John Squire
Encyclopedia
John Thomas Squire is an English
musician, songwriter and artist.
Squire is best known as the guitarist for The Stone Roses
, a rock band in which he formed a songwriting partnership with lead singer Ian Brown
. After leaving The Stone Roses he went on to found The Seahorses
and has since released two solo albums. Squire is also an accomplished painter and announced in 2007 that he was giving up music for good to fully commit to painting.
As a contemporary of Johnny Marr
of The Smiths
, Squire was amongst the most accomplished British rock guitarists of the 1980s, known for his chiming melodies, spiraling riffs and live solos. He was voted the 13th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC
poll.
, round the corner from Ian Brown
, and after attending Heyes Lane Junior School, he passed the eleven plus exam and went on to attend Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. He excelled at art as a child. He formed a close friendship with Ian Brown during their last two years at school, the two bonding over a shared love for punk rock, particularly The Clash
.
The two (Squire and Brown) moved on to South Trafford College after passing O-Levels. Although Squire had a couple of guitar lessons, he was largely self-taught.
, with Squire as lead guitarist from 1984 to 1996. The partnership between Squire and Brown formed the heart of the band's lyrical and musical output.
The Stone Roses became one of the most influential acts of its era. Their 1989 eponymous debut album
quickly achieved the status of a classic in the UK, and topped NME
s list of the Greatest British Albums of All Time. Squire co-wrote all of the tracks with Brown. The cover art was painted by Squire, it is a Jackson Pollock
influenced piece containing references to the May 1968 riots in Paris.
By the mid-1990s the Roses were being hailed as pioneers of the Britpop
movement. Squire displayed a vocal dislike of most of the bands, dismissing them as "Kensington
art-wankers". The most notable exception was Oasis
. Squire even made an appearance at their Knebworth
concert, playing guitar on "Champagne Supernova
" and a cover of "I Am the Walrus
".
The band's second album, Second Coming
(released in 1994), was mainly written by Squire. He has credits on all but one of the tracks, most of which credit him alone. The album's featured a heavier blues-rock
sound, similar to Led Zeppelin
and The Allman Brothers Band
. The album was met with mixed reaction from fans, and shortly after band infighting and rumoured cocaine
abuse led to his departure from the band on 1 April 1996.
, in 1996. The band's only album Do it Yourself was released in 1997. The Seahorses disbanded due to creative differences in 1999.
Squire released his first solo album, Time Changes Everything
in 2002. A concept album
followed in 2004 entitled Marshall's House
. Squire has also said that he has recorded a third album, however he has decided not to release it as he felt that promoting and touring the album would take the fun out of the music, and turn it into a job rather than a hobby. This is the second time that Squire has recorded an album and opted to keep it unreleased, as he did the same in 1999 as a part of the Seahorses, when they recorded an album, set to be name "Minus Blue" or "Motorcade", but decided to break-up rather than release the album.
technique of Jackson Pollock
. In recent years, Squire has shown a broader use of media and has incorporated newer influences to his work. One such item a surfboard covered with Beach Boys song titles which was for the War Child
charity to auction, featured on the cover for Travis
's 1997 single release "U16 Girls
" and their debut album Good Feeling
. In 2004, Squire held two well-received art exhibitions in London and Manchester
.
Over the past few years Squire has worked full time on his artwork which he has exhibited at The Smithfield Gallery (July 2007) and The Dazed Gallery, London (September – October 2007).
At the Smithfield Gallery opening, Squire told a reporter from the Manchester Evening News
that he was giving up music for good. He explained that "I'm enjoying this far too much to go back to music." When asked about a Stone Roses reunion, he said it was "highly unlikely".
In January 2009, Squire launched a new exhibition of his art entitled Heavy Metal Semantics, in London, and announced further exhibitions in Oldham
, Austria, and Tokyo later in the year. Further announced exhibitions include Edinburgh in August 2010 and Brussels in early 2011.
, to whom he had not spoken since his departure from the Stone Roses. In a 2005 Q magazine
article, Squire blasted Brown, claiming "When he (Brown) was stoned, he was at best a tuneless knob and at worst a paranoid mess" (this was in response to queries about what had gone wrong with the Second Coming recording sessions, and the state of Brown's vocal due to his cannabis
intake). Although both Brown and Squire performed Stone Roses songs in their solo gigs, a band reunion seemed unlikely. Squire was interviewed in June 2007 by Dave Haslam on XFM Manchester radio and discussed his current work as an artist, and claimed that even if Brown phoned him and suggested a Stone Roses reunion, he would turn the offer down; although it had been reported that, in March 2011, Ian and John had an "emotional reunion" at the funeral of Mani's mother, which led to speculation that the band were reforming although this was refuted at the time by Mani.
In an interview on The Culture Show
in 2008, Squire stated: "I went to that Led Zeppelin
reunion show
, and on the way back in the car I was thinking it would be good to do something like that one day."
In March 2009, Squire appeared to put an end to speculation surrounding the Stone Roses' reunion by defacing one of his artworks with the text "I have no desire whatsoever to desecrate the grave of seminal Manchester pop group The Stone Roses." Also on 19 March 2009, Squire appeared on the BBC's Newsnight
, and when asked if a reunion would ever occur, he stated that it "absolutely most definitely not". He said he came on air to address the fans once and for all and also, "to stop the phones ringing." He also stated his belief that music is a young person's game
On 18 October 2011, at London's SoHo Hotel, The Stone Roses announced that they would reunite for the first time in fifteen years. The band will play three shows at Heaton Park, Manchester, on 29 and 30 June and 1 July 2012 before an extensive world tour.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musician, songwriter and artist.
Squire is best known as the guitarist for The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, a rock band in which he formed a songwriting partnership with lead singer Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
. After leaving The Stone Roses he went on to found The Seahorses
The Seahorses
The Seahorses were an English rock band, formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire, following his departure from The Stone Roses.The band released one album in 1997 and began work on a follow up, before splitting up due to musical differences during recording sessions in January 1999.-History:Formed...
and has since released two solo albums. Squire is also an accomplished painter and announced in 2007 that he was giving up music for good to fully commit to painting.
As a contemporary of Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
of The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, Squire was amongst the most accomplished British rock guitarists of the 1980s, known for his chiming melodies, spiraling riffs and live solos. He was voted the 13th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
poll.
Early life
Squire grew up on Sylvan Avenue in TimperleyTimperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
, round the corner from Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
, and after attending Heyes Lane Junior School, he passed the eleven plus exam and went on to attend Altrincham Grammar School for Boys. He excelled at art as a child. He formed a close friendship with Ian Brown during their last two years at school, the two bonding over a shared love for punk rock, particularly The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
.
The two (Squire and Brown) moved on to South Trafford College after passing O-Levels. Although Squire had a couple of guitar lessons, he was largely self-taught.
The Stone Roses
In the early 1980s Squire and Brown founded The Patrol that eventually became The Stone RosesThe Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, with Squire as lead guitarist from 1984 to 1996. The partnership between Squire and Brown formed the heart of the band's lyrical and musical output.
The Stone Roses became one of the most influential acts of its era. Their 1989 eponymous debut album
The Stone Roses (album)
The Stone Roses is the debut album by English rock band The Stone Roses, released on Silvertone Records in 1989. It cemented the band's reputation among critics, and is still rated by some as one of the most important albums ever...
quickly achieved the status of a classic in the UK, and topped NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
s list of the Greatest British Albums of All Time. Squire co-wrote all of the tracks with Brown. The cover art was painted by Squire, it is a Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
influenced piece containing references to the May 1968 riots in Paris.
By the mid-1990s the Roses were being hailed as pioneers of the Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
movement. Squire displayed a vocal dislike of most of the bands, dismissing them as "Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
art-wankers". The most notable exception was Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
. Squire even made an appearance at their Knebworth
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden and Langley, and encompasses the village of Knebworth, the...
concert, playing guitar on "Champagne Supernova
Champagne Supernova
"Champagne Supernova" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by guitarist Noel Gallagher. The seven-minute anthem is the closing track on the record-breaking album Morning Glory?...
" and a cover of "I Am the Walrus
I Am the Walrus
"I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...
".
The band's second album, Second Coming
Second Coming (album)
Second Coming is the second studio album by The Stone Roses, released through Geffen Records on 5 December 1994 in the UK and in early 1995 in the US. It was recorded at Forge Studios in Oswestry, Shropshire and Rockfield Studios near Monmouth in Wales between 1992 and 1994...
(released in 1994), was mainly written by Squire. He has credits on all but one of the tracks, most of which credit him alone. The album's featured a heavier blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
sound, similar to Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
. The album was met with mixed reaction from fans, and shortly after band infighting and rumoured cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
abuse led to his departure from the band on 1 April 1996.
The Seahorses and solo career
Picking three unknowns, Squire formed a new band, The SeahorsesThe Seahorses
The Seahorses were an English rock band, formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire, following his departure from The Stone Roses.The band released one album in 1997 and began work on a follow up, before splitting up due to musical differences during recording sessions in January 1999.-History:Formed...
, in 1996. The band's only album Do it Yourself was released in 1997. The Seahorses disbanded due to creative differences in 1999.
Squire released his first solo album, Time Changes Everything
Time Changes Everything
Time Changes Everything is the debut solo album by the English guitarist John Squire, released in 2002 on his own North Country Records label....
in 2002. A concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
followed in 2004 entitled Marshall's House
Marshall's House
Marshall's House is the second solo album by the British guitarist John Squire, released in 2004 on his own North Country Records label.Each song is inspired by, and shares its title with, a painting by Edward Hopper.-Track listing:...
. Squire has also said that he has recorded a third album, however he has decided not to release it as he felt that promoting and touring the album would take the fun out of the music, and turn it into a job rather than a hobby. This is the second time that Squire has recorded an album and opted to keep it unreleased, as he did the same in 1999 as a part of the Seahorses, when they recorded an album, set to be name "Minus Blue" or "Motorcade", but decided to break-up rather than release the album.
Artwork
Besides music, Squire is also a well-known, published artist. His artwork has adorned the singles, album covers and promotional posters for his and the Stone Roses' music. In the 1980s, Squire's artistic style was heavily influenced by the action paintingAction painting
Action painting sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied...
technique of Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
. In recent years, Squire has shown a broader use of media and has incorporated newer influences to his work. One such item a surfboard covered with Beach Boys song titles which was for the War Child
War Child
War Child or Warchild may refer to:* Child soldiers, children who are used in war, as soldiers or in combat support* Military brat, military slang for a child or teenager of a military family* Refugee, children who are refugees of war...
charity to auction, featured on the cover for Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
's 1997 single release "U16 Girls
U16 Girls
"U16 Girls" is the second single released from Indie band Travis' debut album, Good Feeling. The single was released on April 1, 1997 in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
" and their debut album Good Feeling
Good Feeling
Good Feeling is the debut album from Scottish alternative rock band Travis. The album was originally released on September 26, 1997, on Independiente Records. In April 1998, the album was re-released, with the only differences being new album artwork and a slightly-tweaked version of "More Than Us"...
. In 2004, Squire held two well-received art exhibitions in London and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Over the past few years Squire has worked full time on his artwork which he has exhibited at The Smithfield Gallery (July 2007) and The Dazed Gallery, London (September – October 2007).
At the Smithfield Gallery opening, Squire told a reporter from the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
that he was giving up music for good. He explained that "I'm enjoying this far too much to go back to music." When asked about a Stone Roses reunion, he said it was "highly unlikely".
In January 2009, Squire launched a new exhibition of his art entitled Heavy Metal Semantics, in London, and announced further exhibitions in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Austria, and Tokyo later in the year. Further announced exhibitions include Edinburgh in August 2010 and Brussels in early 2011.
Intentions for a Stone Roses reunion
Although it has been over a decade since he left the Stone Roses, Squire allegedly had a lasting feud with ex-bandmate Ian BrownIan Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
, to whom he had not spoken since his departure from the Stone Roses. In a 2005 Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
article, Squire blasted Brown, claiming "When he (Brown) was stoned, he was at best a tuneless knob and at worst a paranoid mess" (this was in response to queries about what had gone wrong with the Second Coming recording sessions, and the state of Brown's vocal due to his cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
intake). Although both Brown and Squire performed Stone Roses songs in their solo gigs, a band reunion seemed unlikely. Squire was interviewed in June 2007 by Dave Haslam on XFM Manchester radio and discussed his current work as an artist, and claimed that even if Brown phoned him and suggested a Stone Roses reunion, he would turn the offer down; although it had been reported that, in March 2011, Ian and John had an "emotional reunion" at the funeral of Mani's mother, which led to speculation that the band were reforming although this was refuted at the time by Mani.
In an interview on The Culture Show
The Culture Show
The Culture Show is a weekly BBC Two Arts magazine programme. It is broadcast in the UK on Thursday nights at 7pm, focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts...
in 2008, Squire stated: "I went to that Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
reunion show
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band, Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980,...
, and on the way back in the car I was thinking it would be good to do something like that one day."
In March 2009, Squire appeared to put an end to speculation surrounding the Stone Roses' reunion by defacing one of his artworks with the text "I have no desire whatsoever to desecrate the grave of seminal Manchester pop group The Stone Roses." Also on 19 March 2009, Squire appeared on the BBC's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, and when asked if a reunion would ever occur, he stated that it "absolutely most definitely not". He said he came on air to address the fans once and for all and also, "to stop the phones ringing." He also stated his belief that music is a young person's game
On 18 October 2011, at London's SoHo Hotel, The Stone Roses announced that they would reunite for the first time in fifteen years. The band will play three shows at Heaton Park, Manchester, on 29 and 30 June and 1 July 2012 before an extensive world tour.
Albums
- Time Changes EverythingTime Changes EverythingTime Changes Everything is the debut solo album by the English guitarist John Squire, released in 2002 on his own North Country Records label....
(2002) No.17 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... - Marshall's HouseMarshall's HouseMarshall's House is the second solo album by the British guitarist John Squire, released in 2004 on his own North Country Records label.Each song is inspired by, and shares its title with, a painting by Edward Hopper.-Track listing:...
(2004)
Singles
- "Joe Louis" (2002) No.43 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
- "Room In Brooklyn" (2004) No.44 UK