“Sounds like four lads trying to get out of Manchester”: The Stone Roses’ debut single to be reissued for charity

There has been little for Stone Roses fans to get excited about these past few years. The band’s reunion spluttered to a halt around 2017, and aside from John Squire’s album with Liam Gallagher in 2024, we’ve heard little from the four band members since COVID. Ian Brown, Mani and Reni all seem to have dropped off the radar completely.

But it is a significant anniversary this month – forty years since the release of their debut single. And so with that in mind, So Young is about to be reissued on limited edition vinyl that will raise money for charity.

Thin Line, the label that originally put out the single forty years ago have teamed up with Manchester record shop Vinyl Revival for the single, which will come out on raspberry coloured vinyl. All the proceeds are going to Young Lives vs Cancer and other charities.

It should be said that So Young shows a group that are still very much a work in progress. It sounds closer to early U2 than the psychedelic grooves of their classic debut album, or the swampy Zeppelin-esque sound of the Second Coming.

It does bear the production credit of Martin Hannett, though it really doesn’t compare to the producer’s greatest work with Joy Division. And even the Hannett connection couldn’t stop So Young sinking without trace forty years ago – it didn’t even reach the NME’s Indie chart at the time.

The band didn’t seem to think much of it either. Ian Brown was later quoted as saying: “I wouldn’t pay 10p for it now… Sounds like four lads trying to get out of Manchester.” These days, an original copy will set you back over £200 on Discogs, a price that will surely fall after today’s announcement.

Arguably, the one thing So Young does have going for it is a classic John Squire sleeve. For the cover art, the guitarist dismantled a transistor radio and then glued all the parts back together again. Thankfully, the new reissue has decided to stick with this.