Made Of Stone Premiere

Still best to remember them at their best

I was swept up by the euphoric atmosphere at the Made Of Stone premiere, but had a feeling

my music would turn up when the story took a sour turn. Gravenhurst is kind of the

opposite of the Stone Roses-euphoric and funky versus dour and

plodding. It was certainly a fan's film, not the warts and all expose it could have been,

but I think once Shane Meadows had their trust he was anxious not to lose it; they are volatile enough without prying and constant surveillance. An ugly moment in Amsterdam demonstrates that the fact they got it together to reform doesn't mean they've learned to deal with the tensions that pulled them apart before. When Reni leaves the stage due to screaming feedback in his in-ear monitors, someone

could have explained to the audience that due to technical problems an encore was not

possible. Instead, full of disdain., Ian Brown prowls the stage saying "the drummer... has gone

home...the drummer... has gone home". The drummer... as though Reni is the lowest ranking band member and should know his place, despite being the best musican (and singer) in

the band, and generally recognised as the most naturally gifted drummer of his

generation. I'm just glad they held it together long enough for Shane Meadows to finish this joyful, celebratory and often very funny and moving film.

At the after-show party the music was absurdly, larynx-shreddingly loud for what was ostensibly an opportunity to network; I spied Chris Morris, Alice Lowe, the entire cast of This Is England and a good few other people I would have liked to talk to. I think I would have found it hard to justify my presence there; “I wrote that depressing bit of music they used when Reni left (again)”, so perhaps it's for the best that my voice gave out after half an hour. I wish it would come back now though.