Reni (musician) - 1996 and Beyond

1996 and Beyond

Little was heard of Reni in the years after he left the Stone Roses. In 1997, it was reported in the NME that he'd been sent to prison for seven days (of which he served three) for contempt of court. His drumming was credited on the Ian Brown track "Can't See Me", although Brown later admitted that the drum loop was a sample that Roses bassist Mani had uncovered, and not Reni at all. In 1999 he formed the short-lived band The Rub with Casey Longdon (rhythm guitar), Neil Nisbet (bass), and Mick Grant (drums). Reni himself sang and played bass and lead guitar in the band. In 2005, Reni gave his first broadcast interview in 10 years to BBC GMR, along with ex-Roses bassist Mani, on the Manchester Music Show whilst attending a concert by The Coral. It was reported in early 2007 that the Fun Lovin Criminals had asked Reni to become their drummer. He never responded and nothing has come of it since. In June 2008, in an interview with Teletext's Planet Sound, Mani revealed Reni had formed a new band with an unnamed member of Black Grape, but gave no other details.

In May 2009, on the 20th anniversary of The Stone Roses' eponymous debut album, Reni and the three other band members sanctioned the release of rare demos and unreleased material. In an exclusive book included with the collector's edition, Reni remained typically elusive. Whilst Ian Brown and Mani included lengthy written accounts of their experiences in The Stone Roses, Reni supplied only an enigmatic poem (Don't Feed the Underdog) and drawings of the four members set to a Sudoku background (Go Figure Heads). However, it is worth noting guitarist John Squire did not contribute at all.

Those who worked with him had high praise for the drummer. Ian Brown: "He’d have been like Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich. He'd fill the Apollo up now if he just set up his drum kit in there and played." Mani: "He was an amazing drummer. He was that good, he could do anything. He’s done gigs with one arm – and he played with one arm it was as good as two! The guy is a total genius, a proper fucking one-off you know?" He also gave a rare suggestion towards Reni's general disappearance from drumming since 1995: "I think what it is with Reni is the fact he doesn't think of it as better than he has done before." John Leckie (their producer) also gave an insight into the Mancunian's unusual drum kit: "Reni just had a collection of drums – you can't say Reni plays a lovely drum kit – every tom, cymbal and drum is from a different kit. That's how he makes it up. He's such a great player. When I listen to him play, I just sort of think, "Fuck! No-one else plays like that!" John Robb: "The best drummer of his generation. I’ve never seen anyone who could play drums like that – the talk in the early days was often about Reni – “check out the amazing drummer” hipsters would say and he always delivered. If the Roses ever reformed it would be a buzz just to see him play those drums again – dextrous, fluid and exuberant – he could hit hard like a rock drummer but also had a real swing and that infectious energy.”