Ian Brown
Ian Brown was born on 20 February 1963 in Warrington, a United Kingdom city, and attended Altrincham Grammar School for Boys before going on to Trafford College. He came to work across genres including rock, indie rock, alternative rock, Britpop, and Madchester, and has worked in English throughout his career as a musician, singer, songwriter, and composer.
Brown served as the lead singer of the Stone Roses, a band formed in 1983, and was the only continuous member of the group across its history. When the Stone Roses split in 1996, he moved into a solo career, releasing seven studio albums, nineteen singles, a greatest hits compilation, and a remix album. He also released an eleven-disc box set titled Collection, drawing together material from across that solo output.
Brown returned to singing with the Stone Roses for a reunion that ran from 2011 to 2017, bringing him back to the band he had fronted since its formation. His solo discography — seven studio albums alongside those nineteen singles, the greatest hits compilation, and the remix album — represents a substantial body of work produced in the years between and around his time with the Stone Roses.
Quotes by Ian Brown
I was jailed for using words that I still dispute. Anyone who's ever met me will tell you that I'm not a violent person.
The jails are full of kids from kids' homes. You're 16 years old, and you're out on the street. How you going to fend for yourself at 16 if you've not had an education? You're going to turn to crime.
I spent the summer of '88 indoors, writing 'Shoot You Down,' 'Bye Bye Badman,' and 'Don't Stop.'
I wasn't on stage to be worshipped or for people to look up to me. I was with the crowd.
I can't think of anyone who's reformed for art's sake. That's why the Roses will never reform.