Monkey man's magical gig

IAN BROWN

O2 ACADEMY, BIRMINGHAM

words and pictures by James Watkins

The revamped BirminghamO2 Academy has seen its fair share of music legends grace its stage since re-opening this year.

Following in that trend was one of the most influential British musical icons of the last two decades. Ian Brown stepped forward with his customary swagger and gave fans a night to remember.

His glory days with The Stone Roses may have long gone, but the original "monkey boy" still hasn't forgotten how he got there.

From the moment Brown walked on stage with his clear cut shades and leather jacket, you could see why he still is regarded as ever the showman.

Jogging on the spot, tambourine in hand, playing to the crowd from both ends of the stage, Brown got the fans into a frenzy opening with early 90's singles Love Like A Fountain and Golden Gaze.

Never seeing the Stone Roses live has always played on my mind, but seeing Brown was everything this reviewer could have hoped for.

Brown swaggered around and give a masterful performance, making it easy to see where a certain Oasis frontman Mr L Gallagher got his moves from.

Fan favourites included Save Us, Vanity and Laugh Now from his latest album My Way, but the synthesised strings of F.E.A.R, Brown's biggest solo hit to date, raised the roof before he walked off ahead of a thunderous encore.

With the crowd chanting his name, Brown re-appeared to take everyone back to the 80's with an immense Stone Roses classic, Fools Gold, which was the track of the night.