ROSES RETURN

the original King Monkey givin' it some!

IAN BROWN was joined by former STONE ROSES bandmate MANI last night (March 24) at the scene of a legendary gig once performed by their old band back in 1989.
The pair performed Roses classic ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ together to an ecstatic crowd at the end of the opening night of King Monkey’s UK tour at Blackpool Empress Ballroom.
At the end of his 90 minute solo set, which was in support of his current album ‘Solarized’, the singer said: “Let’s have a big clap for Mani. Mani everybody,” before the Primal Scream bassist kicked off the legendary track.
Speaking to NME.COM before the show Brown said: "It was the first big Stone Roses gig of '89 when I first played there. It was my Dad's birthday that day and I think him and my mum were the only people in the crowd who weren't Eed up. It was a fantastic day. It's a great venue there and inside the architecture is knock out.
“It'll be great playing the Roses songs again as well because they're just alive those songs. It's the best feeling in the world knowing that I wrote those songs on the dole and years and years later there's kids that were probably at toddler groups back then crying when I'm playing them now. They are bled into English culture now, not that there is an English culture. I think the Beatles are the only ones who have got closer to English culture than we (The Stone Roses) have.”
Earlier in the night Brown performed six Stone Roses classics much to the joy of the crowd who screamed and danced to every track, along with a series of hits from his last four solo albums including ‘F.E.A.R’, ‘Love Like A Fountain’, ‘My Star’ and recent single ‘Keep What Ya Got’.
During the show, the singer, who was sporting a black leather Adidas jacket and shades, was showered by his adoring fans with t-shirts, messages and fluffy blue elephants.
The gig brought to a close a difficult week for the singer who recently became embroiled in an onstage bust-up with a member of the audience at a gig in San Francisco.
Brown will go on to play Bridlington Spa tonight before finishing his off tour with dates at Brighton Centre on March 26, Edinburgh Corn Exchange (28) and Birmingham Academy (29).
He played:
‘Longsight M13’
‘Destiny Of Circumstance’
‘(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister’
‘Waterfall’
‘Made Of Stone’
‘Gravy Train’
‘Love Like A Fountain’
‘If Dolphins Were Monkeys’
‘She Bangs Drums’
‘Sally Cinnamon’
‘Golden Gaze’
‘Corpses’
‘The Sweet Fantastic’
‘Time Is My Everything’
‘Lovebug’
‘Keep What Ya Got’
‘My Star’
‘F.E.A.R’
‘I Wanna Be Adored’