Gary “Mani” Mounfield, bassist for influential British band The Stone Roses who later joined Primal Scream, has died. He was 63. His brother Greg Mounfield announced the news on social media but did not provide a cause or date of death.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce the sad passing of my brother Gary Mani Mounfield,” he . “Rip Rkid.”
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Born on November 16, 1962, in Manchester and known to fans as Mani, Mounfield played on The Stone Roses’ two studio albums — the group’s eponymous 1989 debut and Second Coming (1994) — both of which made the UK Top 5. Associated with the indie “Madchester” sound of the early ’90s that also included Happy Mondays, James, The Charlatans and others, the group had four Top 10 singles in Great Britain: “Fool’s Gold”/”What the World Is Waiting For,” “Elephant Stone,” “One Love” and “Love Spreads,” the latter reaching No. 2 to become its biggest hit.
The Stone Roses didn’t hit as big on the U.S. pop scene but made Top 10 of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart with “Elephant Stone,” “One Love” and “Love Spreads” and “She Bangs the Drums.” Both of the group’s album also reached the Top 100 stateside. Its other popular tracks include “Ten Storey Love Song,” “I Wanna Be Adored,” “I Am the Resurrection,” “Made of Stone,” “All for One,” “Waterfall” and “Begging You.”
Mounfield left the group in 1995, and the group disbanded the following year.
In 1996, Mounfield joined the popular Scottish alt-rock group Primal Scream, which was coming off a short hiatus. He played bass on five of its albums from 1997’s Vanishing Point through 2008’s Beautiful Future, including UK Top 10 singles “Kowalski” and “Country Girl,” and during that time Mounfield also toured with Stereophonics.
He left Primal Scream in 2011 to rejoin the reunited Stone Roses. The group returned to the UK charts for the first time in 17 years with a pair of non-album singles — “All for One” and “Beautiful Things,” which hit No. 17 and 21, respectively. He remained with the group led by singer Ian Brown and guitarist John Squire until it broke up again in 2017.
Along with his brother, Mounfield is survived by his twin sons. His wife, Imelda, died in 2023.
Mani deserves at least one comment after leaving us. Man helped change music. My life.