ST HELENS' most-successful tribute band are on course for a sell-out celebration for their 25th anniversary at Heaton Park next weekend.
Forming a tribute band that could pay homage to his musical heroes the Stone Roses, Sintelliner Gav Scott formed 'The Clone Roses' with his brother and two friends back in 1998.
Forming two years after the original lineup disbanded, the Clones became the next best thing for those wishing to hear live versions of the Roses' classic jangly tunes, and have since grown to become one of the leading tribute acts across the country.
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Over the past 25 years, the St Helens four-piece have played to 15,000 fans at Spike Island, performed homecoming gigs at Sherdley Park, and headlined venues such as The Barrowlands in Glasgow and the O2 Academy in Liverpool, Sheffield, and Newcastle.
As part of the band’s 25th anniversary celebrations, this will culminate in a huge headline show at Heaton Park in Manchester, emulating the Roses’ emphatic 2012 reunion gigs.
With limited tickets remaining from the ‘Resurrection’ festival, the event will also showcase a host of other Manchester tribute acts such as Oas-is, The Smiths LTD, Courtbetweeners, as well as Bez from the Happy Mondays and Clint Boon from the Inspiral Carpets.
Gav, who plays as frontman Ian Brown and also works as a manager and promoter in the music industry, said: “We have been lucky enough to recreate a lot of the Stone Roses shows over the years, and emulate what they achieved, so the final piece of the jigsaw was to play at Heaton Park.
“We had our 20th-anniversary celebrations at Sherdley Park in St Helens […] and then had the Spike Island show in 2021, which was a couple of days after coming out of lockdown and the first gig there since the Roses – and with 15,000 fans there, that was something I don’t think anyone will forget.
“I’m always thinking of what we can do next, so Heaton Park in front of 6,000 fans, felt like the next step where we can throw a bit of a party.”
With an “incredible” reaction to the 25th-anniversary tour this year, which has included sold-out gigs across the country, Gav said that he is “forever grateful” to fans of the Stone Roses to keep allowing the band to do what they love.
Aware that it is a testament to the Stone Roses’ music that allows them to continue playing in such huge venues, Gav said that he and the band will continue playing for as long as the appetite is there to see them.
With huge gratitude for the people of St Helens, who have helped to propel the tribute band to where they are today, Gav and the band have organised cheap coach tickets to take fans from St Helens to Heaton Park and back.
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