by Ben Hogwood Photo of Mani in 2009 by Katherine Barton, edited by Gaz Davidson. Used courtesy of Wikipedia

Yesterday we learned the sad news of the unexpected death of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield. Mani was best known as bassist for Stone Roses, where he was a founding member, and Primal Scream, who he joined in 1996. An obituary can be found on the BBC website, but I wanted to acknowledge his contribution to some of the late 1980s and 1990s most notable albums.

One of the first musical sounds you can hear on the Stone Roses debut is the lumbering bass line with which Mani introduces I Wanna Be Adored, one the band’s calling cards:

Meanwhile Fools Gold steps up the tempo, with a funkier but equally brilliant contribution from the bassist:

Many people see the second Stone Roses album as a drop in quality…but when you hear the bass groove driving the superb Begging You those opinions are called into question!

For Primal Scream, you can watch Mani driving one of the band’s excellent mid-90s cuts, If They Move, Kill ‘Em, on live footage from Later…with Jools Holland:

Meanwhile here is one of his final contributions to Primal Scream, driving the energetic Can’t Go Back:

Published post no.2,675 – Thursday 2 October 2025