1988 | The Stone Roses Archive

The Stone Roses spent 1988 transforming from a promising Manchester band into a fully formed cultural force. John Squire shaped their visual identity with Pollock-inspired paint-splattered artwork, and a demo tape passed along by Lindsay Reade sparked major label interest. After chaotic studio sessions with Peter Hook and a tug-of-war between labels, the band signed an infamously lopsided deal with Zomba and rushed to write much of their debut album in a late burst of creativity. By year’s end they had the songs, the style, and the growing cult following that would soon make them iconic.

1988
Ian Brown - Vocals
John Squire - Lead Guitar
Alan 'Reni' Wren - Drums, Backing Vocals
Gary Michael 'Mani' Mounfield - Bass Guitar

1988 - John Squire begins his pollock style painting style

Self-taught artist John Squire started designing the band's paint splash style sleeves in his bedroom.

(Elephant Stone, 1988) Oil on calico & plywood (18"x18")

(Bye Bye Badman‘ (oil on canvas, 31" x 26.5“)

From 14 July 1990 - NME Magazine, James Brown article:

John too lives in his own bizarre stratosphere. His paintings have taken on an important role in the group’s identity. At Spike Island they looked brilliant projected behind the band. “I’ve never tried to pass my paintings off as my own,” he says of his Jackson Pollock pastiches. “We wanted Jackson Pollock’s paintings on the covers but they cost three quarters of a million each,” admits Ian. “People ask to buy my paintings but I haven’t sold any. I like them,” smiles the painter. “Did you ever see Tom Keating? He had a TV show where he used to rip off Old Masters and show you how it was done. He once sold one, there was a big scandal. It’s just that sort of attitude, I’m trying to do me own stuff now though. I’ve stopped dripping and splashing.”

Sam Wollaston interview with John Squire 16 September 2019...

Record sleeves? “Yeah, and clothes. The paint drips, that was a stepping-stone to abstract expressionism, then ‘who is Jackson Pollock?’, and I can use this to make my own record sleeves.”

After seeing a book of photographs of The Clash by Pennie Smith, John said: “I remember seeing a photo of Paul Simonon in a dressing room, and the caption said, ‘Paul surveys a Pollock-style action painting on the floor,’” says John. “I was intrigued. I’ve never been averse to popping down the library, or going through the shelves of bookshops to find information. And as soon as I saw a number of Pollock paintings, I was hooked. I thought there was great potential there for sleeve imagery. They already looked like record covers.”

1988 - Reni's daughter is born.

Reni did not know about his daughter until her seventh birthday. A DNA test proved he was the father.

From 01 March 1995 -'The Face Magazine' Issue 78, March 95:

Reni is a dad now too – and has been for longer than he ever knew, in fact. “I’ve two kids at home now, two boys, and that wasn’t really planned at all. But I’ve got another little girl as well, she’s nine now. My daughter, right, she’s being chased around at the moment back home by journalists. Her mother’s being hounded out of a bar job because these people keep turning up asking all these questions. Now what’s happened between me and her in the past and what money I give them has got nothing to do with the fucking News Of The World.” So, what’s the story? “Millionaire Star’s Secret Daughter!”? “Stone Rose’s Thorny Past!”? Reni says the story’s not there, and that no one concerned would be selling it even if it was. “None of us are millionaires, anyway, not even quarter millionaires, not even ten per cent.” “I never knew this little girl was mine, right, and I’d been told in the past it was nothing to do with me. But then when I saw her as a seven-year-old child it was just this self-evident thing. So, I had the DNA tests straight away and that was it for me, since that day I’ve seen her weekly as often as I can. I took her straight home to mine and introduced her to her two little brothers. The whole parenthood thing, it just knocks you sideways.”

1988 - Lindsay Reade contacts A&R representitive Roddy McKenna
Lindsay sent Zomba/Roddy a demo tape of the band. It included recent single Sally Cinnamon, Here It Comes, All Across The Sands, This Is The One and many more.

From 04 March 2011 - Clash Magazine/Website article "The Life And Times Of The Stone Roses "I was contacted by a longstanding contact from Manchester, a lady called Lindsay Reade, who was Tony Wilson’s wife. She phoned very excited about a new band she was co-managing, called The Stone Roses. She asked if she could send me a cassette recording of the group, I said of course, and she sent it down to me. I remember driving back from a lost cause gig in Wales when I was introduced to the Roses. I had a function on my cassette player that could repeat a song – and I put one track on repeat for almost the whole journey back to London. It was a song called ‘Here It Comes’, which has the killer line in it: “I’d rather be no-one, than someone with no-one”. I had to find out more about. I contacted Lindsay and said, ‘I like this, I’d like to come and see them play live’, because I put great emphasis on being impressed by a band from a live point of view. [So I did], and I was just knocked out by the performance. Directly after the gig I went across the road from the International to the offices of the co-manager at the time, Gareth Evans, and sat in a meeting with him and the band, where I basically told them I thought it was brilliant. We were talking about what bands they were into, and what kind of music I was into, and we just really hit it off. Because I’d had some commercial success as a junior A&R guy I was allowed to go out and sign bands, and that was the first band I came across... I’d go down to the studio and they’d be playing ghetto blasters with all this different music. It was like hanging out at someone’s flat for an old fashioned record session. Dub reggae, obscure hip-hop, deep Chicago house music, and interspersed with that, The Clash and Zeppelin. It was a cacophony of wonderfulness. RODDY MCKENNA"

January 1988 - Revolution Studios, Cheadle, Stockport, Manchester - Elephant Stone.

Michael Johnson was the engineer during the recordings.
If you play the CD version of Full Fathom Five backwards you can hear the alternate version of Elephant Stone, which is denoted in this session here. This version was used on the original Rough Trade White Label (see 30 March 1988). The studio has also been noted as Suite 16 Studios, Manchester. This was the first Peter Hook recording session. Bernard Sumner (New Order guitarist and singer) sat in for a few sessions too, apparently the band asked him to mix the single too.

An unreleased take had Reni taking lead vocals for the song.

Media at the time said the single was recorded in the Summer with Peter Hook.

From May 1989 - Rockin' On Magazine: Peter Hook's the producer on the "Elephant Stone" then. There seemed to be nothing in common between your sound and his. What do you think about the reason he liked your song?

I : He just liked our song I think. We had rated New Order's dance tunes.

When "Elephant Stone" was ready to record, we started to look for a good producer for a dance record, then we hit on his name.

What did you learn from him?

I : How to make a good record, that's the main point. And some technical things...
Why didn't you ask him to produce the whole album? Was there a contract problem?
I : No. "Elephant Stone" was a dance record therefore we asked him. We didn't think to ask him more than that...

From 04 March 2011 - Clash Magazine/Website article "The Life And Times Of The Stone Roses Peter Hook said I think Reni thought he was a better singer than Ian. I think technically he probably was but he didn’t have Ian’s soul. Ian Brown has a very distinct, very soulful and very passionate voice, whereas Reni was just a good singer and I reckon there was a little bit of a competition between the two of them there; a little bit of friction that I thought was a bit sad. I think Reni always harboured an ambition to be a singer. PETER HOOK"

1998 - Record Collector, December 1997 - Hotel, Park Lane, John Reed Interview/article: RC: Your first Silvertone single, "Elephant Stone", was produced by New Order’s Peter Hook… IB: Hooky was a mate of a friend called Slim who was roadying for us – he used to roadie for New Order. Hooky’s engineer, Michael Johnson did most of it but Hooky played a part.

1988 - Recording Sessions Groove (Black Magic Devil Woman)
Groove-On Black Magic Devil Woman has been compared to an early incarnation of the outro to I Am The Resurrection.

Squire also does some guitar licks around 2:15 to 2:30 that hit some of the same notes as I Am The Resurrection's outro.

According to a fan Groove (Black Magic Devil Woman) was recorded during the Elephant Stone sessions. It was eventually released, uncredited, on the 1995 The Complete Stone Roses 2 Disc Edition Compilation. The Japanese 2 disc edition credits the songs title as Groove-On Black Magic Devil Woman.

January 1988 - Suite 16 Recording Studio, Quobeat Ltd. 16 Kenion Street, Off Drake Street, Rochdale.

Elephant Stone / The Hardest Thing In The World

Ian Brown Interview from Uncut Magazine, June 2006, Issue 109: Who did you see as competition, then? The Beatles? “

We did a 16-track demo in ’86 in Peter Hook’s studio which we thought was as good as The Beatles...''

From 07 January 2018 - thestoneroses.co.uk published an interview with Matt Mead ''We interview Matt Mead, who wrote the book Flowered Up and who recently was able to share a short clip from The Stone Roses Elephant Stone recording sessions.

You’re a huge Roses collector and i know you’re not able to share some of the items you have or have come across, but what are you top 3 rare items that you have seen/have access too?

Elephant Stone rehearsal tape. A recent find kindly shared with me which I was allowed to share a small snippet of. A wonderful 1hr 30mins of the band rehearsing through and talking in the studio about Elephant Stone. There’s not much more I can say apart from the Roses should do a official bootleg series for the fans, much like Dylan has done

From: Omega Auctions 2020: THE STONE ROSES - ELEPHANT STONE/HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD DEMO CASSETTE TAPE (DIFFERENT VERSION). Totally mega early demo cassette of Elephant Stone c/w Hardest Thing In The World, this early (very much live sounding) demo different to that of other released versions. The tape (Japanese produced TDK High Bias 70us EQ SA 60) has 'Stone Roses Dolby' written on the A side sticker with 'In' ticked. This version has a different intro, Squire's squaliing semitone riff more close to the later commercial release, this can be heard 'fading in' at the very beginning of the track. The Hardest Thing In The World appears to the be same as the commercial release. With original printed inlay card from Suite 16 Recording Studio, Rochdale. A must have for any Roses collector! Provenance: from Geoff Travis' Rough Trade archive.

1988 - Elephant Stone Demo Rough Trade Cassette Tape
Elephant Stone (Demo) / Elephant Stone (Demo with count in)

The tape notes two demos of Elephant Stone and also The Woodentops 'You Make Me Feel'. The Woodentops release was eventually released in January 1988 with the Rough Trade number RTT 179. The black tape has no manufacturer markings and is simply stickered 'The Stone Roses/Elephant Stone'. The tape contains two demo versions of the track which appear to be similar to those that were later released on the 20th

Anniversary Edition Demos Disc, with ambient noise heard before the tracks begin (the count-in can be heard). No inlay card. The three-track tape was auctioned off with provenance from Geoff Travis' Rough Trade archive.

Auction Date: 10 November 2020 10:30 GMT LOT 29 - OMEGA AUCTIONS, Sankey Valley Industrial Estate, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8DN. Auction description: 'THE STONE ROSES - ELEPHANT STONE DEMO CASSETTE TAPE.

A killer early demo cassette from The Stone Roses, this tape containing 2 x demos of Elephant Stone and also containing the lovely 'You Make Me Feel' from The Woodentops. The black tape has no manufacturer markings and is simply stickered 'The Stone Roses/Elephant Stone'. The tape contains 2 x demo versions of the track which appear to be similar to those that were later released on the 20th anniversary, with ambient noise heard before the tracks begin (the count-in can be heart) set as well as The Woodentops - You Make Me Feel. No inlay card. The recording is in excellent condition. Provenance: from Geoff Travis' Rough Trade archive.'

1988 - Elephant Stone (Demo) / The Hardest Thing In The World Rough Trade Cassette Tape Elephant Stone (Demo) / The Hardest Thing In The World

Elephant Stone is described as '(very much live sounding) demo different to that of other released versions...This version has a different intro, Squire's squealing semitone riff more close to the later commercial release, this can be heard 'fading in' at the very beginning of the track.'. I've never heard this tape but I've got a feeling the version could the reversed version of Full Fathom Five, which appeared on the 1990 CD single. It sounds similar to the released version but different enough to differentiate the two versions. The tape was a Japanese produced TDK High Bias 70us EQ SA 60 has 'Stone Roses Dolby' written on the A side sticker with 'In' ticked. The Hardest Thing In The World appears to the be same as the released version. The tape has the original printed inlay card from Suite 16 Recording Studio, Quobeat Ltd. 16 Kenion Street, Off Drake Street, Rochdale, OL161SN. Rochdale. The two-track tape was auctioned off with provenance from Geoff Travis' Rough Trade archive.

Auction Date: 10 November 2020 10:30 GMT LOT 30 - OMEGA AUCTIONS, Sankey Valley Industrial Estate, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8DN. Auction description: THE STONE ROSES - ELEPHANT STONE/HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD DEMO CASSETTE TAPE (DIFFERENT VERSION). Totally mega early demo cassette of Elephant Stone c/w Hardest Thing In The World, this early (very much live sounding) demo different to that of other released versions. The tape (Japanese produced TDK High Bias 70us EQ SA 60) has 'Stone Roses Dolby' written on the A side sticker with 'In' ticked. This version has a different intro, Squire's squealing semitone riff closer to the later commercial release, this can be heard 'fading in' at the very beginning of the track. The Hardest Thing In The World appears to the be same as the commercial release. With original printed inlay card from Suite 16 Recording Studio, Quobeat Ltd. 16 Kenion Street, Off Drake Street, Rochdale, OL161SN. Rochdale. A must have for any Roses collector! Provenance: from Geoff Travis' Rough Trade archive.

John Leckie said: "I initially received a demo tape from Geoff Travis at Rough Trade," Leckie recalls, "and by the time I got back to him they'd signed with Silvertone. I then got the same kind of tape from Silvertone, so it was clear that the band had asked for me to work with them... I can't now remember what songs were on the tape, but I know they included 'Waterfall', 'She Bangs The Drums', 'This Is The One' and 'I Am The Resurrection'.

From October 1997 - I Wanna Be Adored BBC Radio 1 Documentary: John Leckie: "I first got a call from Geoff Travis at Rough Trade, and he sent me a tape with Elephant Stone, She Bangs The Drums and I Wanna Be Adored, and I said 'Yes, yes, I'll do it!" So then I spoke to Silvertone and went up to Manchester, saw the band rehearsing, saw a gig at International Two, which was pretty amazing, then we went in and did four songs for the album."

January 1988 - The Stone Roses sign to Rough Trade Records
The Rough Trade contract was initially for one single. The deal was short lived and the band left to sign with Zomba. Elephant Stone was, initially, finished and ready for release (Peter Hook produced) for 15 February 1988. The single was delayed due to the band not being happy with the Hooky production.

Michael Johnson was, initially, lined up for the production of the E.P. and Rough Trade penned a release date for 30 March 1988. The band were not happy with the sound of Peter Hook's final mix, so Geoff rang John Leckie to produce. The new release date was noted for June 1988.

1998 - Record Collector, December 1997 - Hotel, Park Lane, John Reed Interview/article:

IB: We nearly signed to Rough Trade. In fact, Rough Trade signed us to do "Elephant Stone" with Peter and, as we were doing it, (Rough Trade boss) Geoff Travis said try John Leckie, I think he’ll be good for you. Zomba then bought "Elephant Stone" off Geoff.
RC: So why didn’t you sign to Rough Trade? IB: Because Zomba were offering us eight LPs and Rough trade were only offering an LP or two. But we met John Leckie and we got on....

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview:

“Cos we nearly signed to Rough Trade, and Geoff Travis recommended John Leckie. We heard the Dukes of Stratosphere (XTC offshoot) LP he did. It was like the sounds of the Sixties, and we thought he must be really clever to get those sounds.”

From Blood On The Turntable BBC TV Documentary, Mani said: Geoff Travis was sniffing about and there was one point we were going to sign to Rough Trade. Primarily becase we had gone down to London. We met him at that pub, The George, at the side of Euston station and he gave us money to get an Italian when we got back to Manchester. We all went that guys spot on...

From 25 August 2009 - John 'Jeckie' Leckie interview from The Quietus website: You never know when the right act will cross your path: - I wasn't in Manchester so I wasn't aware of The Stone Roses at all. The Dukes of Stratosphear album was almost three years before it in 1985, '86. When I met them, they were aware of it, they asked if I was the one who had done that album and I said 'Yeah!' They did enthuse about it a little bit but it wasn't a really important thing, I don't think. I think they really chose me on Geoff Travis' recommendation. Ian Liked The Adverts record as well but it was never really spoken about, we just got on with the work. You just say 'we're going to make the best record we can'.

From M62 Magazine, Issue Number 02, July/Aug 1988 Debi Read wrote: ''Their single 'Elephant Stone' which was to be released on Rough Trade will now be released, shortly on Jive (Hence the delay) and will feature a backwards version on Side B.''

NME magazine article 12 November 1988 noted:

'Following a false start with Rough Trade, they've now signed up with the multi-million Jive/Zomba group to release records on the off shoot Silvertone.''

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview:

When did the Roses’ classic songs start to appear?

“About ’88. We started recording in May/June, and we’d signed the deal (with Silvertone) in April, and then we’d written Bye Bye Badman, Shoot You Down, Elizabeth My Dear. We wrote most of that first album in the few weeks after inking the deal, cos we’d blagged the record company. We told Silvertone that we had about 30 or 40 songs, but we only had about eight. We’d scrapped loads of songs.

23 January 1988 - Dingwalls, Camden Lock, Chalk Farm Road, NW1, London Supporting: The La's / Sold Out Show.
Date sometimes confused with 29 February 1988

23 January 1988 - The Stone Roses feature in Sounds Magazine, John Robb interviewed the band late 1987.

January 1988 - Power Plant Studios, Willesden, London
Geoff Travis said the initial Peter Hook mix needed remixing so he funded the John Leckie remixing session for Elephant Stone. The story goes that an engineer there, heard the track and told someone from Jive/Zomba Records who were on the lookout for a "rock" band. This story conflicts with the one that Lindsay Reade made direct contact with Roddy McKenna.

11 February 1988 Thursday - The Stone Roses feature in Manchester University Newspaper, Issue 15 Interview with Ian Brown and John Squire by Lisa Dulledge.

1988 - Ian Brown Demo Mix Tape
Side A Sally Cinnamon (8 Track Demo) / The Hardest Thing (8 Track Demo) / All Across The Sand (8 Track Demo) / Here it Comes (B-Side) / All Across The Sand (B-Side) / Elephant Stone (8 Track Demo) / Sugar Spun Sister (8 Track Demo) / The Sun Still Shines (8 Track Demo) / Going Down (8 Track Demo) / So Young (Single) / Tell Me (Single) / Fernando - Gifted (Martin Hannett)

Side B Fernando - Gifted (Martin Hannett) / Gettin' Plenty (Hannett 1985) / I Wann Be Adored (Hannett 1985) / Sally Cinnamon (Single) / Heart On Staves (Hannett 1985) / This Is The One (Hannett 1985) / Trust A Fox (Hannett 1985) / All I Want, All I Need (Hannett 1985) / Your Time Will Come

A Private Tape sent from Ian Brown to friend Duncan. The 8 Track Demo's are presumably from the Chorlton Sessions. Your Time Will Come is not included on the tape, Ian writes on the sleeve; ''there was another but the tape ran out!!''. Ian also wrote in an accompanying letter '''Duncan, Here's your tape at last! Side A is mostly 8 track demos which sound pretty weakish but being a technical wizard you'll understand these things. Besides the classic 'Fernando' on Side B the others on the side are all Hannett Production of early tunes we only actually still play 'This Is The One' and when you hear you'll know why!! See you soon, Ian p.s. cheers for the syd/jimi tape x. Also included was a tape from International 30/1/87

20 February 1988 - Ian Brown's 25th birthday

26 February 1988 Friday - International 1, 47 Anson Road, Manchester, M14 * Doors Open: 20:00-01:00 * Stage Times: Monkey Run (originally scheduled for 20:30) 21:30 The Stone Roses (originally scheduled for 21:30) 23:00 * Ticket Price: £3.00 (Advance) £3.50 (On The Door) * Support Act(s): Monkey Run. Sally Cinnamon / Here It Comes / The Hardest Thing In The World / Going Down / (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister / Mersey Paradise / I Wanna Be Adored / Waterfall / Your Time Will Come / She Bangs The Drums / Made Of Stone / Elephant Stone / This Is The One

Set from original handwritten setlist. Possible debut for Made Of Stone. Peter Hook was in the audience, he was recording 'Elephant Stone' with the band. Apparently, Zomba/Jive Boss, Steven Howard, and A&R Rep. Roddy McKenna were in the audience. Steven was staggered by how big of a following the band had.

Steven Howard: "As an A&R guy coming up from London, it was, like, 'What is going on here?' It was all kids in baggy jeans, flared jeans. I thought, 'If they've got this kind of cult fashion thing going on, there's a whole lifestyle'."

A review featured in the Manchester University Newspaper, 03 March 1988: ''This was the first time I saw them and agree with the reviewer’s comments about the crowd as I wasn't aware that they had such a loyal and committed following. I started off close to the front but not long after they started, I remember being face to face with a paisley-shirted lad with a cut above his left eye which made this soft student move back to somewhere safer. Apart from that what I mainly remember is Reni drumming with his top off and wearing a hat with the sides turned up and I've recently seen a photo doing the rounds which looks like it's from that night. I also remember Peter Hook being there which would make sense if he'd just produced Elephant Stone which was due for release on Rough Trade around then.''

Gig Reviews

28 February 1988, Billy Smith review. Melody Maker Magazine,

12 March 1988, Jacqueline Harte review. Melody Maker Magazine,

27 February 1988 - The Leadmill, Sheffield * Supporting: The Jack Rubies (Jack Rubins)

From thestar.co.uk By The Newsroom 15 May 2016, 11:55am: The Leadmill, February 27, 1988. The Stones Roses were performing as the support act to The Jack Rubies, who had appeared on a television show called Famous for 15 Minutes. At the time the Stone Roses were practically unheard of, and they arrived on stage with a line up which at that point did not include the bass player Gary Mounfield. They wore paint splattered shirts, which resembled John Squire’s paintings, and all their instruments had the same Jackson Pollack style paint. There was no crush at the front, with the audience standing well back as an unfamiliar band played a performance of songs which were then unknown to most of those present, including Waterfall and Elephant Stone. One woman in the audience had Ian Brown singing directly to her, kneeling on the stage in front of her as he did so...

29 February 1988 Monday - Panic Station - The Alternative Music Night, Dingwalls, Camden Lock, Chalk Farm Road, NW1, London * Doors Open: 18:00, 20.30 The Sullivans, 21.15 The Motion Pictures, 22:00 My Life Story, 23:00 The Stone Roses * Ticket Price: £2.00 (Members) / £3.00 (on the door)

4 March 1988 Friday - Legebds - Warrington
Mersey Paradise / Here It Comes / Going Down / The Hardest Thing In The World / Elephant Stone / I Wanna Be Adored / Made Of Stone / Your Time Will Come / (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister / Sally Cinnamon / This Is The One / Waterfall

March 1988 - Gareth and the band meet at Reni's flat to discuss labels. Squire later said, "I wanted to sign to Rough Trade and everyone else wanted to sign to Zomba."

15 March 1988 - Ian Tilton Photo Shoot
The first photo session with Mani. The band had the pollock style back drop. Mani was wearing a striped t-shirt with leather jacket; all the band wore coats too.
The Third Coming, The Definitive Exibithion Catalgoue shows photos taken from the session.

30 March 1988 - Elephant Stone RT 215 Rough Trade White Label pressing
The white label (usually looks pink) was stamped '30 MAR 1988' and had 'RT 215

A & B - 1U' handwritten on the label. The 7inch pressing was made for Rough Trade and the initial release was even given a catalogue number RT215. Matrix / Runout Groove reads: RT215A-1J-1-1 There's Something Big Come Up. Side B Matrix: RT215B-1U-1-1 Watch Out For Chocolate Lust.

The 12inch sleeve was designed and finished too for Rough Trade. It looked similar to the initial release but the 'Elephant Stone' title on the front is just the outline rather than solid lettering, same font. The pollock style artwork was the same too but the rear sleeve did not have the production credits. Both tracks were produced by Peter Hook. Full Fathom Five featured on the Rough Trade pressings was the version that appeared on the 1990 Elephant Stone CD single.

A magazine article said the band were due to release Elephant Stone in June with Rough Trade. Both Peter Hook's and John Leckie's mix made it onto the Silvertone released single. The eventual release of Elephant Stone features the 7inch Mix & 12inch Mix. Both recorded by Peter Hook but mixed by John Leckie. The 12inch Full Fathom Five version includes the John Leckie mix, whereas Peter Hooks Full Fathom Five mix was included on the 1990 CD single and Complete Stone Roses compilation. If you play the track backwards you will be rewarded with the original Peter Hook single mix of Elephant Stone. The Hardest Thing In The World is the same version on all releases, produced by Peter Hook.

March 1988 - International 1, 47 Anson Road, Manchester, M14. There is a Zomba document dated '12 April 1988'. Roddy says he signed the band after seeing them play a benefit gig in Manchester. The only benefit gig noted on the timeline is the 30 May 1988 - Anti-Clause show (Unconfirmed if the band played another benefit gig in Manchester before 12 April 1988).

From 23 October 2011 0:00, updated 06 November 2912 13:34 - The Daily Record, article by Fiona Young: Roddy McKenna said: "I then went to see them play in Manchester in a benefit gig and thought they were amazing. I'd had some commercial success on our pop label Jive Records, so was given the chance to find a new band and manage the project on my own. The Roses were the first band I wanted to sign. At the time, the only person offering The Stone Roses an album deal was me. I turned down the chance to co-manage the band out of loyalty to Zomba. If I hadn't, maybe I'd be sitting on 10 per cent of four million dollars...

10 April 1988 - Reni's 24th birthday

12 April 1988 - The Stone Roses sign to Zomba Records
Gareth persuaded the band to sign with Jive. The Zomba Productions Limited contract was drawn on the 12 April 1988 to The Stone Roses. The record company increased their offer of an advance from £30,000 to £70,000, the band signed 18 April.

Zomba's business boss Clive Calder later said the initial contract he gave Evans was just "a draft", having all the toughest clauses possible for the artist, and that he fully expected the band's lawyers to come back and demand several revisions. Gareth asked Geoffrey Howard, a Manchester property lawyer, to approve the contract. They believed, due to some of the terms, it would never stand up in court.

The contract deal with Zomba was for eight albums, and stated that The Roses would not be paid for the first 30,000 records sold (if they ever sold that many).
It had a clause about CD sales, which were just then beginning to surge. Ian Brown said, about ten years later, that the Roses were not paid anything for the entirety of CD sales in their deal with Zomba.

The band had signed to Zomba Music, a South African company whose UK label, Jive, was possibly the most unhip in the world.

At the time the band were still signed to FM Revolver but they gave the band up and let them go from the contract, they kept the rights to the recordings and the initial release though (see December 1989 etc.).

Roddy McKenna convinced Zomba, Steven Howard, to form 'Silvertone Records' as the 'Rock' branch of the label.

Ian Brown said in an interview that the band signed with Silvertone in April 1988. The deal was agreed by Evans, apparently without consulting the band. The eight-album deal included a clause declaring that the Roses would not see a penny of royalties from their first 30,000 records sold. The contract would be ended in court in May 1991, after a lengthy legal battle between the band and label. The contract was full of conflicting terms and left the band with a ''bad deal''. At the time though, the band wanted to sign with a major to release music mainstream. Dance label Zomba Records umbrella indie label Silvertone Records seemed an ideal opportunity for the band.

From M62 Magazine, Issue Number 02, July/Aug 1988 Debi Read wrote: ''Now boasting an eight-album deal with 'Jive' The Stone Roses are as ambitious as ever.''

From Blood On The Turntable BBC TV Documentary, Gareth Evans said: I knew that was a bad contract, I knew what I was doing, I knew that contract would never succeed or stand up in court...That's why I signed it, I read it that contract was 'tandem out to slavery'. The contract was a shambles. I can't remember the exact words but it broke every legal conversion.

2000 - Manchester Uni Paper, Ian Brown Interview:

You're talking about the record label dispute with Silvertone now,right? Is that still unresolved? "Silvertone's unresolved because we sold upwards of £33m LPs worldwide and that generated £330m, and we only shared £325,000 each on sales.

1988 - 4 Track Demos, Home Recordings

Where Angels Play / Bye Bye Badman.

John & Ian acoustic 4 track demo recording. The recordings have also been credited to '12 December 1986 - Chorlton, Manchester'. Both recordings appear on The Stone Roses 2009 Remastered Deluxe Demos Disc.

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview:

When did the Roses’ classic songs start to appear?

From April 2000 - Q Magazine, Eyewitness: The Making of The Stone Roses:

Ian Brown: We'd signed the deal in April and then we'd written Bye Bye Badman, Shoot You Down and Elizabeth My Dear. We wrote most of the first album in the few weeks after inking the deal 'cos we'd blagged the record company. We told Zomba we had about 30 or 40 songs, but we only had about eight.

1988 - Rehearsals, Manchester - I Am The Resurrection

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature: Reni:

"...I Am The Resurrection, for example, started out as a reverse bass pisstake of Paul McCartney on Taxman. Mani used to play that riff every day, I'd come in and John would doodle some Fender over the top and we'd do it for a laugh at soundchecks. Finally we said, "Let's do it properly - this joke song actually sounds really good!"

13 May 1988 Saturday - Angel Centre, Tonbridge, Maidstone ''The Crypt presents The Mind Explosion'' * Ticket Price: £5 (Advance) £6 (On The Door) * Support Act(s): Voodoo Child, The Ullulators

May 1988 - Suite 16 Recording Studio, Quobeat Ltd. 16 Kenion Street, Off Drake Street, Rochdale, OL161SN
She Bangs The Drums / Waterfall / Made Of Stone / This Is The One

1988 - Demo Tape
Elephant Stone / Waterfall / She Bangs The Drums
Notes: Probably recordings from Suite-16 Studios, Manchester & Peter Hook's Elephant Stone sessions too. The tape is mentioned by John Leckie when discussing the bands demos, which Rough Trade sent him for album production consideration. John Leckie ended up remixing the 12inch version of Elephant Stone & Full Fathom Five too for the eventual release.

1988 - Demo Tape
She Bangs The Drums / Waterfall / This Is The One
Probably recordings from Suite-16 Studios, Manchester although the auction noted the tape as circa 1987.

The tape went up for sale at £695.00 sold on 30 May 2014 Friday - Omega Auctions, Omega's Offices, unit 3.5 Meadow Mill, Stockport.

From auction lot description ''The tape, which features She Bangs The Drums, Waterfall and This Is The One, was sent out c1987 by Lindsay Reade, who was their co-manager (and wife of Tony Wilson) at that time. The sleeve of the cassette is in Lindsay’s handwriting and the inner sleeve has been signed more recently by Stone Roses bassist, Mani.

Auctioneer. The sleeve of the cassette is in Lindsay's handwriting and lists the three tracks ''She Bangs The Drums'', ''Waterfall'' and ''This Is The One'' followed by ''Original demo from Lindsay''. More recently the vendor's boyfriend who was an associate of Mani's asked him to sign the inner sleeve which he has done with the dedication ''To Dan THE MAN, Love from Mani'' with a smiley face. Mani was actually amazed to see the cassette when he saw it as he had not seen one since they were originally sent out. Great piece of early Stone Roses music and memorabilia. Paul Fairweather says, As a Manchester-based auction house it is fantastic to see these items featuring highly. The market for memorabilia relating to Manchester bands continues to grow and we expect to be showcasing much more over the coming months.

30 May 1988 Monday - Anti-Clause 28 Show, International 2 Club, 210 Plymouth Grove, Longsight, Manchester M13 ** * Ticket Price: £4.00 (Advance) £5.00 (On The Door) * Supporting: James. I Am Without Shoes (Intro Tape) / I Wanna Be Adored / Mersey Paradise / Here It Comes / (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister / Waterfall / Elephant Stone / She Bangs The Drums / Going Down / Made Of Stone / I Am The Resurrection / Sally Cinnamon / This Is The One.

I Am Without Shoes is played as the introduction music. The band must have recorded a version of She Bangs The Drums, a demo, to produce the backwards track. The backwards demo was without lyrics, a studio version appeared on the Complete Stone Roses 1995 bonus disc with additional lyrics. It is unconfirmed where any version of I Am Without Shoes was recorded.

Waterfall includes an extended/alternate guitar solo.

Made Of Stone includes a slightly different drum pattern and longer guitar solo too.

The drums only kick in properly after the chorus on She Bangs The Drums.

One of the first times I Am The Resurrection is played, a short variation of the soon to be anthem.

From City Life Magazine May 1988, Andrew McQueen said: 'It's the first of two benefits to help finance the fight against the infamous Clause 29 (aka Clause 27 and 28) of the local government bill. Brookside's Dean Sullivan (Jimmy Corkhill) is the compere, whilst James and The Stone Roses provide the music.' '...Their exciting drummer and charismatic singer make them one of the most impressive 'live' bands around'...'

Stephen Kingston said: '...Ian Brown starts throwing pints and sarcasm over the unsuspecting audience...'

September 2013 - Andy Couzens interview: Did you see the band play live after you left? I saw them play at International 2 in about 1988. They needed a rhythm guitar player!

From Blood On The Turntable BBC TV Documentary, Noel Gallagher said: International? It was like an old 70's nightclub, y'know?, carpet on the floor. It was a great place for a gig, sound was shit, but it was, y'know, an old nightclub....For some bizarre reason we were in town and it was the Lord Mayors Parade and, er, this guy come up and give us a bunch of tickets and said 'do we want to see a band tonight?' we said 'yeah'. They were just tickets for the International, they didn't have the bands name on or annything like that. And erm subsequently realised, many years later, it was Gareth Evans but apparently he used to do that quite a lot to people who looked cool in Manchester...which I was very impressed about...It was like fucking hell man, this is what it must have been like seeing the Beatles for the first time.

June 1988 - The Stone Roses leave Rough Trade
The deal was short lived. Gareth made the calls to Geoff regarding the band's decision. Geoff made a counter offer to match Zomba but Gareth declined. The band bought the Rough Trade funded recordings with the intention to release with Zomba Records. John Leckie mixed/produced the recordings for Silvertone, after, initially, being hired by Rough Trade. The Silvertone debut would only hit the shelves in October.

Geoff Travis: "I would have matched any offer. We wanted to do a serious deal for a number of albums. We knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime band...It was one of the biggest disappointments of my entire life in music. I certainly felt very used."

1988 - Lindsay Reade steps down from co-managing the band.
When Lindsay found out Gareth had turned down the Rough Trade deal for Zomba, she was furious and quit. She never wanted to see Gareth ever again. Lindsay would still have input into the band and some of their breakthrough appearances, namely The Hacienda show (27 February 1989) & OSM TV appearance (15 January 1989). Lindsay was Tony Wilson's former wife, Tony worked for Granada and hosted The Other Side Of Midnight TV show and he ran Factory Records who built and run The Hacienda club.
Gareth Evans and Matthew Cummings co-managed the band. Sadly Matthew Cummings died in 2007 and rarely spoke out about his role with the band.

June 1988 - Roddy McKenna is appointed as the bands A&R Representitive.

From May 2002 Mojo Magazine, Issue Number 102, Bob Stanley wrote: But their A&R man Roddy McKenna had been tight with the Manchester scene for years , his previous employment included talent scouting for the BBC’s Oxford Road Show. A long-term Clash and Dexys fan, he became fast friends with Ian Brown in particular and convinced them that a label previously synonymous with Tight Fit was a suitable home for the Roses.

From May 2002 Mojo Magazine, Issue Number 102, Bob Stanley wrote: “Underachieving was cool in the ’80s,” says Roddy McKenna. “The Roses were quite different. They really had aspirations to be massive and that was a benchmark.” McKenna was impressed by the group’s self-belief, but sections of the press were less sure.

June 1988 - John Leckie Elephant Stone Sessions
John mixed the Peter Hook recording for the single.

He also mixes the 12inch version of Elephant Stone.

Ian records a new vocal for the recording too.

June 1988 - John Leckie agrees to record the band's debut LP

John Leckie said "Basically, I was brought in to do my thing. The A&R guy, Roddy McKenna, was quite a tough Glaswegian, and he told me 'You're gonna make this good.' He didn't specify what this meant, but he'd come down to the studio and tell us when he thought something was good or something was bad."

From April 2000 - Q Magazine, Eyewitness: The Making of The Stone Roses: Roddy Mckenna: Elephant Stone had be produced by Peter Hook of New Order and I got John Leckie in to mix it for me once I'd signed the band. I'd always loved John's work in Pink Floyd, simple minds and others so he was one of my first choices as a producer.

1988 - The Stone Roses Interview features in Debris Magazine
Ian and John are interviewed for Debris Magazine,

June 1988 - Coconut Grove Studios, Stockport
Waterfall / Shoot You Down

JUNE - The start of The Stone Roses debut album recording sessions. Precise date unconfirmed. These tracks are commonly noted as 1987 Demos on bootlegs, bootlegs dated '1987 - Strawberry Studios / Yellow 2 Studios, Stockport'.

From May 2002 Mojo Magazine, Issue Number 102, Bob Stanley wrote: The band had toyed with the idea of working with Sly and Robbie or DJ Pierre who, under his Phuture moniker, had shaped 1988’s acid house soundtrack. But Leckie had experience with George Martin and Phil Spector, which counted heavily with John Squire. He got the nod, and rehearsals started at Stockport’s Coconut Grove studios in June ’88...“We always listened to psychedelia,” recalls Mani. “That’s why John Leckie was right for the first LP I’d got these great spoof psychedelic LPs by the Dukes Of Stratosphear which he’d produced.” The first day Reni was late and rang the studio to ask Leckie if he could borrow a tenner for a cab. “In the meantime,” recalls the producer, “Gareth Evans had arrived. When Reni arrived and asked for the tenner Gareth shouted, ‘Don’t ask the producer for money, ask me’ and punched him. There were bloody noses, they were thumping each other against the wall, and then Reni just left. I thought, This is a good start.”

June 1988 - Coconut Grove Studios, Stockport
I Am The Resurrection / I Wanna Be Adored / Shoot You Down

The band rehearsed & recorded here for the upcoming album recordings, most of the tracks (which made the LP) were re-recorded in London. Recordings appear uncredited on The Stone Roses 2009 Remastered Deluxe Demos Disc.

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview:

We’d had I Wanna Be Adored since ’85 but it used to be at breakneck speed, and we slowed it down.

From April 2000 - Q Magazine, Eyewitness: The Making of The Stone Roses: Roddie Mckenna: When they rehearsed at the end of the set they'd go crazy, a kind of Sympathy For The Devil and I'd suggested they should turn that into a separate track. As I remember, they'd done a demo of I Am The Resurrection at some studio up north, which sounded really good, but when they tried the ending again later, it just wasn't happening. I suggested they should take the ending from the demo, and use it at the end of the finished LP version of I Am The Resurrection. It just worked.

17 June 1988 - Recording Sessions, Battery Studios, 1 Maybury Gardens, Willesden, North London, NW10 2NB
I Wanna Be Adored / She Bangs The Drums (1st Mix) / Waterfall (1st Mix) / She Bangs The Drums (LP Mix)

The Battery Studios were opposite Zomba Records' office and was co-owned by the label too. It is thought that as part of the record contract that the band had to record at Zomba's studio, saving the label money on the recording process.

The Roses called Leckie ‘Swami’, a Sannyasin pseudonym, Swami Anand Nagar, bestowed by Bhagwan Shree, the leader/sex guru/mystic of the Rajneesh movement. The name relates to Leckie's commune, counter-culture background. He had previously worked with George Harrison, XTC and the Dukes Of Stratosphear too. John Leckie said: "Even though there is a punk heritage, they’re hippies. Ian especially. It sounds corny, but there’s a lot of love there, and you don’t really get that with other Manchester bands."

1998 - Record Collector, December 1997 - Hotel, Park Lane, John Reed Interview/article: RC: Tell me about the sessions for the first albums. IB: They were great. We did them in London – we were living in Kensal Rise that summer. There were three sessions: June/July ’88, September ’88 and January 1989. We did the songs in blocks: "Adored", "Made Of Stone", "Waterfall", "She Bangs The Drums". Then we did "Badman", "Shoot You Down", "Resurrection", "This Is The One".

From April 2000 - Q Magazine, Eyewitness: The Making of The Stone Roses: Andrew Lauder: The first batch of recording was done in battery studios in about 60 days, up in Maybury Gardens, North London, starting on 17th June which we'd chosen because it was owned by Zomba. Silvertone, having only just been set up, was operating outside a Portakabin in the Zomba car-park, which meant I could pop in and out of the studio to see how things were going whenever I liked.

From May 2002 Mojo Magazine, Issue Number 102, Bob Stanley wrote: “He was a learned man,” recalls McKenna. “My office was inside the studio and I used to see first hand what harm a producer with a monstrous ego could do to a band. John Leckie knew the ins and outs of etiquette.” ...Leckie believes they had no choice and recording at Battery may even have been in their contract with Zomba. “The band were staying in Neasden or somewhere, and they didn’t get any sleep for three days. It was a bit of a nightmare for them.”

From May 2002 Mojo Magazine, Issue Number 102, Bob Stanley wrote: Moving to Battery Studios in Willesden — right opposite Zomba’s office — the recording was done in dead time, from seven at night until as late as seven the next morning. McKenna: “They wanted to keep an air of mystique, maybe that’s why they wanted to record at night, to avoid meeting the record company.” ... Ian Brown: “We had beginnings and endings for all the songs, everything was worked out. Sugar Spun Sister, for example, had to finish on a particular chord. We were absolute about how that should be, so well prepared. The Stone Roses never ever winged it. We never had to.

1988 - Reni goes on holiday
He returns with "fake dreadlock hair extensions".

18 June 1988 - The Stone Roses feature in the NME Magazine

July 1988 - The Stone Roses move to Kensal Green, Kensal Rise, London to continue recording. Somewhere between June and August the band moved in. During their stay they shared the house with The Bhundu Boys.

From May 2002 Mojo Magazine, Issue Number 102, Bob Stanley wrote: Mani: “We lodged in this African woman’s guest house in Kensal Green. Her name was Petronella. We were sharing this house with The Bhundu Boys and we’d still be sat up all night doing hot knives while the odd business man would come and go in the morning. Hot knife frenzy. No wonder that LP sounds so mellow and laid-back. We were constantly stoned to fuck. Hot knives and trips were the order of the day.”

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview:

What do you remember about the LP sessions? “Pure fun. Proper good times. We were in London, recording at night. We’d all get a taxi back at seven in the morning and we all shared a house on Kensal Rise. We were skint, they’d give £10 a day for food, which was a load for us. We started in Battery, then we went to Konk Studios, then finished it off in Rockfield in Wales. You’re four years on the dole, suddenly you’re in a country studio with someone cooking for you and a bag of weed in your pocket. Yeah, great.”

May 2002 - From The Very Best Of 2002 sleeve notes, article by John McCready: Ian: Me and John would plan all the time. It was all we talked about. We lived together so we had nothing but time on our hands to get things right. When we were writing songs, we'd spend two or three days sometimes just to get one word. Because a word needs to roll right. We were so deeply into it. They were great days. John: I look back and I see that me and Ian had a great working relationship. We were always planning for the band. We had a sense of direction. Me and Reni had a great musical rapport. And Mani was the secret ingredient. I remember when he joined and it suddenly all made sense. He really filled in all the gaps.

August 1988 - The Stone Roses Recording Sessions, Battery Studios, 1 Maybury Gardens, Willesden, London, NW10 2NB She Bangs The Drums (Single Mix)

John Leckie made a few mixes of the song. The album version, the single mix and an alternate mix which appeared on a promo cassette and subsequent album pressings.

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview:

What do you remember about the LP sessions? “We started in Battery, then we went to Konk Studios, then finished it off in Rockfield in Wales.

25 August 1988 - International 1, 47 Anson Road, Manchester, M14 * Support Act(s): The Charlatans.

Apparently, Tim Burgess, The Charlatans future vocalist, was in the audience.

September 1988 - Ian Tilton's Photo Studios

Ian was wearing a black and white striped shirt. Mani was wearing a blakc and white striped shirt, white collar. Reni in bucket hat and jacket. John was wearing an 'Noel Edmunds' style jumper.

06 September 1988 - Pollocked glass Ian Tilton photo session, Gareth Evan's Farm, Cheshire. Photos from the session would appear on the Elephant Stone promo posters, press photos and adverts.

1988 - Peter Anderson Photo Shoot

September 1988 - The Stone Roses Recording Sessions, Battery Studios, 1 Maybury Gardens, Willesden, London, NW10 2NB
Bye Bye Badman / Shoot You Down

1998 - Record Collector, December 1997 - Hotel, Park Lane, John Reed Interview/article: RC: Tell me about the sessions for the first albums.

IB: They were great. We did them in London – we were living in Kensal Rise that summer. There were three sessions: June/July ’88, September ’88 and January 1989. We did the songs in blocks: "Adored", "Made Of Stone", "Waterfall", "She Bangs The Drums". Then we did "Badman", "Shoot You Down", "Resurrection", "This Is The One".

From April 2000 - Q Magazine, Eyewitness: The Making of The Stone Roses:

John Squire: It was mostly recorded on an SSL desk and it just didn't seem fat or hard enough. From a guitar point of view I see my approach as the main failing; I completely deconstructed what I was playing live and rewrote everything for the studio. That just seems and bit simple and the switch from chordal work to solo stuff doesn't seem to work. The album just doesn't have that stamp of a real guitar player to me, apart from a couple of solos. It sounds like a two guitar band, which we weren't.

The Stone Roses - 03 October 1988 - Elephant Stone U.K. Release Date Elephant Stone, Full Fathom Five, The Hardest Thing In The World - Written by John Squire & Ian Brown.

Artwork: 'Untitled' Detail, 1988 Oil on calico & plywood 18x18inch by John Squire. John said: “In a way, that’s probably the most original,” he says. “It preceded any sort of research: it was me throwing paint at the canvas and seeing what happened. I liked it: it seemed to me like there were two Marvel superheroes going nose-to-nose in there. That made it a success - although maybe that was missing the point; that it should be rhythmic, disconnected from any kind of figurative tradition.”

This was the first time an abstract Jackson Pollock style art piece would be used as a sleeve cover. Self-taught artist John Squire started designing the band's paint splash style sleeves in his bedroom. "I've never tried to pass my paintings as my own." he said "We wanted to put Jackson Pollock's on the covers, but they cost three quarters of a million each"

08 October 1988 - Sounds Magzine, Sounds Review by Roy Wilkinson: The Stone Roses - Elephant Stone (Silvertone).

A fine, arpeggio-laden jangle from these Mancunian retro tunesmiths. Trad but not-all-bad. Also included is 'Full Fathom Five', a completely weird blare of backward taping that's more than a little reminiscent of a Julian Cope concert intro tape.

05 November 1988 - NME Magazine, NME Single Review by Edwin Pouncey: STONE ROSES - Elephant Stone (Silvertone). New Order fans will certainly want to pick up this Peter Hook produced slice of psychedelic dub attack with full blown modern art visuals. The rest of you would be wiser to stick with 'Sister Ray'. Edwin Pouncey.

From Blood On The Turntable BBC TV Documentary, Shaun Ryder said: They were fresh, they were real, the music they were doing...it was brilliant.

27 October 1988 Thursday - The Polytechnic, Mandela Building, 99 Oxford Road, Manchester M1 * Doors Open: 20:00-23:00 * Ticket Price: £2.50 (Manchester Polytechnic Student's Union Entitlements, Card Holder Discounted Price) £3.50 (Standard Advance) * Support Acts: The Wishing Stones & Kit

This date conflicts with Happy Mondays - 27 October 1988 Thursday - Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Rd., WC2, London, where The Stone Roses apparently attended.

From Melody Maker Magazine, Bob Stafford Interview with Ian "The only group that matters are Happy Mondays. We went to see them at the Astoria and this mad fucker from Glasgow comes up to us and says 'Are you The Stone Roses? Got any E? And a bit later three lads from Leeds come over, same thing..."

12 November 1988 - Melody Maker Magazine Interview/article on Manchester's 'Stone Roses' graffiti

The band’s name was painted all over Manchester. Including painting the walls, spray paint buildings and writing on bus shelters and shop windows, in city centre locations.

11 November 1988 Friday - City Of London Polytechnic

(Central London Polytechnic), London * Supporting: Sun And The Moon.

One of the first times Shoot You Down is performed. Melody Maker reporter and BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamaq was in the audience.

From 20 November 1988 - NME Magazine, NME Live Review Stephen Dalton: THE STONE ROSES Central London Poly.

FIRST SIGHT and first song they couldn’t have come from anywhere else except Manchester which still had so much to answer for. While a million miserable martyrs haunt the self-styled capital of the North, The Stone Roses have grown through the cracked grey concrete into bright and brilliant blossoms.

With the impish grin of Billy Mackenzie and the self-confidence of George Bush, Ian sways smoothly through a strident set of heavenly harmonies and garage guitar. Backed by the best singing drummer since – ahem – Phil Collins, the Roses sound instantly buries all other young pretenders to the Mancs-most-likely-to throne.

This could explain the band’s attitude, the loveable lager lout arrogance of Factory’s football casuals somehow rubbing off through the Peter Hook-produced ‘Elephant Stone’. Or maybe – and more likely – they just know that this killer single, like virtually every song tonight, is an instant pop classic. Cocky bastards.

Ian’s grin never fades, even when chunky melodies like ‘Sally Cinnamon’ give way to James-ian sparsity on ‘Shoot You Down’. This is the flexible sound of an upwardly mobile group. It may not be long before fame forces them to drop the friendly crowd-baiting an audience walkabouts, but tonight The Stone Roses are groovy enough to be forgiven even the trippy blues jam that closes the show. It chokes me to say so, but it looks like Manchester is still the coolest place in the entire solar system.

Stephen Dalton.

November - Elephant Stone Promo Video Shoot, London

The promo video was filmed in London. It was shot in one day and the walls were painted by John Squire. Includes John's artwork on his guitar, the drumkit, bass guitar & even Ian Brown's shirt had Elephant Stone pollock style art on too. Following the video shoot Ian & John were interviewed by Rachel Davies for Rockin In The UK, TV Show. The entire interview lasted over seven minutes but only four minutes was eventually broadcast. Ian & John can be seen with the pollock style backdrop, the audio isn't great but the full recording has been leaked and can be seen online.
Rockin In The UK, TV Show, London

14 November 1988 Monday - Bristol Polytechnic, St. Mathias Site, Fishponds, Bristol

NME magazine 05 November 1988 article incorrectly noted the show as being played at Brighton Polytechnic.

16 November 1988 - Mani's 26th birthday

17 November 1988 Thursday - Kingston Polytechnic, London

8 November 1988 Friday - Legends, Priory Street, Warrington Doors Open: Ticket Price: £2.50 (Advance) £3.00 (On The Door) * Support Act(s): The Da Vincis

Richard Ashcroft (The Verve) was in the audience.

19 November 1988 Saturday - International 2 Club, 210 Plymouth Grove, Longsight, Manchester M13 * Doors Open: 20:00-2:00am * Ticket Price: £4.00 (Advance) * Support Act(s): Dub Sex

At least 300 tickets were sold but at least 500 people attended the show.

Noel Gallagher was at the gig and saw a guy making a recording and asked if he could have a copy of the tape. From Radio X

20 November 1988 Sunday - Cod Club, The Piranha Bar, Central Square, Birmingham * Ticket Price: £2

83 people attended the show. The band were paid £50 for the show. Paul Flower promoted the show, he would later write for Birmingham Mail Newspaper.

“Curious fans paid £2 a ticket to get in, and the band received £50 for playing the gig. “Their dressing room was a cupboard that contained a mop and bucket and cleaning materials.”

24 November 1988 - John Squire's 26th birthday

26 November 1988 Saturday - The Citadel, St. Helens
Here It Comes / Elephant Stone / Mersey Paradise / I Wanna Be Adored / Sally Cinnamon / Made Of Stone / (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister / Shoot You Down / She Bangs The Drums / I Am The Resurrection

NME magazine 05 November 1988 article mentions the date.
Ian Brown allowed Stone Roses fan Andy McQueen to choose the setlist for this gig, hence the odd running order.

28 November 1988 Monday - London Polytechnic, London

29 November 1988 Tuesday - "Rock In Chester - Wired And Wonderful", Olivers, Forest Street, Chester * Doors Open: 21:00 * Ticket Price: £3.50 * Support Act(s): Ride, The Watchmen

02 December 1988 Friday - The Quadrangle, London School Of Economics, London * Doors Open: 20:00 * Ticket Price: £2.50 * Support Act(s): The Charlatans

I Wanna Be Adored / Elephant Stone / Mersey Paradise / Sally Cinnamon / Made Of Stone / (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister / Shoot You Down / She Bangs The Drums / I Am The Resurrection

This show was originally a support slot for The Sun & the Moon but they cancelled. The Stone Roses headlined and The Charlatans were lined up to support. Approx 30 people attended. One of The Charlatans earliest shows, pre-Tim Burgess.

17 December 1988 - Melody Maker Magazine

Live Review by Caren Myers.

17 December 1988 - Record Mirror Magazine.

Live Review by Tony Beard.

06 December 1988 - Rockin In The UK, TV Show, London Interview & Elephant Stone promo video is played with segments from the November Rachel Davies interview which took place at the promo video shoot location.

06 December 1988 Wednesday - Arts College, Belfast, Northern Ireland

A fan said "In the space from Wed to Fri they played 2 gigs in Belfast. I'd mates at UUJ where they played a free gig on the Weds. One guy Ronan from Dundalk had it recorded on the dictaphone.. Roses put about 6 off them on the guest list for the Friday evening gig at the Art College. Half way through the recording Ian said.. 'D for effort kids, watch you don't enjoy yourselves..

07 December 1988 Thursday - Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Here It Comes / Mersey Paradise / I Wanna Be Adored / Elephant Stone / Waterfall / Made Of Stone / I Am The Resurrection (alternate ending.)

Easily confused with the 06 December 1988 show.
Some Bootleg tapes, incorrectly, state the date as '11 November 1988 - Manchester International 2'.

08 December 1988 Friday - University Of Ulster, Jordanstown Campus Student Union Main Bar, Coleraine, Northern Ireland - Free Show

Here It Comes / Mersey Paradise / I Wanna Be Adored / Elephant Stone / Waterfall / Made Of Stone / I Am The Resurrection

During their Northern Ireland tour date they visited Giant's Causeway, a stretch of volcanic rock that lies on the coast of Northern Ireland in County Antrim. It is formed of over 40,000 interlocking columns of stone. Apparently the causeway would influence John Squire's 'Bye Bye Badman' art piece, later used for the cover of the debut album.

11 December 1988 Sunday - The Venue, Edinburgh
The band's debut show in Scotland.

12 December 1988 Monday - Eva Destruction, Rico's, Greenock, Scotland * Doors Open: 21:00-01:00 * Support Act(s): Life Without Drums

December 1988 Battery Studios

Made Of Stone Single Recording Sessions.
Made Of Stone/ Going Down / Mersey Paradise

Apparently Made Of Stone Recording Sessions started in June 1988 with John Leckie. I Wanna Be Adored was mentioned as a B-Side for the Made Of Stone single in several media interviews.

December 1988 - Album & B-Sides Recording Sessions

Don't Stop (Different Mix) / Simone

Apparently the band wanted Sly and Robbie to produce the album, they were not available at the time. As well as the final mix of 'Don't Stop' there was a different mix released on a promo cassette. This in-house tape was circulating before the album and the 'Leckie' mix was not used on the record.

Record Collector, December 1997 - Hotel, Park Lane, John Reed Interview/article: RC: How about the backwards track, "Don’t Stop"? IB: It was accidental. We got a tape of "Waterfall" on the portastudio, which plays both sides. It sounded great backwards. We could hear lyrics coming out, words suggesting themselves. We went back into the studio, turned the tape over, put the vocal down and then put a forward drum over it. That’s my favourite thing on the first LP. There’s twenty seconds at the end that’s killer, the little rhythm that comes in.

1988 was a proper rollercoaster for The Stone Roses—Elephant Stone dropped, gigs stretched from Manchester to Scotland and all the way over to Northern Ireland, and John Squire’s Pollock-inspired paint splashes were everywhere, from sleeves to guitars. Amid tiny club shows where barely 80 people turned up (and dressing rooms doubled as cleaning cupboards), the band kicked off recording sessions in the summer for their acclaimed debut LP, set for release in 1989. Between backwards tracks and their boundary-pushing sound, the Roses were on the cusp of greatness. With 1989 just around the corner, the stage was set: bigger crowds, brighter lights, and a whole lot more chaos—because the Roses weren’t here to play it safe.