Ian Brown Fans Enraged as Gig is Compared to Bad Karaoke

The Stone Roses frontman and musical hero to many, Ian Brown, has found himself in hot water recently as his gig in Leeds is being labelled as "scandalous and disrespectful". The opening night of his tour started with Brown walking onto an empty stage, completely devoid of any band and simply singing along to the backing tracks of his songs. 

Where is the News Circulating?

The live environment has changed slightly since Ian Brown first started performing with the Stone Roses. Now, unfortunately, he has to deal with mobile phones and people videoing his performances. Everyone who attends gigs these days likes to get a few photos and videos from the concerts they go to. This can apply to those at small venues and those on the biggest stages, as tech companies are aware that people enjoy using their phones in order to capture memories and create products that can cater towards doing just that. Some of the most popular products include the likes of portable chargers, different adapters for phones, and devices that improve data storage. This is very convenient for music fans out there but less so for Ian Brown, as videos were taken during his recent performance and have, naturally, started circulating on Twitter.   

Ian Brown's gig was him singing out of tune to backing tracks on an empty stage whilst standing totally still. Granted, some fans have defended the show and praised the new set-up, but others are incredibly frustrated, saying the performance didn't match expectations and didn't justify the £40 they paid for a ticket. 

Fans' Comments 

One big Ian Brown fan, Paul Griffiths, has been incredibly vocal about how disappointed he was with the performance. He commented recently saying he "couldn't believe it" when the former Stone Roses frontman came onto the stage without any other musicians. As a fan for over 20 years, Griffiths' anger is palpable as he confirms, "we did stay until the end, but my mate wanted to leave after the first song... You had the drunk people that weren't too bothered, but most were pretty cheesed off." 

Another fan managed to dismiss the poor vocals but relished the absence of a band. He said, "I've seen him live as a solo act before, and while there's an acceptance that his voice won't be great, the live performance aspect is where the energy comes from. Sadly, there wasn't a band, so there was no energetic drummer, no masterful guitarist, just him singing along badly to a backing track - it just left me cold and disinterested."

(Photo: Lidya Kohen) 

Ian Brown Has Got This One Wrong 

When you look at bands and artists who have a strong fanbase that they would struggle to disappoint, Ian Brown and the Stone Roses are certainly towards the top of the list. The band were pioneers of the industry back in the 90s and as such, fans tend to flock to see Ian Brown perform whenever they get a chance and hang on to his every word once there. This wasn't the case following Brown's recent gig in Leeds, though, as the absence of a backing band and poor performance all around led to many leaving before the end and fans describing the gig as a waste of money.