This is the one we've waited for! Unseen footage to be used in Stone Roses doc
Never before seen footage of The Stone Roses’ iconic Spike Island gig has been unearthed – and is set to be used in an upcoming documentary.
Martin Cornell’s handheld recording is thought to the only shots of the seminal concert in 1990, which is seen as a landmark event in British musical history.
More than 29,000 fans crammed into man-made island in the River Mersey, which was better known as the site of a disused chemical plant.
It was described by the NME as a celebration their success and "an entire youth culture" and came at the height of the 'Madchester' music scene.
The footage includes shots of the crowd filling up, support acts taking to the stage and the Manchester music legends’ full performance.
And after he was introduced to film maker Paul Crompton, plans are afoot for it to be used as part of a tell-all documentary about the show in Widnes, Cheshire.
Martin, 63, said: “It sat in my attic for 10 years then we moved house and I found this box of tapes.
“I’d been recording all day, I got the whole day from the build up to the finale.
“It’s been a bit of a burden really having this footage. Fans would describe it as the Holy Grail and I kind of feel responsible for it.”
Camera crews had been scheduled to record the concert – held at the height of the Madchester music scene – but plans fell through after a row with the band’s record company.
The gig has since reached mythological status among music fans as it was believed only 10 minutes worth of video footage existed.
But Martin, who worked for the staging company, spent the day perched on a scaffolding tower above the sound deck with his Sony CCD-V8AF-E.
He and his brother digitized the footage and uploaded brief clips of it to YouTube, where it ‘sat in a dusty corner of the internet’ for more than 10 years.
But it’s never been shown in its entirety, despite efforts to reach out to the band.
Martin added: “It was my day off so I had two options – sit in my hotel room on my own or go down to the concert.
“I thought I’d go along and I always take photos for prosperity but I thought I’d take some video in case there were some health and safety concerns so we had evidence that everything was adhered to.
“I was sat about the sound deck, which might be why the sound I’ve got is so much better than everybody says it was because they were on the floor.
“It wasn’t until I dug it out ages later that I realised what I had, but by then the band had split up.
“We tried to garner interest and I reached out to the band’s management, but I didn’t hear anything back, it was never followed up by anyone.
“My brother got a YouTube channel set up and uploaded a few clips, but it’s sat in a dusty corner of the internet for 10 years.”
Paul, who was at the gig, said he was excited by the prospect of showing the event in all its glory.
Martin Cornell’s handheld recording is thought to the only shots of the seminal concert in 1990, which is seen as a landmark event in British musical history.
More than 29,000 fans crammed into man-made island in the River Mersey, which was better known as the site of a disused chemical plant.
It was described by the NME as a celebration their success and "an entire youth culture" and came at the height of the 'Madchester' music scene.
The footage includes shots of the crowd filling up, support acts taking to the stage and the Manchester music legends’ full performance.
And after he was introduced to film maker Paul Crompton, plans are afoot for it to be used as part of a tell-all documentary about the show in Widnes, Cheshire.
Martin, 63, said: “It sat in my attic for 10 years then we moved house and I found this box of tapes.
“I’d been recording all day, I got the whole day from the build up to the finale.
“It’s been a bit of a burden really having this footage. Fans would describe it as the Holy Grail and I kind of feel responsible for it.”
Camera crews had been scheduled to record the concert – held at the height of the Madchester music scene – but plans fell through after a row with the band’s record company.
The gig has since reached mythological status among music fans as it was believed only 10 minutes worth of video footage existed.
But Martin, who worked for the staging company, spent the day perched on a scaffolding tower above the sound deck with his Sony CCD-V8AF-E.
He and his brother digitized the footage and uploaded brief clips of it to YouTube, where it ‘sat in a dusty corner of the internet’ for more than 10 years.
But it’s never been shown in its entirety, despite efforts to reach out to the band.
Martin added: “It was my day off so I had two options – sit in my hotel room on my own or go down to the concert.
“I thought I’d go along and I always take photos for prosperity but I thought I’d take some video in case there were some health and safety concerns so we had evidence that everything was adhered to.
“I was sat about the sound deck, which might be why the sound I’ve got is so much better than everybody says it was because they were on the floor.
“It wasn’t until I dug it out ages later that I realised what I had, but by then the band had split up.
“We tried to garner interest and I reached out to the band’s management, but I didn’t hear anything back, it was never followed up by anyone.
“My brother got a YouTube channel set up and uploaded a few clips, but it’s sat in a dusty corner of the internet for 10 years.”
Paul, who was at the gig, said he was excited by the prospect of showing the event in all its glory.
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