The Stones Roses reunion makes our new blogger Paul Clarke want to retch
One of the most depressing sights recently was four middle-aged men at a press conference pretending it was 1989 and their creative fires were still raging.
The Stone Roses debut may be of my all time favourite albums, but to watch a raddled Ian Brown trying to mimic the swagger of his youth was somehow heart breaking.
Their much rumoured reunion was finally a reality but I wasn’t rushing to book my £55 ticket.
Why not? Two reasons.
The first is having endured Brown’s solo shows over the years he just doesn’t have the vocal chops to headline a show at the huge Heaton Park on the outskirts of Manchester. Plus having seen them at the legendary Spike Island gig – at the peak of Madchester – the idea of a greying Brown recreating his trademark monkey swagger just makes me retch.
I also think we need to challenge the outrageous prices for these pension plan reunions – £55 is steep for a band desperately trying to relive past glories in a field.
Sure, the gigs did sell out in minutes as people thought this was a one off chance to see their faded heroes, but now they’ve announced a world tour – plus headline gigs at Benicassim and T in the Park – it seems there will plenty of chances to bellow along to ‘I am the Resurrection’.
I’m not totally opposed to reunions as long as we don’t hear those dread words ‘here’s a new song’ from our aging heroes. I’m there to hear the hits so just play them please.
I loved seeing the Pixies when they did their reunion tour, but then they have an almost perfect back catalogue which they played with huge power and panache. It was also glorious to see Kim Deal – clean and beautiful – sparring with Black Francis.
Magazine were just as good. I’d not seen them first time round but as they launched into ‘The Light Pours Out Of Me’ I had that incredible rush of emotion that only a top flight band can deliver.
Emma from Culture Vulture suggested to me that Take That were another example of a successful reunion. Not so, one song – Back For Good – doesn’t make for a great band, and they were always rubbish on virtually every level. Their comeback shows with the Fat Dancer were events for people who don’t really like music, and who regard Coldplay as cutting edge.
Don’t even get me stared on the current Steps fiasco.
But there is one reunion that would send me scuttling for the phone, and that is an obvious one to any music fan. Step forward a reunited Smiths for which I would pay any sum of money to witness.
* The Culture Vulture wants to hear from you. Is Paul right that buying expensive tickets for reunions are a risk for music fans? Which reunions worked for you and which didn’t.
I rushed to get my tickets for the roses. I left school in 89 and they were my sound track. I was supposed to see them at Glastonbury in 95 but I think John squire broke his arm so we got double pulp, which was no bad thing.
Have to agree Ian brown can’t sing live for shit, but just couldn’t resist. There was rumours of a smiths reunion and again I’d rush and push for that too (little reference there).
The one I’d have loved to have seen? The Small Faces. But with two dead, that’s just a dream.
don’t hold your breath on the Smiths reunion! maybe Morrissey and Marr will do something together one day (possibly, hopefully) but don’t think the other two would get a look in – too many bridges burnt sadly. there are so many bands that I wish had split up sooner to prevent trundling on into barrel-scrapping turgidry and not many I wish would reform to be honest. as for Ian Brown et al, just head to the Stone Roses bar in town – you can see a load of aged baggy t-shirt Madchester casualties without paying £55 for the privilege!
By and large I really, really loathe band reunions. It’s difficult to shake off the feeling that they are a cynical way to exploit nostalgia and earn easy money. Of course, bands are perfectly entitled to do it, but for me somehow the mystique of a band, the comaraderie and the creativity is devalued.
I think the Smiths are possibly my favourite group of all and I would absolutely hate it if they reformed (not that that’s likely). I think my concerns would be around them destroying something very special that was about a particular time and place in my life. I mean, a reformed Smiths could be just, well, saggy and dull. Eek.
I also saw the Pixies on their reformed tour – yes they were good, but they were so much better when I was fifteen and it was new and visceral to me.
The one exception to this I’ve seen in recent years was My Bloody Valentine. Awesome, because modern speaker systems can actually cope with their noise assault in a way that wasn’t possible in the early 90s.
I think there are great musicians who keep producing interesting music (Neil Young, Sonic Youth largely) so it’s not an age issue for me. It’s just that I’m not particularly interested in expensive trips down musical memory lane – I’d rather pay to hear interesting new music.
Oh, and I saw the Stone Roses infamous final Reading appearance. I’ll never forget the sight of grown men openly sobbing at how truly awful they sounded…
Good on ’em I say. Why not give it a blast even its for the pension plan or love of making good music.