Ian Brown and Bobby Gillespie gathered on Monday to honour and remember their close friend and longtime collaborator Gary “Mani” Mounfield at his funeral.
The bassist, best known for his work with The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, passed away on 20 November at the age of 63 after suffering respiratory complications linked to long term emphysema.
The service took place at Manchester Cathedral in England, where many leading figures from the British rock community came together to pay tribute to Mounfield’s life and legacy.
Speaking to mourners gathered outside the cathedral, Stone Roses singer Brown said, “We will celebrate his life like the beautiful human being that he was. He’s a brother to me.”
Inside the cathedral, Brown is said to have told attendees that Manchester should one day honour Mani with a gold statue in his memory.
According to BBC News, he described his friend by saying, “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.”
During his own address, Primal Scream’s Gillespie told the congregation that Mounfield would “always live forever” in his thoughts.
He went on to say, “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.”
Following the service, Brown and Gillespie helped carry Mounfield’s coffin out of the cathedral alongside Stone Roses drummer Alan “Reni” Wren, guitarist John Squire and Oasis singer Liam Gallagher.
The coffin itself was a striking tribute, wrapped in the same artwork that appeared on The Stone Roses’ self titled 1989 debut album.
Among the many well known faces in attendance were David Beckham and Gary Neville, both former Manchester United players, along with The Jam’s Paul Weller, Happy Mondays member Bez, Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess and Oasis guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs.
