Mani Memories

Celebrating Mani aka Gary Mounfield, 16th November 1962 to 20th November 2025.

There have been so many wonderfully written and heartfelt tributes to Mani in the past few days that there's not a lot that I can add. Unlike many of my blogosphere peers, my life wasn't transformed by The Stone Roses. 

My friend Stu had the album and I liked it, but not enough to buy anything more than the standalone single Fools Gold / What The World Is Waiting For, which I loved. 

When The Stone Roses played at The Bierkeller in Bristol in the summer of 1989, I was either skint or otherwise occupied. My live picks for that year included Pixies, Inspiral Carpets and, er, The Monkees.

For all that, I thought they were great, and had a particular fondness for Mani, so when he joined Primal Scream following The Stone Roses' end, it was a very good thing.

In the tributes, there is an overwhelming sense of what a decent, down to earth person Mani was. Even from my ignorant distance, what stands out is his loyalty; Mani stuck with The Stone Roses., gave 15 years to Primal Scream and then heeded the call to get the old band back together.

There was also Freebass, the supergroup with Peter Hook and Andy Rourke, though other extra curricular activity was rare: a couple of songs on Bryan Ferry's 2010 album Olympia, two live rehearsal tracks with The Racketeers circa 2004, another couple with Aziz Ibrahim in 2000, and that's all I have.

What ties them all together is Mani's superlative bass. In compiling today's tribute, I found a 1983 demo by The Waterfront, a precursor to The Stone Roses, and Mani's talent shines through from the start.

At the end, I've pulled together a 10-song tribute to Mani, spanning all of the above. I won't pretend to be an expert, and my picks for The Stone Roses and Primal Scream may be obvious choices, but I hope the selection overall does Mani justice.

Man, could Mani play bass.

In preparing this post, I received an email from my friend Mike:

Hi Khayem,

sad news about Mani today. 

I'm not sure my 'review' is appropriate in its entirety but:

1) Its a reminder for me about how I felt 30 years ago and 

2) it does help me reflect on how good Mani was in a live setting.

Feel free to just read or take a bit of the essence

Regards,

Mike

I'm sharing Mike's entire item, unedited.

The Stone Roses – Great Hall Exeter University 5th December 1995

On a cold Tuesday night nigh on 30 years ago my mate Chris and I travelled down the M5 to see a band that many felt were the greatest of that era.

We both didn’t know Exeter at all and tried to find a car park that was ‘central’ before trudging off to find the University. Once entering the venue we realised it was packed to the rafters with students and blokes in their early 20’s hoping to have their ‘Spike Island’ moment. From memory it wasn’t long until the band took to the stage and a long intro started. The sound was good and the first thing you noticed was how good Reni and Mani sounded together. It didn’t take long until John Squires started to unleash his trademark riffs and all was good with the world. And then Ian Brown started singing…

I’ve often thought about this gig and looked at people reminiscing about going to see the Stone Roses in the late 1980’s-mid 1990’s. Were Reni and Mani the best rhythm section of our lifetime? A bold statement yes but I think one that could be argued. Was John Squire one of the best lead guitarists to come out of the UK? Again I think that is something that has good evidence behind it. However my issue always was the lead singer. I remember on the night trying to go to different parts of the Hall to see if it was a dodgy speaker or just where I was stood. The final track was ‘I am the Resurrection’ and I just thought at the time would I ever hear a better bassline played live in my lifetime and now that Mani has passed I think I can honestly say probably not.

We drove home through the snow agreeing on one thing – that when it was down to the musicians in the band they were faultless – Mani, Reni, John we salute you. If only you had let your lead singer go then they could have been one of the greatest live bands ever 

RIP Mani.

Many thanks, Mike, wonderfully expressed. And now for some music.

1) BF Bass (Ode To Olympia) (Album Version): Bryan Ferry (2010)

2) Breaking Into Heaven (Album Version): The Stone Roses (1994)

3) Can't Go Back (Album Version): Primal Scream (2008)

4) Nuts For You (Live Rehearsal Track): The Racketeers (Wayne Kramer & Brian James) (2004)

5) You Don't Know (This About Me) (EP Version): Freebass ft. Tim Burgess (2010)

6) Where The Wind Blows: The Waterfront (1983)

7) I Am The Resurrection (Album Version): The Stone Roses (1989)

8) If They Move, Kill 'Em (Album Version): Primal Scream (1997)

9) Middle Road (Aziz Album Mix): Aziz ft. Paul Weller (2000)

10) The Milky Way Is Our Playground (EP Version): Freebass ft. Pete Wylie (2010)

Mani Memories (51:43) (GD) (M)

Floating Away With No Thought Of Coming Back

Nearly 62 minutes of Seahawks to usher in the last day of the first weekend in 2025.

 

I almost went for a Seahawks selection last Saturday, but I held off as I wanted to listen to the current album, Time Enough For Love, a few more time before deciding on which track(s) to include. I think the brief pause has made for a more satisfying collection overall.

The selection spans 2012 to 2024, with a big gap between 2013 and 2021, not for lack of quality tunes, but sometimes that's just the way the final track list pans out. Roughly half and half Seahawks originals and remixes of other artists, namely The Horrors, Private Agenda, Eddie Chacon and Tim Burgess. I ended up with three choices form the current album, plus a couple of remixes of Seahawks by Gatto Fritto and Laurel Halo.

Pete Fowler - and Jon Tye, especially - pop up in their own right and under various other aliases in my music collecton, but the music they've created together as Seahawks is something special indeed.

Not quite chill out, there are some hefty beats to be found within, but definitely in the realms of calming and replenishing music.

 

1) Comes In Waves (Seahawks Skying Suite): The Horrors (2012)

2) Malanai Ascending (Seahawks Remix): Private Agenda (2021)

3) Invisible Sunrise (Gatto Fritto New Gold Dawn Mix By Ben Williams): Seahawks (2013)

4) A New Star In The Sky (Album Version): Seahawks (2024)

5) Hurt (Seahawks Remix): Eddie Chacon (2021)

6) New Future Blue (Laurel Halo Deserts Of Mars Mix By Laurel Chartow): Seahawks (2013)

7) Journeys Out Of Mind (Album Version): Seahawks (2024)

8) Stoned Alone Again Or (Seahawks Remix By Pete Fowler & Jon Tye): Tim Burgess (2013)

9) Sail Across The Moon (Album Version): Seahawks (2024)

2012: Higher: 1

2013: Oh No I Love You More: 8

2013: Phantom Sunset: 3, 6

2021: Hurt EP: 5

2021: Submersion EP: 2

2024: Time Enough For Love: 4, 7, 9

Floating Away With No Thought Of Coming Back (1:01:45) (KF) (Mega)

Chemical Dust

If you like your beats big, then you can't wrong with The Chemical Brothers.

Today's selection is three quarters of an hour of remixes circa 1994 to 1996, when Manchester Uni pals Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands were breaking big as The Dust Brothers and inevitably drawing attention from Michael Simpson and John King aka the original Dust Brothers. Some legal chit chat, a handshake and a name change later, and Ed and Tom continued as The Chemical Brothers.

Something big was happening (and I don't just mean Big Beat) but even then could the pair have imagined that they'd become even bigger, release albums into double digits and still be a significant musical force, three decades later? Quite something, when you think about it.

To these ears, whilst the music takes me back to experiences in a past, younger life, I still get the rush of the new when listening to these tracks.

 

Ed and Tom did a whole bunch of remixes for Manic Street Preachers and whilst La Tristesse Durera raised the bar impossibly high, their rework of Everything Must Go is an underrated banger. 

Likewise, there was a quid pro quo with The Sabres Of Paradise, Weatherall, Kooner and Burns remixing the Brothers and vice versa. Tow Truck was a speaker shredding monster from an EP of remixes from the Haunted Dancehall album.

Justin Warfield pops up twice, firstly with Bomb The Bass and the seminal track Bug Powder Dust, then on his own with Pick It Up Y'All. I really enjoyed the Rap/Hip Hop/Big Beat crossover that was firing up around this time and these two are prime examples.

 

I missed The Chemical Brothers' remixes of Republica first time around as a vinyl-only issue. Thankfully, the mid-late 1990s were a time of multiple formats, with 2-3 CD singles per release offering remixes, rarities and live versions to prise your pennies away. This rather fine dub of Out Of This World resurfaced on the Drop Dead Gorgeous single.

A standout from The Chemical Brothers debut album was Life Is Sweet which featured The Charlatans' Tim Burgess on vocals (Ed and Tom were also at the forefront of the Indie/Dance revival). Again, multiple formats for the inevitable single release but I've opted here for a rarer remix which featured on the essential Trance Europe Express compilation series. It's a Big Beat frenzy with a smattering of Tim's vocals left in for good measure.

The selection closes out with what I still think of as one of their finest moment as either The Dust Brothers or The Chemical Brothers. In 1994, they dusted up Saint Etienne's Like A Motorway. The competition was tough: David Holmes and Autechre both submitted remixes at the top of their game. However, Ed and Tom's Chekhov Warp mix is something else entirely, nine minutes of acid-drenched bleeps and squiggles, samples and dirty beats that leave you wanting to hear it all over again. There is a vocal version available but for me, the dub is the essential mix.

Pick it up y'all, we can make it to the weekend!

 

1) Everything Must Go (The Chemical Brothers Remix): Manic Street Preachers (1996)

2) Out Of This World (Chemical Brothers Dub): Republica (1995)

3) Bug Powder Dust (Dust Brothers Remix): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)

4) Tow Truck (The Chemical Brothers Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise (1995)

5) Life Is Sweet (Delik 1) (Remix By The Chemical Brothers, Steve Dub & Tim Holmes): The Chemical Brothers ft. Tim Burgess (1995)

6) Pick It Up Y'All (Dust Brothers Dub): Justin Warfield (1994)

7) Like A Motorway (Chekhov Warp Dub) (Remix By The Dust Brothers): Saint Etienne (1994)

Chemical Dust (45:21) (GD) (M)

You can find Shake This Feeling, another 45-minute selection of The Chemical Brothers from July 2022, right here.

Bad Santa VI

You begged, you pleaded, you demanded, you litigated...and I ignored all of that and did it anyway. 

 

It's back...and it's bad...really bad...and that's just my slipshod sequencing and editing!

 

Yep, it's the sixth instalment of Bad Santa, in case you have just under an hour's gap in your festive playlist. It's the usual curate's egg of the brilliant (Du Blonde aka Beth Jeans Houghton, Hifi Sean & David McAlmont, Saint Etienne with Tim Burgess, Belle & Sebastian) and the not-so-brilliant (I'm looking at you, R.E.M.) but all delivered with love and best wishes for the weekend. I hope it's a good one, wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

 

1) The Beatles Seventh Christmas Record: The Beatles (1969)

2) Christmas Is For Lovers, Ghosts & Children: Billy Nomates (2021)

3) The Little Drummer Boy: Brave Combo (1992)

4) Holiday I.D. (Spanish): Apollonia (1988)

5) Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland: Grandaddy (2000)

6) The Other Side Of Christmas: The Boy Least Likely To (2022)

7) A Visit From Santa Claus! (Part 2): Santa Claus (????)

8) Slow Down At Christmas (Album Version): Billy Reeves (2022)

9) I Was Born On Christmas Day: Saint Etienne ft. Tim Burgess (1993)

10) I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter: Connie Francis (1961)

11) Oh Holy Night: Bastille (2012)

12) The Twelve Days Of Christmas (Live @ The John Peel Christmas Party): Belle & Sebastian (2002)

13) Xmassy: Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2023)

14) Christmas In Chicago: Leon Russell (1972)

15) Holiday I.D.: Peter Cetera (1988)

16) Satan's Little Helper: Pye Corner Audio (2018)

17) It's Christmas And I'm Crying: Du Blonde (2023)

18) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: John Holt (2004)

19) Suzy Snowflake: Little Marcy (1967)

20) Silver Bells: R.E.M. (1993)

21) Little Saint Nick (Single Version): The Beach Boys (1964)

22) Blue Christmas: Danielle Dax (1988)

23) Soul Christmas (Single Version): Graham Parker ft. Nona Hendryx (1994)

24) Christmas Tree On Fire: Holly Golightly (2006)

25) Sleigh Me: Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler (2011)

Bad Santa VI (56:55) (GD) (M)

And, if you are a glutton for punishment, here are the previous Bad Santa selections from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2017 and 2016.

 

You can continue to 'enjoy' daily doses of Dubhed over the next week, but I won't always be 'in' to check and respond to comments ("no change there then", I heard someone say).

Shake This Feeling

Today's selection comes courtesy of The Chemical Brothers aka Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands, plus friends including Noel Gallagher, Bernard Sumner, Bobby Gillespie, Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke, H-Foundation and The Micronauts.

Stay safe out there!

1) Block Rockin' Beats (The Micronauts Bonus Beats) (1997)

2) Saturate (Album Version) (2007)

3) Believe (New Edit ft. Kele Okereke) (2005)

4) Come With Us (H-Foundation Remix) (2003)

5) Hey Boy Hey Girl (Radio Edit) (1999)

6) The Boxer (Edit ft. Tim Burgess) (2005)

7) In Dust We Trust (Edit) (1995)

8) Out Of Control (Album Version ft. Bernard Sumner & Bobby Gillespie (1999)

9) Leave Home (Album Version) (1995)

10) Let Forever Be (Radio Edit ft. Noel Gallagher) (1999)

 

Shake This Feeling (46:44) (GD) (M)

You're Filling The Holes And Ruining Your Clothes

Back to work today after a week off and boy, am I feeling it this morning...

 

Can't Get Out Of Bed: The Charlatans (1994)

 

They Wouldn't Know Freedom If You Salted It And Rubbed It In Their Eyes

One of the inevitable effects of a steady flow of good new music, as well as back catalogue reissues and rediscoveries through the blogosphere, is that it's very easy for great songs to be lost in the avalanche. Songs that I enjoyed but only played once or twice before the continuing influx of music pushed them further and further into the past.

Today's selection therefore rescues songs from the dim and distant past of 2012 (!) and brings them into the light again. A mix of original songs and cover versions, it's hard to believe that these songs are a decade old. The Jazz Butcher provide today's post title; sadly Pat Fish departed this life in October 2021. Another loss - Mark Hollis in 2019 - is celebrated with an affecting Talk Talk cover version by Duncan Sheik & Rachael Yamagata.

 

I knew the closing song would be A Case For Vinyl by Tim Burgess before I'd had a proper sense of the selection's running order. A co-write with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, I think it's one of Tim's finest songs, both solo and with The Charlatans.  

 

No spoilers, but tomorrow's selection will be a little more uptempo.

 

1) Freedom At 21: Jack White (single / Blunderbuss LP)

2) Goodbye Kiss (Cover of Kasabian): Lana Del Rey (God Bless America mixtape)

3) Grasshopper Clock: The Corner Laughers (Poppy Seeds LP)

4) Do I Wait (Cover of Ryan Adams): Juliana Hatfield (Juliana Hatfield LP)

5) On Borrowed Time (Take 5) (Remix By BRM & Waterson): Billie Ray Martin (Five Takes (A Song About Andy) EP)

6) Last Of The Gentleman Adventurers: The Jazz Butcher (Last Of The Gentleman Adventurers LP)

7) Life's What You Make It (Cover of Talk Talk): Duncan Sheik ft. Rachael Yamagata (Spirit Of Talk Talk compilation)

8) Half Gate: Grizzly Bear (Shields LP)

9) Save Me A Place (Cover of Fleetwood Mac): Marissa Nadler (July / Demos & Covers limited edition LP)

10) A Case For Vinyl: Tim Burgess (single / Oh No I Love You LP)

They Wouldn't Know Freedom If You Salted It And Rubbed It In Their Eyes (44:13)