August 30, 2000 11:45

JOHN SQUIRE - HAIR TODAY!

The former [a]Stone Roses[/a] guitarist shows up at the [a]Oasis[/a] end-of-tour party looking remarkably different...

This is the first published photograph of ex-Stone Roses and Seahorses guitarist John Squire in almost two years.

Bearded Squire made a rare public appearance at the Leeds Festival on Monday (August 28), where Oasis and Primal Scream headlined the final night of the event.

Following the shows, Squire met up with both bands, as well as Stereophonics' Kelly Jones, at the Oasis party at the Marriott Hotel in Leeds city centre. Squire spent the evening locked in conversation with Jones and various members of both Primal Scream and Oasis.

Following the demise of The Seahorses at the start of 1999, Squire has remained out of the public eye. Instead he has formed a new band, which at one point were rumoured to be called John Squire's Skunk Works, and featured ex-Verve bassist Simon Jones and Seahorses drummer Mark Heaney. Squire also recruited an unknown singer, Duncan Baxter, for the project.

However, as revealed on nme.com earlier in the month, Squire has now parted company with both Jones and Heaney, but continues to work with Baxter. Inside sources suggest that a new single could be released in the new year if all goes well.

Squire has had close links with Oasis for a number of years, and after the split of the Stone Roses, joined the band onstage for a live encore of 'Champagne Supernova' at Oasis' seminal live shows at Knebworth in 1996.