1993 | The Stone Roses Archive

1993 - Strawberry Studios, Stockport closes down.
The studio where the band recorded The Garage Flower sessions shuts.

20 February 1993 - Ian Brown's 30th birthday

1993 - John Squire 8/16 track Home Recording, Loco Studios, Manchester Ten Storey Love Song

From P.D. McCauley Interview with Simon Dawson/May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell, Simon Dawson said: "We created the intro and the outro to this around what John Leckie had already recorded, partly at Loco Studios, where we went for a couple of weeks, and partly at Rockfield. There's an old Moog analogue synth on it, actually. There's a particular kind of synthy noise at the beginning and the end of that track, although you hear it more at the end now, I think. I didn't play that, though! That was from a late night session with Reni and Paul Schroeder, before he left. The Studio Manager at Loco had this Moog at home, and he bought it in for us to play around with." John Leckie apparently heard John's demo recording and encouraged John to re-create it in the Rockfield Studios. Leaked Mid 2003 again from a Mani tape but some fans have mentioned the tape was sourced from Cressa?

1993 - Studio, Unconfirmed Location
Good Times (First Coming) / 'Tribal Jam'

From P.D. McCauley Interview with Simon Dawson

“Even before he (Paul Schroeder) had taken over as producer, the plan had been to construct the LP from jamming and live playing as a group''

The title Tribal Jam was taken from the bootleg sleeve, it has elements from Love Spreads & the bridge from Breaking Into Heaven.

From The Very Best Of 2002 sleeve notes, article by John McCready: Mani: Just to be playing with those guys, that was enough for me. Who wants a fucking job? I'd rather be with Ian, John and Reni playing in a room and living on a fucking bag of peanuts. Just for the joy of what we could create.

March 1993 - The John Leckie Second Coming Sessions, Unconfirmed - Reni Drum Solos

From 06 March 2009 - Uncut Magazine Interview with Ian Brown: A lost ‘Fool’s Gold’ album would make lots of people very happy eh? Do you kind of wish that you’d have been a bit more active with your time off? Or was it a pretty natural how it all turned out?

Yeah I do now, I feel like we wasted the three years definitely, yeah. At the time I didn’t think it mattered, but I think my response to that is why I’ve done six solo albums. You know, I’ve just got a work ethic now I think because of that. I haven’t had a year off since I went solo and I think it’s because of that. Yeah, we wasted three years probably. We didn’t have manager; we had no one to get us in line. It was just four chiefs and no indians. And because we were recording we just got away with away with it. I mean, the first two weeks we booked the studio it was just like an expensive record player. We just sat smoking weed and listening to tunes at a grand a day, then we went sledging on antique silver trays for the week. Did a bit of mountain biking. Suddenly we’ve done five weeks in the studio...At that point were you feeling, when you come through in the album, and you had a big squad of people around you……We didn’t actually. We didn’t have a big squad actually. We just had Steve our tour manager. And every now and then we’d see the A&R guy from Geffen. Once a month. But they didn’t hear any music until ‘94.''

From Blood On The Turntable BBC TV Documentary, Mani said: We approached it in a different way. We didn't have the songs before we went in. We thought 'right the most stupid and expensive way to do it is to move into the studio and try and write as you go' and it just went tits up. It was just like throwing money into a bottomless pit.

1993 - Studio, Unconfirmed Location, could be Square One Studios Good Times / Jam / Ride On
During the rehearsal tape you can hear the band chatting too.

From P.D. McCauley Interview with Simon Dawson

"'Good Times' is very live. As I've said, the band don't usually play to clicks or anything, and 'Good Times' is a classic example of a song which speeds up all the way through, without it jarring on you. You never think "Oh, they're speeding up" -- the track just seems to grow naturally into that great guitar solo at the end".”

Jam *Circa 1993 according to 'The Cherub Album' bootleg notes. Leaked Mid 1999 From A Tape Given To A Fan from Mani, during a DJ set.

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature:

As with the track Ride On (the b-side of Begging You) the band can occasionally get things done incredibly fast. According to Mani, "we're the best band in the world for intros, endings and b-sides!" In this case, the whole thing was recorded and mixed inside four days, sonic clarity sacrificed in favour of that elusive vibe. Reni: "Technically that song was so-so but spiritually it was spot on and that was what we aimed for throughout the album. That's why Tightrope's on there the way it is."

From 01 March 1995 -'The Face Magazine' Issue 78, March 95: Mani said: ''...We spent the last six months before the LP came out working day and night. I’ve got tapes of us playing through the night, blues gear and that, that no other band could touch.

1993 - Rehearsal Studio, Unconfirmed Location, could be Rose Garden, Square One Studios, Bury

NME run a story where to try to track down The Stone Roses.
From 20 February 1993 - NME Magazine - Article by Iestyn George, Martin Talbot with additional context by John Harris and Fred Dellar: Pete Smith (not his real name) was – at one time - a personal crew member and close friend of The Stone Roses. Pete Smith hasn’t seen his business comrades for a while now and, aside from the rumours, he’s not sure where they are, or what they’re doing. He says it has been too long, and that even the Roses’ tight-knit crew have lost faith in ever working for them again....

Pete has known Mani the longest, since 1976. He met him on Market Street outside an alternative record shop run by a bloke who loved obscure vinyl. They were both punks. Shortly after, he met Ian and struck up a friendship. “We used to sign on at the same dole office in Didsbury. We used to go to the pictures or sit around smoking draw all day. His girlfriend was out working so if the band weren’t rehearsing there wasn’t much else to do.”...

The studio is an inconspicuous stippled grey building that looks like a family bungalow, situated at the end of a row of terraced houses. The narrow road is lined with cars, though there’s no black BMW among them. The front door of the studio is wide open, just above it hangs a sign which reads ‘NO ENTRY WITHOUT STRICT AUTHORISATION’.

We go in. “Can I help you?” asks a stern looking man. Erm… yeah. We’ve just come to see the Roses, are they here? He eyes us suspiciously. “Who are you?” Friends, we’ve come to say hello. “Mmm, well I think they’ve all left for the afternoon, they might be back later.” “Who are you looking for?” asks a passing bloke struggling with a large amplifier. “The Roses? Well I think one of them’s still here, upstairs. Down that passage there’s a door, just knock on it.”

So we’re standing in front of a wooden door, sick with apprehension. Adjacent to the door is a large room, full of equipment – The Stone Roses’ equipment. There’s Reni’s paint-splattered drums, the bongos and Ian’s tambourine. They’re here. In the middle of the room there’s a tape recorder – with a tape in it. As fans we’re desperate to steal it, but the first outsiders to listen to the new songs, hear what they sound like now, find out if they really have gone Led Zep. But we don’t – decency prevails – we might just possibly live to regret it...

It’s John Squire. Initially he appears bemused – not surprisingly – but then his expression relaxes into one of cool indifference. He opens the door further and stands in full view. He looks incredibly healthy, his hair is still as unkempt as ever, but longer and darker, his unshaven appearance befits the guise of the artist at work, and it suits him. He seems preoccupied, shy perhaps, but nonetheless laid-back. He’s wearing a loose-fitting maroon shirt and jeans – straight jeans....It’s because… well, we’re doing a story on where the hell you’ve been.

Thankfully, he smiles. “Right?” It’s just that there are so many rumours going around, so many questions we want to ask, we just want to know what’s really going on. He frowns. Are you angry that we’ve found you? He shakes his head casually as gently shrugs, “No.” So will you talk to us? “I can’t right now, I’m putting something down.” For a new song? We inquire. John looks at his boots before giving us a non-committal glance. “Why don’t you come back later, what time is it now, four? Come back about eight, that’s when the others are turning up.” We try to suppress our excitement at the possibility of talking to them all. Do you mind if we take a picture of you before we go? “Yes.” Why? “Well it’s just…” You haven’t brushed your hair? He laughs. “Yeah.” With an affable smile he sinks back into the gloom....

At seven-thirty we’re back. We’re early because we can’t help being suspicious. John has practically agreed to an exclusive interview after having refused to speak to absolutely everyone for such a long time. We’re convinced it can’t be this easy. But his red car is still in the drive. And here comes Mani walking down the road clutching a packet of fags. His head is shaved and he’s wearing a long white T-shirt and jeans. Despite looking cheerful and oddly care-free, he strides determinedly towards the studio like he’s on a mission. He goes inside. Next to arrive is their ‘manager’ Steve Hadge, looking equally as intent and just as happy, he also goes inside. No sign of Ian yet.

At eight on the dot we ring the bell and an unidentified voice comes on the intercom: “Yes?”. We’re here to see the Roses, they know we’re coming, can you let us in? “Erm, they’re in a meeting,” we’re hastily informed. “We can’t disturb them, try later.” Oh good. We sit outside for almost an hour. Nothing happens. Then Hadge comes out, smiling. “Hi, how’s it going?” he asks congenially, casually strolling towards our car. “You alright?”

Well, we’re not, but we tell him, yes, we’re fine. So what’s happening Adge? Are they going to speak to us? “I dunno,” he replies, “I doubt it, not while they’re grafting.” That’s odd, we wouldn’t have come back but John told us to. He looks around him, perturbed, something is bothering him. “Erm, yeah, I know he did… but Ian’s not here yet, and you know what he’s like, he’ll probably talk to you. Anyway I’m off to get some milk. See ya.”

He drives off in his car – the shop is a one-minute walk away – and after 15 minutes waiting for his return, we being to understand what’s happening. We figure Hadge, amiable as he appears, has told the band that under no circumstances are they to speak to us, and instead of being rude, he’s telling us to piss off in the nicest possible way.

We’re further convinced when his car arrives in front of a black BMW, the car we’ve been waiting for.

Ian Brown gets out of his car, grinning, and strides towards us. He actually looks better than he ever did. No bags under his eyes, no worry lines, his hair is back to how it was circa Spike Island but clean and brushed. He looks as stylish and handsome as ever in his jeans, T-shirt and leather jacket. We explain why we’re here. His listens, nods and looks none too surprised.

“It’s too soon though, innit?” he says, almost rhetorically.
Not really, we only want to know what’s going on.

“Yeah, but it’s just too soon,” he insists. “We’re not ready. Don’t take my picture.”

He starts to walk off towards the door of the studio, slightly uncomfortable at the sight of a camera. It’s only fun, we’re not the tabloid press, and you know us, don’t you trust us? “I do trust you,” he says, turning briefly to smile at us. “Come back in a few months and we’ll do a proper interview, it’s too soon now. Sorry, but I really gotta go now.” He heads towards the patio doors, shouting out as he disappears behinds the curtains, “Come back in two months.”

Through the gap in the curtains, we can see them playing pool. They may be in the studio again but they don’t look much like they’re recording.

20 February 1993 - NME Magazine states

'The Stone Roses are set to release their first single for three years this summer'

Geffen's Gary Walsh expressed his worries about the band and the lack of communication between them and the label. Gary seeks the band new management and the band give Geffen false hope with the news of a single will be ready. NME print the newly sourced incorrect information, from this article it would be at least another 18 months until the band release Love Spreads.

March 1993 - Rose Garden Sessions, Square One Studios, Bury

Daybreak / Tightrope / Love Spreads / Good Times / Breaking Into Heaven / How Do You Sleep? / Begging You / Ten Storey Love Song

Trevor Taylor run Square One Studios in the late 1980s and early 90s. Trevor was struggling to keep up with the bills. Apparently The Stone Roses bought the studios from Trevor but other accounts say they hired the space for a year at a cheap rate. It re-opened as The Rose Garden studios, although it is unconfirmed who were the owners of the building.

While the band were rehearsing they ordered pizza, one day it was Elbow's guitarist Mark Potter who delivered.

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature: John Squire: "Daybreak just happened, perfect from the beginning. We recorded it on a 16-track, Ian sang over it and it was pure, man. Ten minutes flat it was done."

1993 - John breaks up with girlfriend Helen Plaumer
He and Helen had a daughter (1992) and John moved away to the Lake District.

From 01 March 1995 -'The Face Magazine' Issue 78, March 95: Are you happy right now? “Well, I’m glad we came to America. I like to get away and travel, you know. I’ve got a little girl, she’s three now. That’s had an immeasurable impact on me. I notice being far away from her. “I’ve been spending most of my time recently, though, in a rented cottage near Lancaster on my own. It’s in the middle of nowhere. I feel more comfortable in an out-of-town environment – I’ve still got strong ties with Manchester, but I grew up in a suburb and I was never some terrorist from a tower block. This cottage in Lancaster is just a one-bedroom place with mountains of guitars and amps in the kitchen and everything, it’s lust set up for me to do one thing, really. I intend to move when I get back. Get somewhere bigger, get things sorted out.”

1993 Ian's son is born.

April 1993 - Geffen A&R chief Gary Gersh leaves Geffen
Gary is appointed President of Capitol records in America. Tom Zutaut takes responsibility for The Stone Roses, he currently manages Gun N' Roses too.

10 April 1993 - Reni's 29th birthday

April 1993 - The Rose Garden aka Square One Studios, Bury
A photo of Ian putting his hand to camera was featured on the cover of the NME Magazine.

May 1993 - Mani celebrates Manchester United's first League Championship victory in 26 years.

Drinking with friends at Legetts Wine Bar in Failsworth, north Manchester, the party is eventually broken up by Police.

1993 - Mani and his partner rent a flat in Monmouth, South Wales during the initial recording sessions.

Mani also played football for the B-team for Monmouth town.
Pretty sure Mani bought this flat, rather than renting?

Mani would later buy a house, formerly owned by a playwright, in 1995 with the Second Coming pay check.

His girlfriend's mum ran a burger bar in Monmouth.

Mani often visited.

From May 1995 - The Spin magazine:

Fourteen people he knew had died from heroin in one year: "Kids I'd known since I was seven. I've seen people I've never ever thought would take the drug, fucked. Me, I'll turn my back on them people, however much it hurts me. That's why I moved out of Manchester, I don't wanna be near it."

July 1993 - John Leckie Sessions, Square One Studios, Bury

Ten Storey Love Song

John Leckie joins the band for the sessions with hired equipment from Hilton Sound, South London. Apparently an unplugged version was recorded during the sessions. The acoustic sessions also led to Tightrope becoming unplugged and led to the writing of Your Star Will Shine too.

From Autumn 2001 Mojo Collections Number 04:

The group rehearsed at Square One, on and off, for six months, and John Leckie joined them in July. “That period was a disaster,” he says. “Apart from the lack of air conditioning, by the time we got to the studio, it would be 10 or 11 o’clock at night. They were recording as a band by now, but it didn’t come to anything. There were always problems: power cuts, electrical things, people disappearing.

“Eventually I said, ‘For fuck’s sake, let’s get up at 11 o’clock in the morning, or lunchtime. Let’s try and get here by four’. They’d say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll do that tomorrow, definitely—we’ll have an early night, get up at 12, have a good lunch.’ They had a chef at the house in Marple. And then it’d be three, four, five o’clock, and lan would come and say [blearily], ‘What’s happening?’ You can’t change people. That’s what Reni always used to say: ‘You’re never going to change us, no matter what you do.’
“So I said, ‘Fuck this, we’ll move everything to the house’. And still nothing really happened. There was six weeks of that. “I kept saying, ‘Something’s got to change’. John was going to write some songs and do a demo, and then send it to me.

1993 - John Leckie Sessions, Unknown Location
Ten Storey Love Song / How Do You Sleep?

From P.D. McCauley Interview ''Although the band had been working with John Leckie in different studios, only a few parts of what he had recorded were kept the preliminary drum tracks to 'Ten Storey Love Song' and 'How Do You Sleep'.'

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview: Mani? John wrote all his basslines. Mani was happy – at this time – to do what he was told. Mani’s going into the studio and putting down some unbelievable things down and Squire’s going “No. You’re doing this here.”

2000 - Manchester Uni Paper, Ian Brown Interview:

"The Roses spent four years rehearsing before we put an LP out. That's why our LP sounded any good anyway, because we spent all that time rehearsing. We were tied up in 91-92 with court cases, and then we went into the studio in June 93. They say it was five years. But we only spent 15 months on it. I do sometimes look back and think 93 / 94 was a waste of my life, because I was giving my life to fucking motherfuckers who didn't give me theirs back. It's like, The Sex Pistols started punk but the Boomtown Rats made all the money."

1993 - The band move into 'Derek Bull's' large house in Marple (near Stockport), Cheshire

The band borrowed the house from a friend. They rented a van to move the gear and, some members, eventually moved in and shared the house together.

From Autumn 2001 - Mojo Collections Magazine Number 4 'David Bowie' - War Of The Roses article by John Harris...

“He was called Derek Bull,” says Mani. “It had electronic gates, a snooker room, indoor pool, a sauna and Jacuzzi. It was a loafer’s paradise. But yet again, he was another fuckin’ royalist twat. He had a big library of books like Blenheim Palace and Diana: Her Dresses. We used to spit in every fuckin’ page. We proceeded to come on like the Banana Splits again: all in the pool, causing mayhem, breaking stuff. Basically doing nothing.”

July 1993 - John Leckie recording session, 'Derek Bull's' large house, Marple (near Stockport), Cheshire

In an attempt to record the band earlier in the day and focus on the new songs, John Leckie moves into the bands shared accomadation. Sadly the move did not work out and little progress was made.

From mixonline.com, John Leckie said: We recorded in a house near Manchester and recorded just three songs in that time.

1993 - The Rose Garden aka Square One Studios, Bury

July 1993 - John Leckie recording session, 'Derek Bull's' large house, Marple (near Stockport), Cheshire - The Foz.

The Fozz is a hidden track on the Second Coming. Found between track 12 and 90 there is 78 silent tracks. The Fozz was apparently a play on the words Folk and Jazz, it was used as the outro tape for several of the Second Coming shows. Reni played piano on The Foz.

From May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell, Simon Dawson said: THE HIDDEN TRACK "This was nothing to do with me at all — it was something they did before they came to Rockfield. I know I'm credited with the keyboards, but I didn't play them on that! I think Reni played the piano, Ian played the violin, and John was playing the mandolin. It was something they did late one night when they were with John Leckie and he'd wandered in with his DAT player , it was just a bit of a joke, I think. "I don't think it was supposed to be found that easily , it was supposed to shock people who'd left their CD playing while they were studying or whatever. The working title was 'The Foz', well, I say working title... that was what was written on the box, anyway..."

John Leckie Sessions, Unknown Location
Ian & Reni Recording water for Breaking Into Heaven 'Eden' intro.

The intro to the album version is often to referred to as 'Eden'. From P.D. McCauley Interview ''‘BREAKING INTO HEAVEN’ 11:08

Although the band had been working with John Leckie in different studios, only a few parts of what he had recorded were kept -- notably the long intro to the first track, 'Breaking Into Heaven''

From P.D. McCauley Interview with Simon Dawson

'I first asked Simon if he had encountered any problems blending the feel of this older material with the tracks he was laying down:

"No, that wasn't a problem at all. In terms of feel, the way the guys had been recording was very live, and that's where I was coming from, so that wasn't difficult. Technically, yeah, it was a bit of a feat getting the crossover at the mixing stage between the intro of 'Breaking Into Heaven' and the actual song -- just getting it to sit."

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview: In 1993, John Leckie said that you “spent two years looking for a new sound and came back to where you started”. A typical day’s “recording” would consist of the engineer setting up a drum loop and then nothing would happen. True?

“Yeah. We weren’t a band. It was the John Squire Experience. I let it happen because I thought we had three or four LPs to follow. But there were ego problems. I knew it got his goat when the press said ‘Ian Brown’s boys’ – and you’d go to the shows and everybody’s got Reni hats on. Y’ know, a girl’d send me a Jackson Pollock book and he’d go ‘That should be for me’. I thought, ‘Ok. He needs attention, I’ll let him get it out of his system’. We’ve got plenty of time ahead of us.”

1993 - The band's crew move on
The band's roadies and crew move on to other ventures as they see no hope of working for the band anytime soon. Steve Atherton is kept on the payroll as well as a few other close associates. Most of the band's road crew went on to work for Oasis.

July 1993 Wednesday - John Leckie Sessions, Coach House Studio, Rockfield Studios, Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP25

Breaking Into Heaven / Daybreak / How Do You Sleep? / Good Times (First Coming)

The band begin their time at Rockfield Studios.
Simon Dawson, The Project Engineer (eventually Second Coming producer), was not involved with any of the initial pre-production work on the Stone Roses' second album, which began with John Leckie carrying out pre-production in various studios in and around Manchester. The bulk of the tracks were committed to tape at the Coach House Studio at Rockfield, famed for its 26x24' live area and custom Neve, 60-channel, flying-fader desk.

Simon Dawson is the son of the Rockfield Studio Owners. From

May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell: "I first walked in when I was about 12 — my dad took me. There was a guy in there doing a DJ promo. They had all this valve gear in there, and they cranked it right up. It was the first time I felt my ribs shaking, and I just knew it was where I wanted to be!".

Seeking experience, Simon got a job with a local PA company when he left school, and, through this position, progressed to handling live PA sound for Birmingham‑based reggae bands on European tours. Outgrowing the local firm, he started work with a London‑based PA company in the early '80s. "I toured around Europe, America, Africa and Japan with that company, first doing festivals, and then some of their larger people — Ozzy Ozbourne and The Stranglers. I finished in '87 — the last band I did were T'Pau, in America." By sheer coincidence, Simon returned to Monmouth just as Rockfield was undergoing a reorganisation, and landed a job there as House Engineer in 1988. He met the Stone Roses for the first time in 1990, when they came to Rockfield to record their 'One Love' single. He acted as Assistant Engineer on that session (along with one Paul Schroeder) to the Roses' producer John Leckie, who had produced the group's by‑then highly successful debut album.... Al Shaw was involved in some of the sessions too.

At the first Second Coming session in March 1992 Reni apparently played the drums for 40 minutes. Paul Schroeder, said: “Reni loved it. It meant he could dance around it with his kit.“

From Autumn 2001 Mojo Collections Number 04: John Leckie said: And about a month later, Ian phoned me up and said, ‘We’ve booked Rockfield for six weeks to do these new songs.’ I never got the demos. Steve Adge kept saying, ‘Well I sent them to you.’ They were bluffing. They were booked into Rockfield on the Monday, and I said, ‘I’m not going to go until you’re there. There’s no point in me sitting around for days’. They arrived on the Wednesday — which was £2,000 spent already.”

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature:

Recorded at various 16-track demo studios, The Stones mobile and at Rockfield in Monmouthshire, The Second Coming took a mammoth 347 days of studio time to record. The bulk of the tracks were committed to tape at the Coach House Studio at Rockfield, famed for its 26x24' live area and custom Neve, 60-channel, flying-fader desk.

Originally booked in for two weeks, intending to knock out the album as a quickie, the Roses effectively became permanent residents for the next year and a half!

Rockfield is also famed for its cache of old valve gear that includes original Neumann U67 valve mikes, stereo valve mikes, Urei valve compressors, and some much sought-after Neve valve EQ modules, similar to those used at Abbey Road for The Beatles' sessions.

These were used to warm up guitars and fatten the bass. During their stay at the studio the band apparently managed to try just about every combination of mike possible on Squire's Mesa/Boogie and Fender Twin amps, eventually settling on a combination of Shure SM57, Sennheiser 421 and Neumann U67 valve mikes, all pointed directly at the cones and blended on the desk along with a small amount of room. Apart from a touch of compression from a DBX 160, the sounds went to tape flat in most cases, the band preferring to get the sound right at source.

This was a policy that John Leckie had encouraged during the making of their debut album. Creative use was also made of the live room, which had a variable ambience and a maximum reflective delay of a whacking 3.2 seconds! This, more than anything else, is what gave the album its impressive feeling of size and space despite the many-layered overdubs of Squire's guitar....

P.D. McCauley Interview with Simon Dawson

'The band came to Rockfield with all but two of the numbers that made it onto the final LP already written ('Straight To The Man' and 'Your Star Will Shine' were written while there), and spent hours jamming the material in the studio, usually without click tracks, so that they could change tempo and feel at will.

Occasionally (for example, when recording 'Your Star Will Shine', and 'Driving South') they would jam to sampled percussion loops.".”

How Do You Sleep? features alternate lyrics including ‘is there life after death, is there anything left worth living for?’

Good Times features alternate lyrics including ‘let it roll down fast like thunder, our love should know no end & I can’t break this spell I am under, you’re my one and only friend. you got it all, but now i want it back again; we gotta try and make amends. Take me back to your bed and the good times, i know we can never end.’

Daybreak has some different bass riff and sections.
Breaking Into Heaven features Mani playing the 'Can't See Me' bassline. Can't See Me would later become an Ian Brown song on his debut album & would even be released as a single still featuring Mani on bass. Ian played guitar on the Can't See Me recording which included a similar riff to John Squire's Ride On.

July 1993 - John Leckie Sessions, Rockfield Studios, Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP25

Tightrope / Love Spreads / Begging You

Tightrope is electric and even has an electric bass & synth sounds. 33 year old in-house engineer Simon Dawson is booked as the Project Engineer for the album.

Simon Wolstencroft said: “John invited me down but when I got there he wasn‘t anywhere to he seen," he says. “Nor was Ian. Mani ended up looking after me and taking me to the pub. Even before they’d ﬁnished the second album, I could see the end was coming.”

May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell, Simon Dawson said: 'TIGHTROPE' "This was done all around one mic. The band did try an electric version when they were still recording with John Leckie, which actually works pretty well too, but they wanted a more laid‑back kind of vibe to it.

For me, the finished version conjures up a picture of a guy sitting in a flat or something with some coffee, picking at his guitar, and then somebody picking up some bongos and joining in. You can hear things dropping on the floor, and the singing's a bit out of tune, but it's a great song."

From 06 June 1998 - Melody Maker Magazine:

"But the second LP was completely different. We worked from June 1993 to September 1994 [at Rockfield in Wales], near enough constant, and we weren't working much as a band, everything was kind of individual. We were jamming together, but it wasn't the same."

Was it a frustrating time? "Yeah, I was getting pissed off waiting, 'cos y'see the drums and the bass were down by August or September, but I couldn't put any vocals down until after Easter. I had to wait for John to get all his guitar parts.

"So it was just me fucking about with the harmonica, Reni on his drums and the engineer on the piano, just playing blues songs all day and all night for, like, eight months, waiting for John to come out of his bedroom when he'd written his guitar parts.

"The thing is, we were tight, we'd rehearsed from June to July of 1993 and all the songs were in shape. I thought we could go in the studio and just bang it out in a month. But then we were having to listen to 20 guitar tracks.

"I was saying, 'Can you take ten off?' The frustrating thing was he put so many guitar tracks down and the three of us were saying, 'There's too many guitars' - and now he's saying there was too many guitars on the LP. That pisses me off because we said that at the time.

"I feel like Reni and Mani never really got a full shot on that LP. I still feel they're the best rhythm section that's come off this rock. I'd love to hear a remix of that LP where you can hear the rhythm section and just one or two tracks of guitars.

"I don't think there's many guitarists who've got the bottle to just do one track. I think that's what it comes down to - they've not got the confidence in their own abilities to do just one or two. They get in the studio and they've got the chance to do five or six tracks and so they do. But this kid [Squire] just went too far over the top. And with him being the songwriter, he had the backing of the record company."...

From Autumn 2001 Mojo Collections Number 04:

“You could never get the four of them to play together though,” says Leckie. “It was all overdubs, which wasn’t the case for the first album. John would play by himself with a click or a drum machine — and we’d add drums and bass. Then it was endless overdubs: John would go back to his room, Reni might go home to his kid, Mani would get stoned and go to the pub, lan would hang about. Did that seem strange? Well, all bands make every excuse possible not to get together in a circle and play. It wasn’t awkward, put it that way.”

26 July 1993 - John Leckie hosts a band meeting
Whilst at Rockfield John discusess the progress with the band. The negoitations are short and John Leckie's mind is made up.

From mixonline.com, John Leckie said: I remember you telling me how you had to call on all your reserves of patience at this time!

You're not kidding! Anyway, at my suggestion, the band went off and rehearsed for three months. Then we came back and went in the studio for another six weeks. Then I left. I was in charge of the budget, according to the lawyers. I didn't think I was in control of the situation, so I resigned. They then spent another 14 months at Rockfield Studios completing the album, called Second Coming. Because I had resigned, they gave me little money and no credit, nothing.

From March 1995 - Q Magazine, Who the hell do The Stone Roses think they are? (March 1995) by Adrian Deevoy:

Would it be fair to say that the LP sounds like a record made by dopeheads? Did you smoke a lot of dope whilst you were making it? "I did, yeah," nods Brown. "Loads. That's why I stopped. I'd smoked too much and it'd turned me head to mush. When you're in a studio and you just smoke it all day and all night, you get a false idea of what you're doing. You get hyper-critical and you never get to the end of it."

July 1993 - John Leckie quits as producer.
Reports suggest that he felt the budget was getting out of hand, and "I think he felt that they didn't have enough songs" completed for the money that had been spent. John starts work with Radiohead and The Verve.

From 25 August 2009 - John 'Jeckie' Leckie interview from The Quietus website: Chemistry is vital:- ... I worked on the second album (The Second Coming) for over a year and for various reasons I didn't finish it with them. I left of my own choosing so it's not a case of would I have liked to have finished it ? no I wouldn't; they'd changed from being a unit. That bond didn't exist between them.

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature: After just one night at Rockfield, having been dragged there under duress, Leckie announced that he simply didn't have the heart to continue with a project that he felt was suffering from under-rehearsal, lack of spirit and focus.

"When we first met John we were on the dole, and we'd go in and make a record in a day," says Brown. "Now it's different. I was like, "So time's money for you now, is it John?".

Anyway, one morning me and Reni are up at 8.30am and he's packed his suitcase and he's scuttling away. "Not saying goodbye to the lads then John?" We went over and gave him a hug and told him there was no hard feelings but it hurt that he didn't even have time to knock on the door and tell us."

All that remains from the Leckie-produced sessions is the complex, atmospheric intro to Breaking Into Heaven, parts of How Do You Sleep and some snatches of Begging You, the sample-heavy piledriver that hits halfway into the album. Rather than being angry or dismissive about Leckie, Squire seems simply bemused by what occurred.

"He was taking us aside one by one and waving bits of paper under our noses. He also started worrying more about the money it seemed to me. It was good in a way 'cause it made us angry and you can really use anger.

" Ultimately however it was Squire's dissatisfaction with Leckie's trademark 'fizzy' sound, the cold, trebly manner in which he records guitars, that caused them to part company. "I'm not sure I like that saccharine and chrome-plated Leckie sound anyway," says Squire. "It sounded too neutered for the kind of record we wanted."

Leckie for his part maintains that it was the sheer lack of activity, the band's inability to commit anything substantial to tape that finally drove him away. "My role as producer is simply to capture that magic take," he argues. "I'd tried, I really had, and contrary to what Ian says I had no problems with the songs - they were great. John would come down from his bedroom, deliver them to the band and they'd be great, but I invested two years of my life in that record, on and off, and it seemed to be going nowhere.

There was no discipline, no urgency and they just didn't have that magic take in them at that point. It was a different band from the one that made I Am The Resurrection....As to the allegation that he left without warning, Leckie finds Brown's memory of events to be selective. "We talked about me leaving the album for a while, in fact we had two or three big meetings about just that. I didn't want to go to Rockfield and I told them, but they managed to convince me it would work. I lasted one night."

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview: I’d considered leaving myself, in 1993.

From Autumn 2001 - Mojo Collections Magazine Number 4 'David Bowie' - War Of The Roses article by John Harris... Leckie departed three and half years after the One Love sessions, advising the group to approach John Paul Jones — not on account of John Squire’s new fondness for Led Zep, but because of the string arrangements he had contributed to REM’s Automatic For The People. “They were talking about strings and horns — ‘When are we going to book that orchestra and go into Abbey Road? Next week?’ Then lan would phone up and say, ‘I think we should do the strings next time.’ I was like, Hang on… [laughs].”

From 2000 - VH1's The Wire -FOOL'S GOLD: IAN BROWN by Alison Tarnofsky: If you could change one thing from the past ten years- what would it be, or would you leave things the way they are?

I'd definitely have left the Roses in about '92 or '93. The guitarist (John Squire) wanted to write all the songs on his own you see, on the second LP. I sung his lyrics in the belief that we had another three LP's to make, but then he left. So I would have left before we did that [last LP]. I would have been on like, my 5th solo LP by now!

17 July 1993 - New album rumours in the media.
Media predicted the new album would be released in October and a single in September, they are correct but just a whole year too early. I actually thought this was a practical joke sold to Melody Maker by one of the band especially the piece of information: ''recording in a disused swimming pool in Marpel''.

Notes: From Melody Maker 17 July 1993:

THE STONE ROSES’ first allbum for Geffen has at lust been given a date tor release! Geffen have included the album on their October schedule, and insiders say the band will definitely meet the deadline. The Roses are currently recording in a disused swimming pool in Marpel, a suburb south of Manchester. Geffen plan to precede the album with a single in September, though no titles can be released at this stage.

August 1993 - Former Roses' Manager Gareth Evans recruited Bernard Sumner (New Order) to produce a single by Lee Sharpe (Manchester United Winger, Football Player)
Gareth formed his own label 'Volcanic'.

From May 1993 - NME Magazine - GOOD EAR FOR THE ROSES - Gareth Evans said: “What the Stone Roses need to do is release a few really strong singles. Forget releasing an album for another two years – there’s no point. A classic single now and then. That’s what people want.”

August 1993 - Paul Schroeder replaces John Leckie as producer.

Paul Schroeder, who had produced 'Fool's Gold', took the band in a good direction. He managed to pick up the pieces. They had 8 strong songs ready and some ideas, which had been jammed, too. Engineer Simon Dawson becomes Paul's assistant.

Some of the Leckie material was retained and augmented: Ten Storey Love Song, the effects-laden prologue to Breaking Into Heaven, How Do You Sleep and Begging You.

From: 31 July 2014 Thursday - Paul Schroeder Interview: After the success of the debut, the band followed up with One Love/Something’s burning and Fools Gold/WTWIWF, all of which you worked on. During this time was the plan to continue in the same vein as these tracks towards the next album, and were there tracks put down that would have ultimately made up a second album had the Silvertone court case not happened, that ended up being ditched b the time they got round to doing Second Coming?

I think Fools Gold upped the ante with what people could expect from the band. So there would have been future records of that ilk for sure. As for songs that were made after those, if they weren't made for Sivertone I did not work on them. I walked into Second Coming having not seen or heard from them for years and they had all the songs bar 2.

August 1993 - Novocaine move into the studio next door at Rockfield. The band strike up a friendship, especially with singer Steve. Ian even provides a lyric for their song 'Brain'. Both bands are spotted at The Nag's Head and The Bull pub.

September - November 1993 - The Charlatans move into Rockfield Studios

02 November 1993 - The Stone Roses go back into Rockfield Studios

Lush are recording in the studios. Paul & Mani become friends with the indie pop shoegaze group. Mani and John attend the Rockfield bonfire on mountains bikes.

1993 - Paul Schroeder Sessions, Unconfirmed Location
Untitled / Love Is The Law

Various Locations but mainly Rockfield Studios. Various untitled jams were recorded throughout the sessions. Love Is The Law was mainly an instrumental jam but featured some parts which would remain in the final song. Elements from the song would appear in the 1995 live set during the Daybreak - Breaking Into Heaven jam.

From From 03 January 1998 - NME Magazine: Ian said:

What do you think when you hear his band, The Seahorses?

“They’re just poor. Anaemic. I was in a taxi in Liverpool when I heard the first single. I was having a mundane conversation with the driver and nothing made me wanna stop. I thought, ‘That kid’s got a sort of Manchester accent in a way, but I know he’s not Manchester’. And I knew the song ‘cos John had written that song in ’93.

They just sound weak, boring. Dull. I mean, good luck to them kids. I feel a bit sorry for them, because of where he’s put them, y’know they’ve come from nowhere and they don’t know how to say no to him, and they don’t know how to say yes, either. The things that I’ve read, he just seems like a little Elvis and they’re on his payroll. It’s what he wanted. He’s got just what he wanted – he wanted to be the man, and now he’s the man.”

1998 - Hot Press, Interview by Stuart Bailie, in a bar in Chorlton: "The Gulf War had just started" Ian recalls. "And we used to play Stevie Wonder’s Heaven Help Us All every day. Me Mani and Reni. But John wouldn’t come out of his room. In fact, he was working on the songs Love Is The Law and Happiness Is Eggshaped (later to appear on the Seahorses album).

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature:

"The next album won't replicate anything we've done so far and I've got a list of songs drawn up already," he adds. "To be honest, all I desire is to make enough money to make another record. I'd like to make a live album though, something that stands up against The Who's Live At Leeds or The Song Remains The Same. I really think we capture something live that we don't have in the studio."

From June 1997 - The Guitar Magazine:

‘Some people think I was planning all this for a long time,’ Squire smiles. ‘That’s not true. There’s only one song on Do It Yourself, Standing On Your Head, that was completed before I left The Stone Roses – but I didn’t write it with the intention of it being the start of a secret store of songs that I could use for any, um, solo project.

It was just something I held back from Second Coming because I felt we had enough to work on at that time. Things were going so slowly I just didn’t want to add another song to the pot. But looking back on it, it does seem strange that The Seahorses came together so quickly.’

From September - October 1999 - On Target Magazine, Mani Interview:

When the Roses split after Reading in the summer of '96, didn't you join the Scream halfway through the Vanishing Point sessions?

"Really, halfway through the last Scream tour of Britain it was like at Brighton Conference Centre and I'd had a whiff that John Squire was up to something. When we were recording The Second Coming LP we were in this residential gaff and I'd go across the corridor to his room you know 'cause I'd hear a tune coming out.

I'd think 'Oh that's a new one. I've not heard it before' and as I'd knock on his door the fuckin' tape would go off. That was half of The Seahorses LP he's fuckin' preparing there so I knew he was planning sommut...

16 November 1993 - Gary Nigel "Mani" Mounfield's 31st birthday.

Mani celebrates his birthday at The Bull. John, Paul, Ronnie Rogers (ex-T'Pau guitarist), Lush and thier producer Mike Hedges and local kids all turn up and party. Near the end of the night, ordering a taxi, Lush's Emma Anderson is sick in front of Mani.

November 1993 - Paul Schroeder Sessions, Unconfirmed Location, could be Rockfield Studios, Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP25

Breaking Into Heaven / Driving South / ''Let It Roll'' / Good Times / Begging You / ''Break The Spell''

Simon Dawson continues as the bands project engineer. Driving South on the Demo bootleg has no vocals. Leaked Mid 2003 again from a Mani tape

May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell, Simon Dawson said: "The band have got an Akai S1000 which they use mainly in the writing process, for recording loops, slowing them down, turning them round, to create a groove to write around [both 'Driving South' and 'Straight to the Man' were written in this way].

They haven't felt the need to upgrade to anything newer because it does the job for what they want. They just use it to create basic loops, and get them onto their Portastudio.

From 2001 I Am Without Shoes Exclusive Mani Interview: > IAWS: How long did Begging You take to record, and was it a bona fide writing collaboration?

Mani: I’m not sure how long it took, it didn’t take too long. I really liked that song, it was more danceable than the rest of the album, which was what me, Ian and Reni were more into at the time. Really good, original tune.

IAWS: And, of course, ripped off by U2 in ‘Discotheque’

Mani: Yeah, definitely, that and Sugar Spun Sister for Angel Of Harlem. I was speaking to Bono about that and he said (adopts Irish accent) ‘Well you’ve got to take from somewhere, haven’t you?’.

From: 31 July 2014 Thursday - Paul Schroeder Interview:

As everyone knows, there was a big time gap between the two albums, there are numerous stories of legal problems, drugs and arguments to have caused this, as well as the fact the band are known to be perfectionists.

Once recording finally started, and considering a lot of the tracks were written there in the studio, do you think the roses are fast paced in the studio, or was is stop and start the whole time?

We recorded most of the backing tracks quite quickly…within 2 weeks i believe. And then we had to wait for john to write the guitar parts which seemed to take an eternity. So, very much stop and start.

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview: When I spoke to him in November ’95, he said “The reason [the album] it took so long was because there were too many drugs in the studio.” Correct?

“He was on cocaine all the time so he’s speaking for himself. A man’s got cocaine up his nose, he’s not saying anything to anybody. You’re giving nothing if you’re on coke, all you’re doing is taking. Of course, there were too many drugs in the studio. He’s got coke up his nose, that’s the end for me. If you’re on coke, you’re busted – there’s something the matter with you.”

24 November 1993 - John Squire's 31st birthday

December 1993 - Philip Hall is announced as the bands manager. The band play Phil some rough mixes and ask him to manage them. Philip was the band's publicist, he stepped up as the band manager but sadly lost his life to cancer several weeks later.

In the Second Coming sleeve notes the album is dedicated to him. All the band, except John, went to his funeral in London.

Philip's widow, Terri, took over the group's publicity.

The band searched for another manager.

From February 1998 - Uncut magazine Ian Brown interview: Was there a low-point in your relationship with Squire?

“The kid had cut himself off. When Philip Hall [fondly remembered Roses publicist who had just agreed to manage the band] died, John wouldn’t come to the funeral. I said ‘At least show his mother and father that he meant something.’ But no, he wouldn’t come to the funeral.

The first rock of civilization is when they bury the dead. I knew there was something the matter with the kid then. Nobody enjoys funerals, but I thought differently about him that day. I thought ‘Little fucker.”

Was that a turning point?

“Definitely. I thought he was the most selfish, cowardly…”

Do you think if Phillip Hall had lived and managed the band things would have been different?

“Who knows? In this business, he was one diamond man. He’d have been good for us, no doubt. I don’t think we’d have got into the messes we got in. We didn’t have a manager and we were open for anyone to have a poke.”

From 06 March 2009 - Uncut Magazine Interview (Clash Music Website) with Ian Brown:

A lost ‘Fool’s Gold’ album would make lots of people very happy eh? Do you kind of wish that you’d have been a bit more active with your time off? Or was it a pretty natural how it all turned out?

December 1993 - Simon Dawson crashes his into a ditch near the studio. Apparently egged by the band to drive round the country roads with no lights on, Simon crashes but escapes unharmed.

December 1993 - Geffen issue a deadline for the new record.

December 1993 - Paul Schroeder Sessions, Rockfield Studios, Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP25

Breaking Into Heaven / Driving South / Begging You / Daybreak / Good Times / Tears / Ten Storey Love Song / Love Spreads / Groove Harder / Daybreak (Dub Mix)

The band take a break and go home over the Christmas period. Most of the fruits of the recording sessions are noted above.
Tears was still not finished yet, the version Paul Schroeder was working on only lasted 4 minutes, the first half of the song was electric whilst the latter was acoustic. A role which would be reversed when Simon Dawson took on producing the record.
Daybreak (Dub Mix), unconfirmed if this turned into Breakout (Love Spreads B-Side) or if it was a completely different song and mix.

May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell, Simon Dawson said: We stuck Ian in a vocal booth at the back, which I called 'The Dogbox', and when the guys were jamming, he would be scatting and stuff. There's a bit of that on 'Breakout' [the 'Love Spreads' B‑side], which he made up on the spot and we kept."...

From P.D. McCauley Interview with Simon Dawson "In April 2003, Paul Schroeder sent me his own, never before heard, December 1993 mixes with the Roses" ''Clocking in at 51.13, the tracklisting of the December 1993 mixes recording is as follows Breaking Into Heaven / Driving South / Begging You / Daybreak / Good Times / Tears / Ten Storey Love Song / Love Spreads''

Simon Dawson on Love Spreads: ''We decided to redo it with Paul Schroeder, before he left, and spent quite a lot of time trying to get it right. John added some guitar, and I didn't think the riff was right for it. After Paul Schroeder had gone, we ended up scrapping it completely.''

Simon on Groove Harder 'The only time we really used the computer was for 'Groove Harder' on the twelve-inch of 'Love Spreads', and that was mainly Paul Schroeder's bag. He took a couple of samples from 'Good Times', messed with them a bit, and ended up triggering them from a keyboard.'

From May 1995 - SOS Sound On Sound website, Article By Matt Bell, Simon Dawson said: 'LOVE SPREADS' "They did this in pre‑production with John Leckie, and when it came to Rockfield it was completely different, quite thin‑sounding.

We decided to redo it with Paul Schroeder, before he left, and spent quite a lot of time trying to get it right. John added some guitar, and I didn't think the riff was right for it. After Paul Schroeder had gone, we ended up scrapping it completely. We started from scratch again, and just had the band play in the studio until Reni came up with something that sounded quite groovy with Mani. John detuned his guitar and came up with the riff that goes through the verse, which I thought was great.

We worked from there. "The end was quite a problem for a while , where it all breaks down and then builds back up again. I had the idea of building up a lot of backing vocals, lots of lines and harmonies, and it was difficult getting it all to sit. John had a guitar idea from one of the earlier versions which the band really liked, so he put that it in about three‑quarters of the way through the build‑up. But he wanted something similar to echo that at the start of the build‑up.

So that's how you got the piano coming in at the start of that build‑up. For quite a while, the ending sounded quite messy, but it all came together in the end."...

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature: Reni:

"John's very meticulous but at the same time he'll pile guitars onto a track like Groove Harder (the b-side of the Love Spreads 12") and it's a mess but it's one of the most exciting things we've ever done because it has atmosphere. All the best stuff we do comes when we capture the atmosphere and experiment, take risks...

John on Tears & album lyrics, From 01 March 1995 -'The Face Magazine' Issue 78, March 95: “Our love girl is going through changes, I don’t know if I’m alive,” begins “Tears”, the song he wrote last for the album.

It continues: “Someone throw me a line, you know I need it, I need it bad” and tells of a man “lost in a maze of my own making” with “no way out”.

John Squire, alone and under-the-weather in a hotel room in America: a man currently at his own personal crossroads? “I don’t really understand why I go into such personal detail in my songs,” he says. “There’s something embarrassing about the need to go through public analysis. To bare it all. Maybe it’s because when you get the initial ideas for a song you’ve no idea if it will just end up in the bin. It’s so far removed from finished product.

In general I seem to return to these sentiments about the endless search for love. Have I found it? Well, I’m a bit fucked up in that area of my life.”

From: 31 July 2014 Thursday - Paul Schroeder Interview: There is a place in Roses lore which is reserved for the ‘Second Coming Schroeder mixes’. Are these versions ever likely to see the light of day, on a Second Coming deluxe reissue or something of the like? Are there similar mixes from the earlier days that are lying in a cupboard somewhere waiting to be discovered?

I don't think so. The quality would not be good enough. As for the second part of the question, Silvertone would have found the tapes by now and exploited them ruthlessly.

After John Leckie left the Second Coming recordings, did you go in a different direction with the songs? And after you left and eventually heard the finished record, was it a surprise to you how it sounded or was it how you expected?. What was your reason for deciding to leave when you did?

I kept what I liked and changed what i did not like. We rerecorded songs and started new ones. I was not shocked at hearing the finished record. It was not what I would have done but there is no point bleating about it because the reality is I was not there to influence it. I left because I had other commitments that i could not get out of.

You are one of only a handful of people to see and hear Reni play live to the Second coming tracks that never got an airing during the recent tour. Can you describe it for us. He once said that he did the drums on daybreak live was this the same for Begging You?

Reni is a joy to behold when he is playing because he really enjoys it. Just watch his face when he plays. Daybreak is a live take from everyone except Ian I believe. Begging you was looped up for artistic reasons.

From April 1995 - The Guitar Mag Feature: "We would slip onto something else all the time, then slip back and finish little bits off here and there. By Christmas 1993 I did a compilation tape of everything we had done and, in hindsight, I should have really thought about it hard, decided what was needed and knocked about four months off the recording time. I could have done a few less guitar takes - I am far too precious with my guitar parts for my own good. But you get into a frame of mind where you think, "It's been four years since the last album, why not make it five?"

The Paul Schroeder mix of Second Coming did eventually make it out into the wild, turning up on an extremely limited double 12″ bootleg, cut in assorted colours.