Former Stone Roses Guitarist John Squire Will Not Return To Music


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Rumours of a Stone Roses reunion usually stir every few months, but if there was any lingering doubts about the future of the band who split in 1996, they appear to have been firmly laid to rest by former guitarist John Squire who has told The Independent Online he has turned his back on music permanently to concentrate on art.

When asked whether he now sees himself primarily as an artist or a musician, Squire explained: “I see myself as a visual artist. But I’m constantly reminded of what I used to be, which is inevitable I suppose. The two did intertwine for a while, mainly around 2004-5 when I was still making music. I realised during that phase that it wasn’t viable to do both,” and when further pressed on whether that meant he had given up music completely he simply replied “Yeah.”

At times Squire’s two worlds have come together successfully, most notably when he worked on a selection of legendary Stone Roses artwork during the band’s existence. “I was an avid record buyer and spent a lot of time in record shops,” he commented on his time designing artwork. “There were very few sleeves which I liked, so I assumed that giving the job to an in-house art team would be very disappointing. I didn’t really consider the option of letting somebody else do it.”

One of the most influential musicians of his generation, John Squire was voted at #13 on a recent BBC poll to find the best guitarist of the last thirty years.


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