Clearly I’m missing something. I saw approximately ten minutes of the Glastonbury festival last night – ten minutes of pain in the guise of Ian Brown (formerly of The Stone Roses). The guy can not sing. No arguments – he CAN NOT SING. I had pretty much concluded this when I saw him on the Jonathan Ross show a few months ago.
Now, I can (and do) appreciate many acts whose vocalists are not pitch-perfect, but who carry out their role as a frontman or frontwoman perfectly, with the right energy and enthusiasm to bring the crowd along. Usually, their voice is expressive, if not pitch perfect. Not so Mr. Brown.
Before I get loads of hate mail, I should say that I think that The Stone Roses were a great band. I remember being gobsmacked when I heard Fool’s Gold while working in Switzerland in 1989 and thinking it was probably a long-lost Hendrix song.
However… yesterday evening, what I saw on stage was a guy who made me laugh. I literally laughed at the guy! He looked like a middle-aged man (he is) dressed as a 14-year old chav, suffering from piles, and with the stage presence of a roadie.
The band were good, but my God! – ditch the vocalist!