Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) funeral for late Stone Roses/Primal Scream bassist Gary “Mani” Mounfield in Manchester, England was attended by the late musician’s bandmates and many of the leading lights of British rock and entertainment. Mounfield, who died on Nov. 20 at age 63 due to respiratory issues linked to emphysema was laid to rest at Manchester Cathedral with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher serving as one of the pallbearers.
Among the others in attendance at the service, according to the NME, were Stone Roses singer Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire and drummer Alan “Reni” Wren, Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie, Happy Mondays dancer Bez, Jam/Style Council singer Paul Weller, former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, Charlatans singer Tim Burgess, Oasis guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, Elbow singer Guy Garvey, former New Order bassist Peter Hook, as well as Manchester United soccer legends David Beckham and Gary Neville.
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Brown referred to his late bandmate as his family during the ceremony, telling the gathered, “Mani was like a brother to me, a musical comrade. Beautiful soul and spirit. Mani was able to laugh his way through any darkness. He was the life and soul of any room he was in. Mani wouldn’t want us to be broken-hearted, but we are.”
Another one of Mounfield’s bandmates, Primal Scream’s Gillespie, also paid tribute, saying, “Mani’s warm and welcoming manner, treating me like an equal, made me feel like a million dollars, and I’ll never forget that. No one was too important to escape his laser-eye ability to cut the pretentious and self-important down to size, myself included. His ability to make laughter out of any situation was our great value wherever we were in the world.”
In addition to Gallagher, Stone Roses’ Squire and Wren were among the other pallbearers who carried the casket, which featured the familiar Jackson Pollock-influenced splatter paint and lemon slice pattern from the Squire painting that served as the cover for the Roses’ beloved 1989 debut self-titled album, as well as flowers spelling out the late bassist’s nicknames: “Mani” and “R Kid.” Outside the service, fans lined the streets of Manchester’s city center, a number of them dressed in black or wearing Stone Roses T-shirts and hoodies and the group’s trademark bucket hats, according to NME.
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One of the most beloved figures on the mid-1980s/early 1990s Manchester music scene, Mounfield first teamed up with Squire in the band the Fireside Chaps in the 1980s, picking up Brown as their singer and transforming into the Stone Roses in 1984. He performed with the group until their split in 1996 and on reunion tours before their second break-up in 2017. He then joined Primal Scream in 1996 and played in that band through 2011.
