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Roses Reunion Not Written In Stone
The story should play out within a matter of days but at press time rumours of a
British tabloid The Sun resumed reporting the Manchester band will get together for two hometown gigs in 2012, but NME is clearly having problems verifying the story.
The pop paper was the one that began speculating on the likelihood of the Roses getting back together, largely as a result of hearing from an unnamed music PR company that it would have a major announcement to make Oct. 18.
The water got a little muddier after former Roses drummer Alan “Reni” Wren, who quit the band in March 1995 and was replaced by Robbie Maddox, contacted NME and broadly hinted that he’s not involved in the project.
The evidence supporting the reunion story (and its original source) appears to come from reports that former members Ian Brown and John Squire met each other in April, apparently the first time this had happened in the 15 years since the band split in 1996.
At the time, Brown reportedly told The Sun that a Stone Roses reunion would be “massive.”
Later the paper said a promoter applied for a license for two outdoor shows at Manchester’s Heaton Park for some time next summer, adding more fuel to the reunion rumour fire.
The alleged meeting between Brown and Squire prompted the daily tabloid to run the first of its Stone Roses reunion stories, although the latest airing has attracted wider media attention than the earlier versions.
It followed up Oct. 17 with another piece saying it saw a text message received by a magician called Dynamo, apparently a close friend of Brown, which claimed the act’s “going to rule the world again.”
“It’s happening,” Brown’s text to Dynamo appeared to confirm.
Top bookmaking firm Paddy Power has joined in the fun by offering odds as short as 11/10 for The Roses to headline next year’s Coachella Festival in California, 3/1 to headline Glastonbury in 2013, 5/1 to perform on TV’s “ X Factor” and 7/1 to have the UK’s Christmas No. 1 single.