Gary “Mani” Mounfield, bassist for The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, has died aged 63.
The news was announced by his brother Greg on Facebook, in a statement that said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce the sad passing of my brother Gary Mani Mounfield. RIP RKID.”
He later added in the comments: “Reunited with his beautiful wife Imelda.”
A cause of death has yet to be disclosed.
Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown also confirmed the news, writing a brief tribute on X that said: “REST IN PEACE MANI X.”
Raised in Crumpsall, Manchester, Mounfield joined The Stone Roses in 1987, having previously been a member of rival band The Waterfront, and performed with the band until their split in 1996.
He then teamed up with Primal Scream and was a full-time member of the band, finding a kindred spirit in guitarist Robert “Throb” Young, with whom he made a memorable appearance on the Scottish TV show Trout ‘n’ About in 2004.
Speaking with Uncut magazine in 2006, he said that Primal Scream was “most of a democracy”, whereas “with the Stone Roses we were more looking over our shoulder seeing if Ian and John [Squire] were pleased.
“Because they were writing the songs and being touted as the Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards kind of thing. For me now, there’s a lot more freedom. Primal Scream are as good at bulls*** detection as the Stone Roses ever were.”
He rejoined The Stone Roses with core members Brown, John Squire and Alan “Reni” Wren for their reunion shows between 2011 and 2017.
Writing for The Independent in 2019, Ed Power noted how it was the recruitment of Mounfield that seemed to “change” something for the band. “Brown, Squire and drummer Reni were dreamers,” he wrote.
“Mani was a rocker. Now the tweeness that characterised early singles such as ‘Sally Cinnamon’ evolved into something slicker, sleeker, groovier.”
Aside from music, Mounfield was a keen angler, having first started fishing as a boy around the canals of his native Manchester. He told The Guardian in 2008 that, along with otters, kingfishers and other charming creatures, he also came across “people shagging in bushes” and “smackheads on the mooch at night, looking to rob houses”.
Mounfield’s death comes almost two years to the day since his wife Imelda Mounfield died from cancer, on 18 November 2023. He and Imelda raised money for a cancer charity by organising auctions of memorabilia donated by friends, including members of Oasis and David Beckham.
They shared twin sons, Gene Clarke and George Christopher, born in 2012.
Mounfield had also just announced that he would be embarking on a national in-conversation tour from September 2026, for talks in which he would reflect on his 40-year career in music.
Tributes began pouring in following the news, including from The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, who called him a “beautiful friend” and “one of the absolute best in every way”.
I shared this photo a week or so ago on Mani’s birthday
— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) November 20, 2025
- It never failed to bring a smile to my face - and that was exactly the same for the man himself.
One of the absolute best in every way - such a beautiful friend
Love you Mani x x
Never to be forgotten pic.twitter.com/Oop3be53CW
The singer also shared a photo of himself and Mounfield, which he said “never failed to bring a smile to my face”.
“Love you Mani,” he wrote. “Never to be forgotten.”
Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher, who was inspired to start his own band after seeing the Stone Roses perform, wrote: “IN TOTAL SHOCK AND ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED ON HEARING THE NEWS ABOUT MANI MY HERO RIP RKID LG.”
Shaun Ryder of The Happy Mondays wrote: “RIP Mani, my heartfelt condolences to his twin boys and all of his family.”
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