London’s Daily Mirror — not exactly a bastion of hard-nosed rock journalism — reports in tomorrow’s editions that the legendary Stone Roses will reunite for “at least 21 gigs” in the UK this summer, as well as a possible slot at April’s Coachella festival in California.
The paper’s source said splatter-painting guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield and drummer Alan “Reni” Wren finally convinced their erstwhile vocalist, Ian Brown, to mount a potentially cash-rich reunion tour.
“It’s taken a lot of time to get Ian to agree,” the paper quotes its source, “but he’s finally signed on the dotted line. The rest of the band were really up for it, especially when they realized the amount of money on the table.”
The paper says the reunion gigs will coincide with the 20th anniversary reissue of the iconic The Stone Roses, first issued in England on March 13, 1989.
Of course, such reunion rumors have circulated for years, gaining steam most recently in December when Mani told a journalist: “Me, John and Reni are up for doing it and Ian just needs some working on. It’s something I would love to do before we are all fat and bald. Start the campaign.”
As for the reissue, NME reports that John Leckie has remastered the album for a “box set release,” although details haven’t yet been released. It’s expected in June.
