John Squire

Following the footsteps of the Smiths' Johnny Marr, John Squire established himself as the most talented and influential guitarist/songwriter in late-'80s/early-'90s British rock. Born in southwest Manchester, he grew up on the same street as Ian Brown, and the two became fast friends while attending Altrincham Grammar School. While Brown was outgoing and gregarious, Squire was introverted and in some ways painfully shy, and their polar-opposite personalities, along with a shared love of punk and '60s rock (the Beatles, et al.), made them inseparable. Getting his first guitar at age 15, Squire would spend the proverbial hours in his bedroom practicing, as he also developed a love of modern art. After attending South Trafford College, Squire became a cartoon animator, working on such famed British cartoons as Dangermouse and The Wind in the Willows. But music remained another steadfast interest, and, in 1982, along with Andy Couzens, Mani, and a scooter-boy named Kaiser on vocals, Squire formed his first band, called the Waterfront. After persuading Ian Brown to join the group, replacing Mani with Pete Garner (Mani would re-join in 1987), sacking Kaiser, and then finding drummer Reni through an advertisement, they changed their name first to the Patrol and eventually to the Stone Roses in March 1984. Squire shaped the band's sound through his co-songwriting with Ian Brown and unmistakable skill on the guitar, which was virtuosic yet always based around simple and memorable melodies, almost single-handedly resurrecting British rock in the late '80s (and paving the way for the Brit-pop explosion in the '90s). Squire's Jackson Pollock-esque paintings and designs famously adorned all the band's artwork and, furthermore, his shy personality developed into a cool and detached...