No rose-colored glasses

Stone Roses front man Ian Brown pulls a solo number

By Donna Freydkin
Reporting for CNN Interactive

March 13, 2000
Web posted at: 12:52 p.m. EST (1752 GMT)

(CNN) -- When Neil Young sang, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," he could have had the Stone Roses in mind.

The British band was together for a mere decade, but in that time managed to overrun England's music scene with its 1989 self-titled debut and the smash single "Fool's Gold."

The title song, members learned, was only too prescient.

The Stone Roses imploded after that. The band sparred with its label, watched a lot of soccer, rode the stellar success of "The Stone Roses," and waited six years to return with 1995's "Second Coming." It failed to measure up to the debut, and a year later, the group broke up.

It was time for the split, says Stone Roses front man and lead singer Ian Brown.

After his band's demise, Brown bought a studio and learned to play guitar, bass, drums and harmonica. He also wrote and recorded his solo album, 1998's "Unfinished Monkey Business."

Undaunted by a jail stint after his conviction for threatening a flight attendant, Brown now returns with his second album, "Golden Greats."

	SAMPLE SOME 'GOLDEN GREATS'
"Dolphins Are Monkeys" [283K WAV] or [206K MP3] "Love Like a Fountain" [326K WAV] or [237K MP3] "Free My Way" [320K WAV] or [233K MP3]

CNN: What exactly went wrong with the Stone Roses?

Brown: "It was in 1996, and we'd just gotten to the end of our thing. We'd been together for 10 years. You know, I did quit back in '93, but the band persuaded me to stay. So I wasted a couple of years hanging about for people when I should have pursued a solo career."

CNN: Did you guys ever expect the Roses to do as well as they did?

Brown: "Oh, yeah. I knew it was great when we were making it. I mean, we'd been playing the (1989 eponymous debut) album for three or four years before we even recorded it, and we knew something big would happen with it."

CNN: Any residual bitterness on your part about how the band fell apart?

Brown: "No! What a beautiful time I had. Before, I'd been unemployed for four years and was then playing in Japan and Australia. Ten years later, we're still selling records."

CNN: The last time we heard about you, you were behind bars.

Brown: "They said it was for my threatening behavior on an aircraft in February 1998. They put me in jail November 1998. But it was all lies. They said I did things I didn't do and I served 60 days. And let me tell you -- I went in with no respect whatsoever for authority and came out with even less. They were just able to use me as a free commercial.

"So I came out of prison in the morning and went straight into the studio. I finished the album in 40 days. It was a lot faster when you didn't have to wait for nobody else."

CNN: What do you want "Golden Greats" to do for you?

Brown: "I want it to take me around the world. So far, I have lots of festivals lined up, in England, Italy, Norway, other places. And I'll hopefully be back in the States in May or June. I already have five new songs for the next album and plan on releasing it the end of this year or early last year."

CNN: What do you think of the British music scene right now?

Brown: "It's a bit lame at the moment. The best things in Britain are the bands being sent over from America. And otherwise, it's all boy bands and old established bands. It's just B*Witched and the Spice Girls. (He laughs.) Of course, I have all the bootlegs."

CNN: You have two kids and a third due March 15. Do they know their dad's musical history?

Brown: "Sure, of course. My boys know I'm famous. They see me on the TV but they'd rather watch 'The Simpsons.' But I'm definitely a cool father. I take them to the zoo and the beach and the countryside and to buy them sneakers. I play soccer with them. I just taught them how to play chess."

CNN: And if you weren't a musician ...?

Brown: "I'd be a beach bum somewhere."

Ian Brown's official home page
Stone Roses Fan Headquarters

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