The Stone Roses: And the Resurrection of British Pop

by John Robb

The first biography of the seminal band that was the catalyst for the resurgence of British pop in the 1990s. In The Stone Roses, John Robb ``The Roses were the legendary band of the late 1980s. They changed British pop by putting a cool street band back into the mainstream; they made pop and guitars cool again. When they put out `Fool's Gold,' they virtually invented the perfect 1990s pop record.'' The book looks back to where the band came from, their roots in post-punk youth culture, and their seizing of the moment in the post-acid-house fallout as they took first Manchester, and then Britain, on a swift, swaggering pop adventure that promised so much, yet ultimately burned out. John Robb looks at the glorious late 1980's rush of Manchester street life that was soundtracked by the Roses and copied by a nation. Just as importantly, he examines the impact on the lives and tastes of Britain's youth and the hundreds of bands that followed in the wake of this astonishingly influential band. 256 pp 6 x 9 18 b/w photos

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Author/Music Scribe/TV Presenter/Environmental Activist and Bass Player for perennial post-punk survivors The Membranes, John Robb is a man who cannot sit still. When he’s not touring with his band (they recently toured in Europe with The Stranglers, The Chameleons and Fields Of The Nephilim), he’s presenting, moderating or writing for his popular UK music site Louder Than War. John has previously written the best-selling books “Punk Rock : An Oral History” and “The North Will Rise Again : Manchester Music City 1976-1996”. His latest opus is the 550-page “The Art Of Darkness : The History of Goth”, an in-depth account that he feels presents the first major and comprehensive overview of Goth music and culture and its lasting legacy.

Starting with a night out in a Goth club, it then takes us on a deep-dive into the wider culture, exploring the social conditions that created ‘Goth’ in the post-punk period. It examines the fall of Rome, Lord Byron and the romantic poets, European folk tales, Gothic architecture and painters, the occult to modern-day Instagram influencers.

The book is built mainly around the 80s post-punk Goth period featuring interviews with Andrew Eldritch, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cult, The Banshees, The Damned, Einstürzende Neubauten, Johnny Marr, Trent Reznor, Adam Ant, Laibach, The Cure, Nick Cave and many others. …it looks at the music, style and the political and social conditions that spawned the culture and the great music, fashions and attitudes - clubs that defined it, and is also a first-hand account of being there at some of the legendary gigs and clubs that made the scene happen...

Reviews

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So... there aren't any new interviews with the band, and there isn't much about the wilderness years, but so what? the band was monotonic at best (when talking, obviously), and who cares about the four years of drug taking? What makes this book one of the best music books i've read is that Robb captures the sheer excitement, the rush, of a band discovering that they can really play, getting local recognition and then taking off, big time. It's a heady adventure, and really makes you feel like you were involved, even if, like me, you were only ten when the first record came out. Too often these books can strip away the magic, and just leave a series of chord progressions and lyrical analysis, but Robb doesn't do this, and it's a credit to him. Cool photos, too

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

They made on of the best albums I've ever heard. Too bad this book isn't any good.
If you really like the band, pick up some issue of Uncut or Mojo (where they praise them at least 6 times a year) and it will probably be better.

[Mike Worth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative inside detailed knowledge book written by someone without the vested interest, though falters due to it reading as a collection of magazine columns, so keeps repeating. If it was written as a proper bio, would be 5 stars

[Ross Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully insightful book written by a wonderfully insightful man. From the outside there doesn't seem much to be noted as exceptional about the Roses but Robb dives as deep as one can go with this one in regards to insight. Fascinating read from start to end.

[Johnny Roastbeef · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book clearly didn't have an editor. Why didn't it have an editor? Moreover, I can't believe that John Robb even read most it over before submitting the manuscript, given the number of times he repeats himself in EXACTLY THE SAME WORDS, sometimes within the same paragraph.

Three stars for the subject matter and the fact that Robb 'was there' for much of what he relays and has an unquestionable passion for the band (as do I). The fact that this is the 'revised and updated' edition boggles my mind though.

[Albertine Nannings · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite likely factually correct representation of the Roses history, but tediously written. Moreover, it seems to be written with little to no help from an editor. Especially the continuing ‘Said —insert name here—, Said — insert name here—, comes across as very amateuristic. The Roses deserved a better bio than this sleeping pill.

[Rory McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mainly a hodgepodge of quotes from the music press but a few nice anecdotes as Robb was there for a lot of stuff. Those don’t make the book worth reading though, - there’s lots of factual errors, a good few typos and a clear lack of editing or proofreading, even on a second edition! Sloppy and not as good as it should be.

[Andy Heath · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Germaine De · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book

[Matthew Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insight into the band with some interesting stories. Overall I found parts a little repetitive and making it difficult to read.

[Stephen Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good book on the Roses but written in 2001 so it's a bit dated now

[Lucynell · Rating 3 out of 5]

To understand The Stone Roses you have to understand the 1980s and the 1980s, aesthetically and in many other varied ways, sucked so much people a hundred years from now will have a hard time believing they ever happened. Visually, it was like Dante's Inferno. Musically, it wasn't much better. If that sounds like a generalization is because it is. The 1980s, like any other decade, had some amazing music. The problem was that unlike other decades it failed to cross over into the mainstream. Bad taste was king. The Smiths, a brilliant band, were too witty, a student's band, and unashamedly proud of the fact. Rock went corporate and turned meaningless and absolutely irrelevant. Pop was so introvert it simply ceased to exist. Detachment was permanent. In this horrible and utterly uninspiring environment a bunch of Mancunian kids with a Hedrix, The Hollies, punk, Ecstasy and house music fixation cooked up an album that rates among the very best ever released, arguably the greatest among all debuts, in either side of the Atlantic. Their biggest contribution was that they united the kids, students and the council estates, inspired them to pick up music instruments and have a go. The 1990s mega-bands owe them big. This book is their story and as a book is good fun, but not much more. There's a lot that doesn't work, too much to mention really but repetition, complete absence of personal stuff, and even spelling mistakes are some. The author's enthusiasm though is infectious and entertaining and a few points are picked along the way. For fans only. There must be a better book out there.

[Michela O'Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

The newest edition of this "must-have-book" for any fan, not only brings the tale up to date to include the long awaited reunion, but also beefs up the old chapters with new bits of interviews from the fab four and many associates, which were missing in the 1997 and 2001 editions.
I really enjoyed it, even if Robb's style is a little bit too prone to repetition. But the subject matter more than compensates for the shortfalls, as well as the fact that Robb has a first account knowledge of the story, which lacks in other biographies of the Roses, he was there to witness the rise of the band.
And that is the best part of the book.
The later part is skimmed over a bit too quickly, without really adding anything much new to what we already know about the reunion and how it came about. The solo careers could also have done with a bit more in-depth details.
Still, it remains a classic for Stone Roses and music fans.

[Peter O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love that Stone Roses album as much as the next guy but let's not lose sight of the fact that they had ONE decent album. The fact that they don't even record it until half way through this book means that there is underachieving page upon underachieving page that the reader has to slog through before they even record a note. Clearly a fan, the author, guilty of too much repetition (yeah, we get it - the band was like a gang, although not a particularly intimidating one if you ask me), seems oblivious to the fact that this may all be a bit boring for those that don't worship at the same altar. Overall, this may have been suited more to the 33 1/3 format which would have made the book a merciful three hundred pages shorter. Having said that, the final chapters telling of the eventual demise is a pretty interesting read.

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.

One of my all time favourite bands about which I knew little, considering how much I've played their stuff, especially that first wonderful album. I found the book pretty informative therefore. Stodgy in places, particularly for the first third or more; but then they were very slow taking off.

The individual members of the band are endearingly portrayed, warts and all. I'm definitely going to hang on to my copy. I did find John Robb's excessive use of the f--- word tedious and irritating though.

[Dpmc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting if you're a Roses fan but the quality of the writing isn't great. Often repeats itself and has a magazine type style. John Robb is an all round good bloke but should stick to his website.

[Tom Middleton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the Stone Roses, but this is one of the dullest books I hav ever read.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want an excellent history about the Stone Roses then check out 33 1/3's volume on their debut album. This bio is ok but dull in places.

[Simon Prentice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about one of the best bands of all time

[Keith Mckenna]

Interesting book bought it for kindle last year was reading it then fell away from it when i stopped work. i will give a rating when i finish it

[Steve Grayell · Rating 5 out of 5]

nostalgia on a stick ... hilarious too - a goodgoodgoodread

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great subject, horribly written.

[Johnnysk8fer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by a friend of the band. it had loads of anecdotes but lacked objectivity.

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, and very enthusiastic -- Robb was there when the Roses' were just blooming, and he knows the scene very well. But his writing style (and especially his non-existant editor) is atrocious, and he dispenses with the Roses' Second Coming period in about 8 pages. Not only that, but he copied a paragraph I wrote about the song "Daybreak", and pasted it, word-for-word, into this book. (Weaknesses notwithstanding, this bio is infinitely better than the God-awful 'Breaking Into Heaven' by Mick Middles, a book so bad I refuse to put it on Shelfari.) I suppose it's up to me to write the best bio of The Stone Roses someday...