Like a rolling stone

11:27am Wednesday 5th December 2007

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THE music industry is well documented as one of the hardest nuts to crack. Many pretenders to the throne have been and gone, but it is rare when the next big thing' becomes an institution in their own right.

Enter former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown - the Warrington-born darling of baggy Madchester' who has surpassed many a peer to carve out a surprise career spanning nearly two decades.

"You have to keep trying new things and mixing it up or you just end up stale and doing it for the wrong reasons."

Ian Brown

"I haven't a clue how I've lasted so long to be honest," he said hours before wowing a packed out Parr Hall.

"I have tried to work it out before, but I really couldn't say. The best thing to do is just remain true to yourself and the rest will sort itself out.

"As George Formby said: It's turned out nice again'."

The 44-year-old, who now lives back in his hometown with wife Fabiola Quiroz Brown and son Emilio, has stunned both fans and critics alike with his staying power.

But with two monumental albums with the Roses and five top 10 solo offerings in tow, who could deny the Monkey Man his dues?

"I don't listen to much new music these days. I'm a big fan of Stevie Wonder and I grew up with The Beatles, but I've not had a chance to keep up with what's going on at the minute. I just do what I do."

Back in 1989, the Stone Roses were a phenomenon. The four-piece took a drab British music scene - awash with wannabe products' of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman stable - and injected some much-needed style back into the UK.

Their iconic self-titled album is still considered to be one of the finest debut LPs ever to emerge from these shores.

And for the masters behind the work - Brown, John Squire, Gary Mani' Mounfield and Alan Reni' Wren - things would never be the same again.

"I have no regrets," he said.

"I went from spending five years on the dole to travelling around the world twice. How can I have regrets about that?"

The Roses led Manchester's style revolution, which, with a little help of Tony Wilson's Hacienda subculture, became the epicentre of the musical world.

"The 80s were a nightmare for tunes," he said.

"You had some good stuff coming out of Manchester with the Smiths and stuff, but there was all this artificial plastic' rubbish about.

I just didn't get into anything.

"It was not a great time to be about and something needed to be done."

And with anthemic singles such as Sally Cinnamon, Fools Gold and One keeping their partisan following hungry for more, the 20-somethings were catapulted further into the limelight.

But as with many young stars, fame took its toll.

A row with former label FM Revolver over their re-release of Sally Cinnamon led to a £3,000 fine each for throwing paint over the company's offices, and boss Paul Birch and his girlfriend, before vandalising two cars outside.

However, on May 27, 1990, the Roses cemented their status as Britain's coolest band when they played to more than 27,000 fans at a huge outdoor gig at Spike Island, Widnes.

The gig was initially considered a failure due to poor organisation and sound, but it has become the stuff of legends ever since.

It was to be one of their last great performances after a messy legal battle to escape a five-year recording contract with new label Silvertone prevented them from releasing anything for four years and the momentum they had so quickly established began to evaporate as grunge took hold of the mainstream.

In 1994 they escaped the clutches of Silvertone and signed a new deal with US giant Geffen Records.

The scene was set for a much-anticipated second album following the emergence of Britpop and a need for all things Manchester. The Second Coming was born.

Mainly written by John Squire, the overall sound took on a darker, bluesier sound, which edged away from their trademark uptempo psychedelia.

That departure - it seemed - was the beginning of the end.

Barring a successful comeback tour towards the end of 1995, the Roses bubble had all but burst.

Reni quit and Squire became a cocaine-fuelled recluse. It was time to call it a day.

Squire, respected as the musical genius behind the band, formed the Seahorses, who were seen by many as the successors to the Roses after a string of hits.

Critics initially shunned Brown's attempts for respect as an artist in his own right.

It was the latter, however, who had the last laugh.

The Seahorses imploded almost as quickly as they appeared, while Brown's debut solo effort Unfinished Monkey Business was progressively gaining credibility.

"I always try to be original," he said.

"That's what keeps me going. You have to keep trying new things and mixing it up or you just end up stale and doing it for the wrong reasons."

As his popularity continued to grow, a succession of hit albums followed including Music Of The Spheres and Solarized.

But things took a turn for the worst in 1998 when he was sentenced to four months in jail for air rage for threatening to cut the hands off a stewardess with plastic cutlery mid-flight.

And in 2005, he was arrested for assault during a San Francisco gig, but no charges were brought.

This year saw him release his fifth studio offering The World Is Yours, which features a collection of high-profile collaborations including Sinead O'Connor, who contributes to his latest single Illegal Attacks, Sex Pistol Steve Jones and former Happy Mondays bassist Paul Ryder adding to the mix.

"They were just friends of mine and I thought they would work on a few of the songs," he said.

"It was cool to get them involved and it worked out alright."

And with Brown edging towards his third decade in the limelight, what does the future hold for the man who has everything?

"Who knows," he said.

"I'll just keep doing what I do and see where it takes me.

"I've had a few ups and downs along the way, but as long as you stick to your guns and keep believing what you are doing is for the right reasons, you can't go far wrong can you?"