Ian Brown Biography

The frontman for one of the most revered British bands of the 1980s and '90s, Ian Brown symbolized the arrogant cocksureness of his mouthpiece, The Stone Roses. Although the group released one of the three or four most influential records of the decade in 1989 (their debut, at that), they slowly imploded during the early '90s and released only one more album before splitting up.

Guitarist/songwriter John Squireformed a new band, The Seahorses, while bassist Mani (Gary Mounfield4}) joined Primal Scream. Brown inaugurated his post-Stone Roses career with a 1998 solo LP, 'Unfinished Monkey Business'. The album was recorded with the help of ex-Roses replacement guitarist Aziz Ibrahim, but spotlighted a more emotionally diverse approach to music-making than expected. The excellent follow-up, 'Golden Greats', arrived in early 2000, and 'Music Of The Spheres' followed one year later. In 2003, Brown contributed a volume in the 'Under The Influence' series and had a cameo in the third Harry Potter film, 'The Prisoner of Azkaban'. The next year Brown released 'Solarized', his most varied and politically charged record to date.