Witness the resurrection

For those unlucky souls who couldn’t get tickets to The Stone Roses reunion gigs at Manchester’s Heaton Park this summer, a new exhibition will enable them to relive a slice of the ‘Madchester’ era without the crowds or warm beer.

London retailer Whiteleys is opening its doors to a disused space featuring a wealth of images from the quartet’s musical career (some of them previously unseen) by three top music photographers. According to exhibition curator Dave Brolan, these three photographers – Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton – have, between them, ‘captured pretty much every major artist of the last 30 years, many while they were still unknown or emerging’.

‘Each photographer has a distinct style, but a similar honest, photojournalistic approach – showing subjects as they really are and creating iconic images that stand the test of time. Together, they helped shape the image of The Stone Roses.’

Tracing the band’s time from their fledgling career on the Manchester small club scene to the height of their fame (including the infamous Spike Island concert in Cheshire), the exhibition is an access-all-areas pass into the experiences of this most revered band.

They may have sung about wanting to be adored in 1991, but now they’re back – and stepping forward to receive the adulation once again. For new and old fans who want to gain more insight into the experiences of Ian Brown, John Squire, Reni and Mani (pictured), this is surely a must-see event.

The Stone Roses: The Third Coming – The Definitive Stone Roses Exhibition will be running until 12 August at Whiteleys in Bayswater, London. Visit Whiteleys website for more information.

This article was published in June 2012.