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Ian Brown Denies Stone Roses Reunion

added 11 August 2004 at 10.54

Following a recent live set that included a large number of songs by his former band the Stone Roses, Ian Brown had explained why he decided to revisit his past and explains that a Roses reunion is still unlikely.

Brown played Claremont Landscape Garden National Trust Park in Surrey (July 25) and for the first time since the band’s split in 1996, included neatly a dozen Stone Roses songs in the set.

Backed by members of Roses tribute band, Brown played classic such as ‘She Bangs The Drums’, ‘Fools Gold’ and ‘Mersey Paradise’, a surprise move prompted by ex-Roses guitarist John Squire's recent live shows.

"The reason I did it was because kids were coming up to me pissed off that John Squire was out playing them on his tour and they were saying ‘He’s butchering them’.” Brown explained to the NME, “So I thought, ‘He’s not doing it for the people, he’s just doing it for himself’. I did it for the people. I thought it’d be a buzz for them.

“Out of respect I’ve never played the Roses tunes, out of respect to John, Mani and Reni. I’ve wanted to do my music, standing on my own two feet. I’ve deliberately
not done any Roses tunes. I feel like I’ve established myself as a music maker in my own right. If he [Squire] hadn’t played those tunes I don’t know if I would’ve done. He’s got no respect because we had to beg [Squire] to play ‘Fools Gold’. I think we only ever played it about three times. So I thought, in that case, I’ll bring it back for the people."

Not surprisingly, Brown is still reticent when it comes to the idea of the Stone Roses ever actually reforming

"I think that everything’s of its time. I get as many kids coming up asking me not to reform the Roses as reform. They say, ‘Please don’t spoil it for us’. They don’t want to see grey-haired, pot-bellied geezers.” He continued.

“It was all about the spirit of the thing. We’d finish a rehearsal and go straight to each other’s houses and hang out until midnight, then meet at 10am the next day. If that’s not there, I don’t see how we could do it. Because it wouldn’t be real."

Ian Brown’s new album ’Solarized’ is expected to be released September 20 with a new single ‘Keep What Ya Got’ (featuring Noel Gallagher) preceding it on September 13.

The full tracklisting for ’Solarized’ is:

1. ‘Longsight M13’
2. ‘Time Is My Everything’
3. ‘Destiny Or Circumstance’
4. ‘Upside Down’
5. ‘Solarized’
6. ‘The Sweet Fantastic’
7. ‘Keep What Ya Got’
8. ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’
9. ‘One Way Ticket To Paradise’
10. ‘Kiss Ya Lips (No ID)’
11. ‘Happy Ever After’
    

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