance was at the International 1. About 200 people attended, mostly friends, and the set apparently included a cover of Nazz's psychedelic classic, "Open My Eyes". Throughout the year, the band built up a sizable local following, aided no doubt by a number of secret warehouse parties (often after popular club nights at the Hacienda, the city's top venue), when the group would appear in front of a 1000-strong but rather dazed audience.
The Stone Roses' debut single, "So Young", was the result of a collaboration with near-legendary producer Martin Hannett, best known for his work with Joy Division and New Order. The band have since disowned the single as "angst-ridden rock", but although it was more conventionally rock-orientated than later recordings, it still didn't justify the 'goth' tag that the band were starting to receive - this owed more to the long black hair of their bassist! The B-side "Tell Me" was more typical, though, and the record sold well locally, entering the local record chart straight at No. 1 with frequent airings in 'alternative' nightclubs.
As an aside, the lead lyric, "I am a garage flower" presumably inspired another local talent, Inspiral Carpets, to write "Garage Full Of Flowers" for their debut "Plane Crash" EP, itself a long-deleted item worth up to £40. As for "So Young", collectors should be prepared to pay around £70 for the pleasure of owning a copy, the sleeve of which boasts Squire's distinctive artwork, the first of many such designs. There are also a very few white label test pressings around that came with a press sheet, although the three-figure investment would restrict this to only the most avid fan. More recently, there has been talk of the single being reissued, and it even appeared in Music Master listings as an August 89 release, but no copies have reached the shops so far. 7" bootlegs are now circulating, though, and Silvertone are looking into the possibility of obtaining rights to the single.
The band had spent a month in the studio with Hannett, and Brown recalled the period as very beneficial: "He showed us all about key changes, tempo changes and melody. We learnt a hell of a lot from that session." However, the album's worth of material was shelved as many of the songs were just "riffs with words over them". More local gigs followed, and the band also did a live session for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, the first such session for almost a decade.
Early in 1987, the band signed to Revolvers' newly formed Black offshoot. "Sally Cinnamon" was released as their second 12" single in May, and was more aligned with the group's later sound. A beautiful, overtly Sixties-influenced song, it was backed by the spacey psychedelia of "Here It Comes" and a ballad, "All Across The Sand". Much to the band's annoyance, the single was reissued early in 1989 with a different, inferior demo version of the A-side in place of the original. These can be distinguished from the originals because they have a bar code and 'Made in W. Germany' printed on the back sleeve. To further complicate matters, the single has again been reissued recently on compact disc, featuring both versions of the song, which at least allows for a direct comparison. Original copies have stabilised in value at around £20. 1987 also saw them play a sell-out show at the International before 900 lucky punters with 300 turned away. And the band also took part in a large benefit gig in Liverpool at Sefton Park alongside local band The Las.
SNIFFING
A third single, "Elephant Stone", was to have been released early in 1988 on Rough Trade but this proved to be a false start and with numerous major labels sniffing around them, the band became the first signing for Andrew Lauder's Jive Records subsidiary, Silvertone (an astonishing eight-LP deal). Incidentally, Lauder had been responsible for signing those other Manchester legends, the Buzzcocks, to United Artists before helping to run the Radar and Demon labels.
After the Roses had recruited old acquaintance Mannie on bass, the single was eventually released in October 1988, and dented the lower half of the independent chart. Produced by New Order's Peter Hook and mixed by John Leckie "with the help of Barnie", "Elephant Stone" began with a furious, stringy wah-wah attack before building upon a frantic drum beat reminiscent of an early Keith Moon. In contrast, the flip "The Hardest Thing In The World" was a more relaxed ballad, while the 12" included the band's first explorations into backward taping - "Full Fathom Five" was "Elephant Stone" backwards with overdubbed vocals. Both formats are very scarce and continue to rise in price although the respective sums of £15 and £25 should be sufficient.
SPLATTER
The single also introduced Squire's distinctive "splatter graphics" artwork on the front sleeve. Not dissimilar to the work of abstract painter Jackson Pollock, this and subsequent covers boasted similar designs, consisting of random, splattered flecks of different colours, with one colour predominating. These have become an integral part of the Stone Roses' package, and live shows have been characterised by the "Waterfall" backdrop, a warped combination of the stars and stripes and the union jack. Some of Squire's handiwork was even offered as the prize in a recent music press quiz.
November saw the band's first national tour, which continued, sporadically, through until June of last year. The Stone Roses' live experience now included guitar FX controller and lunatic dancer Cressa, previously a roadie for local band the Happy Mondays, who like the Blue Aeroplanes also boasted a dancer in their ranks. But although the band could rely on their legion of loyal local fans for their home gigs, the rest of the country was still largely ignorant of the Stone Roses' existence. Still, the sell-out Manchester International 2 event was proof of the band's enormous popularity in the north-West, although few could have predicted their astonishing rise the following year.
"Made Of Stone" appeared as the group's fourth single in February 1989, and finally the music press sat up and took notice. More reflective than their previous 45, the song featured a chorus intro possibly lifted from Primal Scream's excellent "Velocity Girl", and showed a band growing in confidence with every release. Apparently inspired by Brown's post-school European travels, the song was backed by the pleasant "Going Down"; while the 12" inclusion "Guernica" once again consisted of the A-side backwards with forward vocals, although more effectively this time than on "Full Fathom Five". "I Wanna Be Adored" was originally planned as the flip, but it was held back as a possible future single. Now deleted, both issues of "Made Of Stone" have risen sharply in value in the last few months, although it is worth shopping around because prices vary.
It was not until the end of April that the band's debut LP reached the light of day, and established them firmly with the nation at large. Earlier working titles had included "The Stone Roses Are Coming" and, less seriously, "Bring Me The Head Of James Anderton On A Plate", but the band settled on the more basic "The Stone Roses". The critics went overboard: "I'm obsessed. This record is Godlike," raved one reviewer in Melody Maker. "This is quite simply the best debut LP I've heard in my record-buying lifetime." Worthy praise indeed, and it certainly proved to be many people's favourite choice of the moment as the songs blared from many an open window throughout 1989's long hot summer. Evolving around Squire's varied guitar styles, the album covered both perfect pop and more lengthy rock indulgences with a serene beauty so often lacking in an age of technical wizardry and advanced studio techniques.
Their old favourite, "I Wanna Be Adored", wound in with its throbbing bass and guitar drone into what has now become something of an anthem, and the musical representation of the band's almost narcissistic self-belief. With its soft, whispered vocal, chugging rhythm and an inevitably chiming guitar, the song has served as a perfect introduction to both the LP and live performances. In contrast, "She Bangs The Drums" was overtly pop, an instant Monkees-style three-minute classic that drew on Reni's backing harmonies to emphasise the catchy melody.
OFFBEAT
"Waterfall" was different again. A slow, offbeat rhythm created a spacey feeling that allowed room for an atmospheric melody cut against Squire's dexterous riff-like fretwork. For a while, it was considered as a single, and the band performed the song live on Factory label mogul Tony Wilson's "The Other Side Of Midnight". Photographs from this first TV performance were used for the back and inside sleeves of the LP and the live version of "Waterfall" was later bootlegged as a 7" single. Majestic and lovelorn, the song was the Stone Roses at their best and they knew it. So they taped it backwards, added some more vocals and produced the next track on the LP, "Don't Stop".
Any cries of "emperor's new clothes" were finally discarded after hearing the last three songs on the LP. The backward drum intro of "Shoot You Down" created a sparseness that allowed Squire full reign for more guitar work, and highlighted the use of pause and moderation to accentuate the final effect (something the hardcore and thrash merchants could learn from). The chanting "This Is The One" reworked the powerful chorus line before the LP's true masterpiece, and possibly my favourite track of 1989, "I Am The Resurrection". Like "Adored", the song epitomised the band's indifference to all but themselves, and onstage it was contorted into the show's climax, clocking in at well over ten minutes as Brown shuffled around the stage with his familiar tom toms. Beginning with a Northern soul backbeat, the track built up to the glorious, angelic chorus, before abruptly changing rhythm into a Seventies funk-influenced jam with some of Squire's most ambitious and self-indulgent six-string activity.
The best debut LP ever? That's a matter of opinion, but it certainly ranked as one of the best of 1989. There was a quiet menace, too, throughout the LP and all the Stone Roses music which belied the strong melodic side; and this quality, especially obvious in their lyrics, only strengthened their claims to longevity. On a more general level, this manifested itself in the public eye as an attitude. Unlike so many other humble independent bands, the band understood the need to be, and be seen as, special, to be (at least in their eyes) the "best band in the world". And combined with the healthy obsession with clothes and fashion that they've had since their scooter boy days, the Roses have earned a reputation for stroppiness and arrogance that has won them as many friends as it has enemies.
May saw the band kick off the ICA Rock Week to rave reviews, before setting off on a string of nationwide dates. After ignoring pleas from manager and record company to issue "I Wanna Be Adored" as the next 45, the band opted for the more sensible choice of "She Bangs The Drums", fully expecting a top 20 hit. Yet the single, released in late July, hovered at No. 36 despite the incentives of a print with the 12", a card with the 7" and alternate formats on CD and cassingle with a fourth bonus track. An old favourite, "Mersey Paradise", appeared as the extra track on the 12", that had the same Sixties innocence as "Sally Cinnamon". But the finest moments were to be heard on "Standing Here", the flip of both the 7" and 12". A searing feedback guitar intro led into five minutes of grungy riffs over the loose, relaxed percussion that had dominated the second half of "Resurrection". And then the song gradually wound itself out for a full minute or so with a contrastingly acoustic ending. "Simone", the fourth track on the CD and cassingle, was another backwards recording effort, although it was less accessible than previous experiments.
By July, the Stone Roses had outgrown the collage circuit, and they began looking for a major, large capacity venue in London, before retiring to a Cornwall studio to record some new tracks. Wishing to avoid the usual rock-orientated venues, the band wanted to create a party atmosphere with their own choice of support and guest club DJs, presumably remembering the successes of their early warehouse gigs. The band had been invited by Mick Jagger to support the Rolling Stones on some of their Canadian dates in the summer, but despite pressure from around them, the group declined the offer with a viciously scathing attack on the "Strolling Bones". They had a similarly negative response for offers from the Pixies and New Order (on their US tour) and turned down a free gig in Central Park in September and at the end of a pier in Santa Monica.
Instead, the Roses looked closer to home and booked the 4000-capacity Blackpool Empress Ballroom, laying on a concert that was subsequently described as one of the greatest musical events of the year. And despite the venue's huge proportions, the ecstatic response from the sell-out audience had to be seen to be believed. It was also a chance to hear some of the new songs, including the as yet unreleased "Where Angels Play".
Returning to the studio, the band put aside some 40 unrecorded tunes in favour of four new tracks before setting off on their first European tour. Accompanied by five coach loads of British fans, the party took in Valencia, Barcelona, Milan, Ghent, Hamburg and Amsterdam's infamous Melkweg before the highlight at "Les Inrockuptibles Festival" in Paris La Cigale. Desperate, ticket-hungry fans haggled with touts as the group followed The Las and Felt in front of a mixture of familiar and newly-converted Parisian fans. Meanwhile, the band's arrogant (although not unjustified) display on "Rapido" led many who were unfamiliar with them to dismiss the group as prima donnas. But then any publicity is good publicity, as they say.
No sooner were the band back from Europe than they were flying out to Japan, after initially declining the invitation because the promoter wouldn't fly their whole entourage of 14 over with them. But he soon reconsidered as Stone Roses fever hit the east with their LP selling over 20,000 in its first week of release. The band were mobbed Beatles-style on arrival and the four dates in Tokyo and Osaka sold out in as many days as Japan's biggest rock mag devoted 14 pages to the British phenomenon.
November heralded a new double A-sided single, "Fools Gold" and "What The World Is Waiting For" (originally titled "What The World Needs Now"). The 7" featured the "Fools Gold 4.15" edit while the 12" boasted the full 9'53" epic, and this track was adopted by the radio stations and the Silvertone press office alike as the A-side, a marked change in musical style. The record was 'Single Of The Week' in Sounds, Melody Maker and NME; critics had already stressed the band's fusion of rock and dance music (notably through Reni's funky drumming and Cressa's stage gyrations), but this was only fully realised on "Fools Gold". It was Sly & The Family Stone crossed with Hendrix's wah-wah, along with a carefree, laconic vocal and a hip hop backdrop. Was this the direction the band would explore in the future? There was talk, certainly, of them expanding their use and range of modern studio techniques (like sampling and sequencing), but we'll have to wait and see.
"What The World Is Waiting For" was a more traditional composition, a superbly crafted effort that combined multi-layered, swirling guitar with a classy gem of a song. Again, both CD and cassingle formats were issued, featuring both "Fools Gold" versions and the flip. Interestingly, the 7" has "What The World Is Waiting For" printed on the sleeve front whereas the 12" had the other track, although the first few mirrored the 7"; these are sure to become highly prized collectors items of the future. There are also 7" and 12" demo copies on the market with a distinctive red/white 'A' label and these currently fetch £10 and £25 respectively. A similar promo 7" for "She Bangs The Drums" has also surfaced at around £15.
EXPLOSIVE
As the single flew into the charts at No. 13 (peaking a week later at 8, although it's first mid-week placing had been No. 5), the band played at the 7000-capacity Alexandra Palace in London's Wood Green. Such has been the explosive rise of the Stone Roses that tickets had vanished like gold dust weeks before and the promoter tried to talk the band into playing three or more nights, all of which would have sold out with ease. With much to live up to, the band had to follow guest DJs who had constantly been dogged by records jumping, in a venue that resembled an aircraft hanger. And as they launched into "This Is The One", the squeals of feedback and echoed rumble threatened to drown the barely decipherable melodies. But the band persevered and after two or three numbers, it started to come together with the usual "Resurrection" flowing readily into "Fools Gold" to produce an infectious jam that seemed to go on forever.
November seemed to bear witness to an onslaught of Manchester-based music. As the Stone Roses and mates the Happy Mondays ("the only band we feel happy drinking with") bowled the nation over on "Top Of The Pops", the charts also included 808 State's dance classic "Pacific State", Morrissey's latest effort and the Electronic supergroup featuring Johnny Marr and Barney from New Order. And with the Inspiral Carpets at the top of the indie charts, the music press latched on, inventing some imaginary scene out of a bunch of isolated artists.
The Stone Roses returned to the studio in December to being recording tracks for their second LP, due out late this summer. Meanwhile, the group were nominated for the British Record Industry Awards (along with The Beautiful South, Lisa Stansfield, Soul II Soul and Shakespear's Sister), and the music media naturally praised them to the hilt in their end-of-year polls: they won best LP in Sounds and three of the top four singles in the NME. Likewise, the readers' polls revealed that the band were held in high public esteem, and the LP made it into Melody Maker readers' top 20 albums of the decade.
So what does 1990 hold for the four lads from Manchester? The first fruits of the current sessions are tentatively planned for single release in April, as the band as the band set off across the Atlantic for half a dozen concerts in the States. There is also the possibility of some shows in the UK to promote the 45, and the band are reputedly looking to Widnes (or nearby) as a possible location for an open air gig in May. "I Wanna Be Adored" has been issued as a single in the USA and the 12" has been widely imported to Europe. Featuring LP and edit versions of the song, the record also includes "Going Down" and "Simone", the latter unavailable elsewhere on vinyl. Promos of both the 12" and CD have surfaced, both worth considerably more, at around £20. Copies of the American LP are also available in this country, at least on CD, which represents a cheaper way of obtaining the bonus inclusion, "Elephant Stone".
The first three Silvertone singles have all been deleted and are now rising sharply in price, although values vary drastically around the country. Also, Silvertone plan to reissue the singles at some point, either in their original formats or as a collection, on vinyl, cassette and CD. There's a similar Japanese mini CD that includes all the singles bar "Made Of Stone" (featuring the flips instead) and both sides of the recent 45. "Made Of Stone" was included, however, on the "Indie Top 20 Volume 7" compilation, available on all three formats. Finally, those wishing to obtain live recordings might look out for bootleg LPs featuring the mid-89 shows at the ICA and Walsall's Junction 10 (which also claims to include three unreleased studio tracks).
1989, then, has undoubtedly been the year of the Stone Roses. When Brown bragged earlier in the year that he's be disappointed if they didn't reach No. 1 few took him seriously, yet the band ended the year as stars, with stadium-level pulling power and one of the most innovative singles in the charts. Musically, they've tapped a winning formula of Sixties psychedelia and Eighties club culture and while they might not be the most original band in the world, rarely has the past been doctored with so much style and imagination. And the band's uncompromising attitudes have won them an astonishingly large and dedicated following, drawn as much from the dance crowd as from rock or indie fans. No-one can say what the new decade will bring for any band, but the Stone Roses are now definitely 'adored', with the world at their feet. A No. 1 in the States by next Christmas? I wouldn't be surprised.
Back To Media 1990