Legendary figures from the world of entertainment and sport descended upon Manchester today, Dec. 22, for the funeral of the Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield.
Mounfield died on November 20 at the age of 63, with his family subsequently confirming that he had passed away from “respiratory issues” linked to the lung condition emphysema.
The musician was laid to rest at a funeral service at Manchester Cathedral, with his bandmates in attendance — Ian Brown, Reni and John Squire from the Stone Roses, and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie.
Other figures in attendance included Oasis’ Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller, Guy Garvey, Peter Hook and Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs. A few former members of Manchester United — Mounfield’s favorite soccer club — were also there, including David Beckham and Gary Neville.
Mounfield’s coffin was wrapped in a multi-coloured print which emulated the cover of the Stone Roses’ legendary 1989 debut record, while fans lining the street wore merchandise of the group.
Ian Brown said at the ceremony: “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.”
He also suggested a campaign for a 50 foot gold statue of Mani in Manchester, which was met with wild applause.
Also paying tribute was Bobby Gillespie, who said: “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,” Gillespie added. “Mani’s not dead, he’s just gone. He will always live forever in my soul and mind.”
When the ceremony ended, Mani’s coffin was carried by Gallagher, Reni, and Squire.
Also in attendance was the Charlatans’ Tim Burgess, who told Rolling Stone UK last month how Mani was “one of the greats.”
“He was one of the greats. I’m completely shocked, gutted,” Burgess said of his contemporary in the Manchester scene of the Nineties.
“He was just always there,” he added. “I saw the very first Oasis show at the Boardwalk, with Noel on guitar. Mani was there. We go back a long way. We recorded at the same time at Rockfield [Studios] in Monmouth. He was always around.”
Mounfield joined the band the Fireside Chaps alongside John Squire and Andy Couzens in Greater Manchester in the early 1980s. The group went through several name and lineup changes, before taking on Ian Brown as frontman, and becoming the Stone Roses who played their first official gig in October 1984.
He played with the group until their 1996 split, and through a reunion tour until they parted ways once more in 2017. He was also a full-time member of Primal Scream until he reunited with the Stone Roses in 2011.
This story originally published on Rolling Stone UK.
