The life of Ian

W ith his simian swagger, laidback northern drawl and don't give a, erm, stuff attitude, it's hard to imagine Ian Brown showing excitement. Especially when we're talking American pop stars, albeit pretty cool ones.

But here's the former Stone Roses frontman, who epitomises the heady Madchester days of the late 80s and early 90s, enthusing over writing for the likes of Rihanna and Kanye West.

"Amanda (Ghost, songwriter) told me about him cos she knew him and texted him while I was there, and said 'Kanye, I've got Ian Brown to do the lyrics,'" he says.

"He texted straight back and said 'Ian Brown – Stone Roses, hell yes,' and I was like, fantastic.

"So we wrote him a song but we were a little bit late with sending it in and Amanda had said it's gotta be like a 'My Way' for Kanye, so I took that and thought, right, I'm gonna keep that for myself, I really like it."

And that's how Brown got the title for his latest studio album, My Way, which he reckons is his best work.

The first single, Stellify, was supposed to go to Rihanna. But he ended up liking it too much to give it up.

"After finishing it, even though she could probably sing it better, I thought 'I'm gonna keep this,' so I kept it," says Brown.

"That set us off then, we thought, right it's gonna be a My Way album. I'm gonna write about my life in music. I'm gonna write about coming off the dole, going into music, what happened along the way – that was my brief."

So My Way is a warts 'n' all account of his life, the story of cheap drugs, wild nights, girls, and then finally a band that would become ingrained in the memories of a generation.

There are a few nods to the Roses scattered here and there throughout My Way, something Brown has not really broached in his previous work.

"I've never addressed them in songs before," he says. "But it was easy. I feel great about the Roses, I don't feel bad about it."

The Roses were the inspiration for dozens of early 90s bands, including Oasis. So what are Brown's thoughts on the band's split?

"I think it's been coming for quite a while hasn't it? Their very first NME feature they were scrapping and their last one they were scrapping, so they came in scrapping and they've gone out scrapping.

"Bit of a shame but no surprise really. I'd heard a few rumours myself this year and I think it's run its course."

Ian Brown plays at De Montfort Hall on Sunday, November 29.

Call 0116 233 3111, or visit:

www.demontforthall.co.uk