The Stone Roses were probably the best band that Britain has produced since the '70s. From Manchester, England they pioneered the "Madchester" movement that inspired such bands as The Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, Oasis, and even the Arctic Monkeys...
Ian Brown, their singer, still forges a successful career today and it's an easy trace to see who Liam and Noel Gallagher have based their look on. Particularly Liam, who has even gone as far as to mimic Brown's famous stage stance whilst singing for Oasis.
The Roses, as their fans affectionately call them, burst onto the scene in the mid '80s. Their first EP went down a storm with the youth in Manchester. Every gig was sold out, and stories of their legendary gigs began to spread. Teenagers from all over England began to travel to the Mecca that Manchester was to become over the next 10 years.
With their reputation soaring, Silvertone records came in and offered The Stone Roses a deal that they couldn't turn down.
In 1989, their first album the eponymously named "The Stone Roses" was released to huge critical acclaim, and is still regarded today as one of the finest British albums ever made.
By this stage, their following was massive, and they had gone from selling out clubs to selling out stadiums in a short matter of time.
The Stone Roses hit every key effortlessly. And they had a broad appeal, there was a thriving dance scene who loved the Roses, a growing rave scene who adored them, and a notoriously tough indie music scene who thought the Roses were the best thing to happen to music since the '70s.
Their first huge hit was a song called "Fool's Gold", and at 9"53' it became somewhat of an anthem.
The song is believed to be about drugs, or greed and avarice and one theory even has that it is about Ian Brown's brother who used to be in the army, but if you sit down and listen to it today and then look at The Stone Roses career, you wonder if Manchester City might go the same way.
After producing an album of sublime quality, fans and critics waited for the Roses to follow it up.
With the Roses on top of the world this seemed a formality. But after reading the small print in their contract with Silvertone, they realised that they were tied to the music mogul's for five years. During which time all their royalties would go to the company rather than the band.
After a protracted five years, involving court cases and many fights within the band, they finally bought their way out of the contract, and then they were signed to Geffen.
But after a five year hiatus, music had moved on, and while their second album "Second Coming" was received well in some quarters, it failed to match the hype it had garnered during its initial release.
The band began to fracture, and in 1995, influential drummer Reni became the first to leave. It was the beginning of the end for Madchester's finest.
By the end of '96, the Stone Roses were no more, but their legacy lives on.
City rivals Manchester United take to the pitch in every home game to the anthem that is "This is the One." An early single released by The Stone Roses and regarded by many as one of their best.
At their peak, The Stone Roses (some Manchester United fans) were the best band on the planet and few British bands have reached the heights and acclaim they reached. Perhaps the only band to come close are Oasis, ironically enough all Manchester City fans, who basically copied everything that was good about the Roses and Liverpool's finest, The Beatles.
The parallels between Manchester City and The Stone Roses are there to be seen.
Relatively unheard of outside their loyal following until a mega rich deal was offered their way. Piles of money were thrown in their direction to produce something of real substance, and they duly replied.
A deal that they could not get out of signalled the end and the band disappeared from view, eventually to fall into new owners hands who struggled to hit the heights that the band and fans were used to.
Currently, Man City fans must be fairly ambiguous to what is happening at their club. Unlimited money that will eventually attract some of the best players in the world. Success seems almost guaranteed.
Yet City fans must be worried, too. The money they're alleged to be capable of spending could cripple the entire league, never mind one team.
And they will all have something going on at the back of their mind as they wonder "What will happen when the Sheiks pull out?, Will it go back to the way it was before they arrived?"
Because one day it will end. Of that, you can guarantee.
I think the song says it best.
"Fool's Gold" by The Stone Roses.
The gold roads sure a long road
Winds on through the hills for fifteen days
The pack on my back is aching
The straps seem to cut me like a knife
The gold roads sure a long road
Winds on through the hills for fifteen days
The pack on my back is aching
The straps seem to cut me like a knife
I'm no clown I wont back down
I don't need you to tell me whats going down
Down down down down da down down down
Down down down down da down down down
I'm standing alone
Im watching you all
I'm seeing you sinking
Im standing alone
You're weighing the gold
Im watching you sinking
Fools gold
These boots were made for walking
The marquis de sade don't wear no boots like these
Golds just around the corner
Breakdowns coming up round the bend
Sometimes you have to try to get along dear
I know the truth and I know what you're thinking
Down down down down da down down down
I'm standing alone
I'm watching you all
I'm seeing you sinking
Im standing alone
You're weighing the gold
Im watching you sinking
Fools gold
Fools gold
I'm standing alone
I'm watching you all
I'm seeing you sinking
Im standing alone
You're weighing the gold
Im watching you sinking
Fools gold
