The squire boy's back

It’s one of those great mythical footnotes in rock ’n’ roll – “We met in a sandpit”. It is so ridiculous that it could be lifted from the This is Spinal Tap script. But in the case of Mick and Keef, it’s the real story of how The Rolling Stones first met. And The Stone Roses.

Sandpit buddies Ian Brown and John Squire became total music obsessives when they got older. They were switched on by soul, politicized by punk and inspired by classic rock ’n’ roll. Later, they became one of the greatest songwriting partnerships in pop. That dream imploded after a mere two albums, Ian and John following that familiar singer and guitarist route leading to acrimony and break up. Lennon/McCartney, Morrissey/Marr, Anderson/Butler, Brown/Squire... Just another coupling of talents that could have and really should have been so much more.

After a string of false starts John has ditched being in a band to going solo. One imagines it’s a very liberating experience for the great guitar Squire? “Definitely,” he agrees. “It is a very liberating experience to see something through from the first germ of the idea to the finished product. The album was a breeze to make. The first Roses’ record was a joy to make. The second one was a nightmare. I don’t know how this one would compare with making the first Roses’ album. We had a lot of fun making that record. Everything was brand new. Everything was sweet and innocent. This was very enjoyable but totally different. I’m a lot older now.”

Does he miss the camaraderie of a band of brothers? “Yes, I’ve still got a playful streak and there isn’t as much chance to express that when you are working on your own,” John admits. “I do miss that. But I have decided that I wasn’t going to make the mistake of trying to recreate that experience. I had it once and lost it and the Seahorses didn’t come close and neither did the band that followed with the lads in the Shining (another group that never recorded or released anything).

“My initial idea with Time Changes Everything was not to go public at all,” Squire reveals. “I was just going to put it on the internet. Set up a website and announce it from there and preach to the converted. But my manager persuaded me that would be a mistake. Probably the reason I am surprising people is that I rushed it out. It was all done over the past year. I’ve been finding my voice during the making of this record. I’ll sing a tune to the engineer and he’ll dig it.”

Was it strange to be the one singing this time around? “I found it the most natural thing in the world,” John answers. “I think that perversely writing songs for other people is much more unnatural. I started off on the wrong foot in some ways. Growing up, my dream was always to be a guitar player. I ignored the singing side of it. I always focused on Mick Jones or Steve Jones. The guitarists were always the ones that inspired me.”

Speaking of guitar legends, Squire is considered to be something of a guitarist’s god and one of the finest axesmiths of the last 15 years. How does feel to be a bona fide guitar god? “I know I’m just mere mortal,” John laughs. “Mind you. I did listen to ‘Breaking into Heaven’ (from Second Coming) the other day and I was almost moved to pick up a tennis racket. Actually what am I saying? I’ve never played a game of tennis in my life!”