Current Primal Scream line up: Gary "Mani" Mounfield (bass), Bobby Gillespie (vocals), Andrew Innes (guitar), Robert Young (guitar), Martin Duffy (keyboards)

Gary "Mani" Mounfield was born in Crumpsall, Manchester, in November 1962.

When Pete Garner joined The High, Mani replaced him as the bass player for The Stone Roses in 1988, where he stayed, enjoying massive success and praise until their Reading Festival demise in 1996.

He made the following statement in 1996 confirming the split of The Stone Roses: "After much speculation I've decided, along with Ian Brown, that it's time to end the Roses saga. I will be joining Primal Scream, who are one of only three other bands I would ever consider joining.

"I'm absolutely delighted and am relishing the opportunity of playing with Bobby and my friends. I wish Ian, Robbie, Nigel and Aziz all the best and hope that we will work together again in the future. I take the opportunity to thank our record company who have stood by us through thick and thin and also to our fans worldwide for their total 100% loyal support. It's been a privilege to give these people a buzz and it wouldn't have been possible without them. I wish Johnny and his new band [The Seahorses] a fruitful time, I hope they go on and smash it".

Interestingly he later revealed the other two bands that he would have considered joining were the Jesus and Mary Chain or Oasis. It was no surprise that the Glasgow rockers, Primal Scream, would be Mani's first choice as he had been friends with Bobby Gillespie since meeting in The Hacienda in 1989. They both share the same political beliefs, similar interests, and are both die-hard football fans (Mani a Manchester United fan, Bobby a Celtic fan). Together they have since had massive success, Mani's contribution signalling an upturn in Primal Scream's good fortune, mainly due to their reinvention as a Madchester-style dance act and his focused influence.

The dance-rock fusion of Primal Scream's successful 1997 "Vanishing Point" album saw Mani at his very best on the two tracks "Kowalski" and "Motorhead". The album produced hit after hit including "Kowalski", with Mani's machine-gun like bass, reaching Number 3 and became the Scream's biggest ever hit.

Although Mani did not appear on it, the album also included the track "Trainspotting" which was later included as the theme to Danny Boyle film of the same name.

Not long after Mani joined Primal Scream, drummer Paul Mulreany left days before the band's Glasgow concert which was the scene of a bizarre multiple-stabbing (a member of the crowd jabbed 14 other fans with a hypodermic needle).

1999 saw Mani and Primal Scream hard at work: They contributed a track, "Insect Royalty", to the film, "The Acid House" and Bobbie Gillespie appeared with New Order's Bernard Sumner on the Chemical Brothers' track, "Out Of Control".

The single "Swastika Eyes (War Pigs)", with the help of The Chemical Brothers, reached Number 16 in the UK in November, marking a move to more techno-orientated output.

The brilliant album "XTRMNTR" was released in February 2000 and is the first to feature Mani's full input.

Whilst Mani has returned as a guest on Ian Brown's two albums, it is no surprise that Primal Scream have described Mani's decision to join them as "the best signing since Cantona!"