He doesn't bang the drums: Stone Roses tour loses rhythm after Reni storms out

The Stone Roses, including drummer Reni (far right) (Getty Images)

The resurrection has been a long time coming, and there were fears last night it might be somewhat short-lived. Less than a week into The Stone Roses' hotly anticipated comeback tour, the tempestuous band were at each other's throats after the drummer stormed out of a gig, prompting abuse from lead singer Ian Brown.

The spat prompted some to question whether the group would fulfil their future dates, including sell-out gigs at Heaton Park in their home town of Manchester. But according to the author of a newly published biography, Tuesday night's fracas was "not even a storm in a teacup" by the Roses' standards.

It was after the band left the stage of the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on Tuesday night that trouble began. Drummer Reni refused to return for an encore, expected to be "I Am the Resurrection", prompting Brown to tell the crowd that "the drummer's gone home, I'm not kidding you. Sorry about that." For good measure, he added: "What can I say, the drummer's a c*nt."

A spokesman for the Roses said that all planned performances would go ahead. There was talk that Reni had walked off after problems with the drum kit.

Simon Spence, whose biography of the band, The Stone Roses: War and Peace, was published last week, said: "This is just a little tiff; it is par for the course. That's the Roses."

The band delighted their fans with the announcement last October that they would re-form, and surprised them with a secret gig in Warrington last month. It was the first time they had played together in 16 years. The tour started properly on Friday in Barcelona.

The Stone Roses, which comprised Brown, Reni, guitarist John Squire and bassist Mani, formed in 1983 and released their self-titled debut album six years later. They rose to the heights of their stardom in 1990, only for things to unravel.

Legal battles, feuding, a refusal to play America and an incident in which the group vandalised the headquarters of their former record company saw their fortunes falter, and the follow-up album, Second Coming, drove the band apart.

Spence said he would be shocked if the tour collapsed. "It is all building up to Heaton Park. This could be Manchester's Woodstock. There's no chance they'd miss that," he said.

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