Stone Roses “I Wanna Be Adored” charted

I Wanna Be Adored The Stone Roses

Writer(s): Ian Brown, John Squire (see lyrics here) Released: September 1991 First Charted: December 8, 1989 Peak: 18 MR, 20 UK, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 59.6 video, 118.75 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Stone Roses formed in Manchester, England in 1983. They were considered a pioneering group of the Madchester movement of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s which combined elements of indie dance, acid house, and psychedelia. The primary members were singer Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Mani, and drummer Reni. Their 1989 debut album has been regarded as one of the most important in British history. Five singles were released from the album over a three-year period. The most successful was the third single, “I Wanna Be Adored,” which reached #20 on the UK charts. It was one of five songs by the band to reach the rock charts in the United States. AllMusic.com’s John Bush described it as “a sublime storm of a track.” AMG The song, which opens the album, runs a minute and a half before the main portion of the song kicks in. It begins with “30 seconds of atmospheric feedback – reminiscent of a ghost train pulling into the station – before a nimble bass line from Gary Mounfield starts it off. Soon, John Squire is echoing the bass line with his equally sublime guitar, and drummer Reni enters in turn a few bars later with punchy, echo-laden drumwork. Almost a full two minutes in, Ian Brown finally opens his mouth and begins a yearning vocal performance.” AMG “Brown and Squire soar over the rhythm section, weaving voice and guitar into a mildly dizzying froth before the band reaches a restrained climax of sorts.” AMG The song features minimal lyrics, mostly repeating the lines “I don’t have (or need) to sell my soul / He’s already in me” and the title “with more energy until singer and band peak at the same time, just a few seconds before the end of the song..” AMG Brown said the song is about people’s wishes to be idolized and how they’ll do anything to achieve that goal. SF He said, “I was trying to say…if you want to be adored it’s like a sin, like lust or gluttony or something like that.” SF The song has been ranked as one of the 100 greatest songs of all time (by Q magazine in 2006) and one of the 50 greatest indie anthems ever (NME, 2007). VH2, a UK music network, ranked it #2 all time on their countdown of indie songs. Stylus magazine rated the song’s bassline as one of the 50 best of all time in 2005. WK Resources: AMG All Music Guide song review by John Bush SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/24/2023.