Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, one of the true anchors of the Madchester sound, has died at 63.
The news was shared by his brother on Facebook and quickly echoed across the music world, with Ian Brown paying tribute on X: “REST IN PEACE MANi X.” No cause of death has been announced.
Born in Crumpsall in 1962, Mani’s story is basically the story of modern Manchester music.
He linked up with John Squire and Andy Couzens in the early ’80s, forming the Fireside Chaps before Ian Brown stepped in and the Stone Roses were born.
By the time the band dropped their self-titled debut in 1989, they’d crystallised a whole movement, melding psychedelia, jangly guitars and the stamp of the rave rave-era into something that felt like a new era cracking open.
That record became a generational touchstone, the kind of album that united ravers, indie kids and pop fans in equal measure.
REST IN PEACE MANi X
— Ian Brown (@ianbrown) November 20, 2025
Even though the band only released Second Coming before their first split in 1996, Mani’s rubbery, melodic bass lines helped define everything that Madchester meant: loose, loud, euphoric and slightly mystical.
After the Roses imploded, Mani jumped straight into another future-legend chapter, joining Primal Scream for their late-’90s and 2000s run. He became a core part of Vanishing Point, XTRMNTR, Evil Heat, Riot City Blues and Beautiful Future, a stretch where the Scream shifted shape constantly, and Mani always seemed to glue the chaos together.
He returned to the Stone Roses in 2011 for their long-awaited reunion, playing massive shows and overseeing a brief spark of new music, just two songs, ‘All for One’ and ‘Beautiful Thing,’ before the band folded again in 2017.
Across every era, Mani felt like a cultural constant: the bassist who made grooves feel inevitable, a figurehead of northern music, and someone whose presence alone stitched together decades of British alternative history.
