Burak Cingi
Stone Roses members, Liam Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie attend funeral of bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield
This morning at Manchester Cathedral, hundreds of people — rock legends, locals, and football stars — gathered to pay their respects to Mani, who died last month at age 63.
Among the mourners were Stone Roses bandmates Ian Brown, John Squire, Alan Wren, in addition to a slew of other musical names including Oasis’ Liam Gallagher, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, The Jam’s Paul Weller, and more, as BBC reports. As Mani was a lifelong supporter of Manchester United, football players Sir David Beckham and Gary Neville also attended to pay their respects, while Manchester locals were among crowds outside of the cathedral.
The procession began at Heaton Moor in Stockport, ending at Manchester Cathedral where The Stone Roses’ hit track “I Wanna Be Adored” from their 1989 debut self-titled album, played over the speakers. As the service began, Mani‘s casket was brought in — adorned with the artwork from the band’s debut album — which would later be carried out by Liam Gallagher and members of The Stone Roses at the end of the service.
In a eulogy, Brown shares with the congregation, “Mani was like a brother to me, a musical comrade.”
"Beautiful soul and spirit.
"Mani was able to laugh his way through any darkness.
“He was the life and soul of any room he was in."
Gillespie adds, "Mani's warm and welcoming manner, treating me like an equal, made me feel like a million dollars and I’ll never forget that.”
"No-one was too important to escape his laser-eye ability to cut the pretentious and self-important down to size, myself included!”
"His ability to make laughter out of any situation was our great value wherever we were in the world."
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