The funeral for legendary Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield was held on Monday (December 22) at Manchester Cathedral, attended by music icons including Liam Gallagher, Ian Brown, John Squire, Bobby Gillespie, Paul Weller, Peter Hook, and Manchester United legends David Beckham and Gary Neville. Mani passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 20 at the age of 63 due to emphysema-related respiratory issues. Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown paid tribute to his late bandmate at the ceremony, saying “Mani was like a brother to me, a musical comrade. He was the life and soul of any room he was in.” While Primal Scream singer Gillespie said, “Mani’s not dead, he’s just gone. He will always live forever in my soul and mind.”
The coffin, adorned with the iconic Jackson Pollock-inspired artwork from the Stone Roses’ debut album and floral tributes spelling out ‘Mani’ and ‘R Kid,’ traveled eight miles from Mani’s home in Heaton Moor to the cathedral amid hundreds of fans dressed in band attire. Gallagher joined Mani’s bandmates Squire, Brown, Reni, and Gillespie in carrying the coffin out of the cathedral, marking a poignant farewell to a Manchester music legend. (NME)
