This must be the place. Deep in the sheepsprinkled Cheshire moorlands, behind an unassuming farmhouse door, a creative whirlwind awaits us. Model aeroplanes swoop from the rafters. Craft knives, toy robots, aerosols and half-finished energy drinks jostle for desk space, while an art supplies cupboard spills with tins, palettes and brushes. Perhaps most revealing of all, in this rock ’n’ roll edition of Through The Keyhole, is the paintspattered canvas in one corner: a dead giveaway for anyone who came of age amid the bucket hats and loose-limbed beats of summer ’89.
This can only be the home studio of John Squire: sometime guitarist for Manchester’s seminal Stone Roses, latterly acclaimed visual artist, now offering a handshake and apologising for a border terrier he warns is liable to hump our leg.
But will he talk? Squire is the last enigma left in British rock. Back in the Roses’ heyday – when he was both patently unsuited to the role of guitar hero and the perfect man for the job – he hid behind his fringe, foxed interviewers with murmured wisdom, and let his life-affirming waterfalls of Byrdsian jangle, Hendrix funk, seismic blues and Northern soul do the talking.
Three decades later, Squire has only dialled up the mystique. The guitarist is seldom seen in public beyond his art exhibitions and a rare guest spot at last year’s Knebworth show by Liam Gallagher (a reprise of Squire’s cameo with Oasis at the same site in 1996). Since the second and presumably final split of the Roses in 2017, he has seemingly granted just one print interview. When Squire doesn’t have a band – which has been the case for significant stretches of his 61 years – he pulls down the shutters and leaves little more than a shadow.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2024-Ausgabe von Guitarist.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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FOR THE ROSES
Ivison Guitars has only been in business for six years, but its Dakota model has already headlined Glastonbury with Guns N’ Roses star Richard Fortus. We meet founder Neil Ivison to find out how he's making new electrics that evoke the raw spirit of retro tone
HISTORY REPEATING
Gibson's highest-tier replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars these days. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page's fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard
WHAT THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR
Off the radar since The Stone Roses reunion burnt out - and largely absent from the studio for two decades - John Squire's collaboration with Liam Gallagher reclaims his place among the greats. He invites us to his studio to talk classic riffs, career-ending injuries, getting snubbed by Gibson, and why music keeps pulling him back in
TELL ME STRAIGHT
Keith Richards, the legendary master of the ageless riff, talks about the magic and loss of Hackney Diamonds, the sparkling new Rolling Stones album
DENNY LAINE 1944-2023
Multi-instrumetlist, singer-songwriter Denny Laine died at the end of last year after a career that saw him top the charts in both The Moody Blues and Wings
Vibe 'n' Drive
Eventide's latest dot9 series pedal combines two independent effects for some classic vintage-rock sounds
Face Lift
Flattley releases an upgraded 1960s-style silicon fuzz with a buffer and extended tonal options
Air Supply
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Standard Shimmers
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Golden Brown
Last year we were mightily impressed when we looked at builder Rich Jones' Parlour and Orchestra acoustics. This time it's the turn of his entry-level, all-mahogany dreadnought