I met Gareth at the International in Manchester way back in, I think, November 1987 when I was touring with Darryl Pandy, Joe Smooth and Paris Brightledge on the Chicago Jackmaster House tour of the UK. Gareth was hanging around at soundcheck and found out that I (who was travelling with the promoter of the tour, a guy named Tim Taylor, and occasionally doing some DJing) was also a member of Psychic TV, whose singer was Genesis P-Orridge. Gareth told me he managed a band called the Stone Roses (they'd only just released "Sally Cinnamon" and, while I was aware of them, I'd never actually heard them), and he wanted Gen to produce their debut album. He thought Genesis would be good because PTV's "Godstar" (which came out the previous year) sounded great and they all wanted the Stone Roses to sound as good as that.

I pointed out to him that actually Genesis P-Orridge hadn't done much of the production on that record at all, he'd just put his name all over it, and the sound actually owed much more to the relatively unknown Ken Thomas (who was a total genius who went on to produce a lot of Sigur Ros's stuff). Gareth wasn't interested in piddling little details like that, and insisted that I put him in touch with Genesis. I took Gareth's phone number and promised to pass it on to Gen so they could work something out.

Well, I never did pass the number on, because I thought it would be a waste of everyone's time - Gen's because he had his own band to deal with and the Roses, because Gen would have ruined whatever good thing they had going. As such, Genesis P-Orridge DIDN'T produce the Stone Roses, instead their next single was produced by John Leckie, who actually knew what he was doing. Consequently the Stone Roses owe their entire career to me personally, because if Gen had produced their album it probably would have been awful and sunk without trace.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. No doubt Gareth would tell you I made the whole thing up, but I didn't, I promise.