The Stone Roses at Heaton Park 2012: three days of spectacular homecoming shows, in which Ian Brown and the boys proved that they’re back and sounding bigger and better than ever before. And, if seeing the Roses play together in Manchester once more 16 years after they split wasn’t enough, there was also Liam singing Oasis songs for the first time since 2009, Lily Allen gracing us with her presence and reminding all and sundry why she’s such a killer popstar, and awesome sets from a stellar supporting cast including the likes of Primal Scream and The Vaccines. Relive the highlights below with a selection of the best photos from the weekend…
Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
King Monkey, percussive instruments in hand, surveying the adoring masses. The Roses played to 75,000 crowds each night. Photo: NME
Only one Reni hat? Surely some mistake… Photo: NME
Brown made a point of attacking the Diamond Jubilee celebrations during the gigs, dedicating ‘Elizabeth My Dear’ to “those parasites down the road… celebrating 60 years of tyranny.” Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Is this what you expected, Justin? The Vaccines warm up the mammoth crowd for the main event… Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
What a mighty fine moustache. Although given the queues for booze this weekend, we wouldn’t advise wasting a single drop. Photo: NME
The Vaccines onstage. If you missed them at Heaton Park, then fear not – they’ll also be playing at this year’s T In The Park, which is taking place July 6 – 8 in Balado Park, Kinross. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
A fan proudly shows off his allegiance – and saves himself the bother of having to join the colossal queues which snaked towards the merch tent all weekend long. Photo: NME
Liam Gallagher leads Beady Eye onstage. The singer famously said that he’d sell hot dogs just to be part of the Roses’ homecoming celebration – who’s slightly sad we didn’t get to see that happen? Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Thousands of punters join forces for a mass sing-along. The Heaton Park gigs are the fastest-selling shows in British history. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Liam belting out some tunes: hearing him sing Oasis tunes for the first time in yonks was one of the highlights of a stonking three days. Photo: NME
How rude. Photo: NME
I fucking love a challenge Manchester, Stone Roses crowd that was the bollox!!!!” tweeted Professor Green after his support slot. It’s hard to disagree…. Photo: NME
We’re not sure what this fella’s more amazed at: his heroes onstage, or those eye-watering t-shirts to his left. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
One of the best surprises of the weekend: Lily Allen turned up to duet with Professor Green on ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’. Boy, have we missed her. Photo: NME
Stagefright? Pah! The Professor looking rather nonchalant backstage. Photo: NME
The Vaccines’ second album, ‘The Vaccines Come Of Age’, is out on September 3. Of the album, Justin Young told NME: “I don’t think there’s any danger of us making the same record twice. But I think anything people found attractive about us the first time round has been retained.” We can’t wait… Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
You wouldn’t think John Squire had 75,000 people hanging on his every note, would you? He’s looking impressively non-plussed here, given the circumstances. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Singer Hollie Cook – a former member of The Slits, and the daughter of Sex Pistols’ drummer Paul Cook to boot – doing her thing onstage. Photo: Andy Willsher/NME
Rain? Something tells us this pair were having too good a time to be bothered by the miserable weather at Heaton Park over the weekend Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
The Clash’s Mick Jones playing as part of The Justice Tonight Band. Last year, the group – which also features Peter Wylie and The Farm – went on a UK tour to raise awareness for the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Bob Marley’s backing group The Wailers played third on the bill on each of the three days at Heaton Park.Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Ian Brown giving it the ol’ finger jab from the stage. Although we think he’d have a hard time picking out just one person from that huge throng…Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Look at that crowd! Over the weekend, The Stone Roses played to a whopping 225,000 people, which is about 50,000 more than attended last year’s Glastonbury Festival. Photo: NME
Reni gives young drummers everywhere a lesson in stagecraft. Check out his bass drums, emblazoned with the lemon logo familiar from ‘The Stone Roses’ artwork. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Plan B, here, rattling through the more aggressive sounds of his forthcoming new album ‘Ill Manors’… Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
…But he also found time to don his natty suit and showcase the smoother strains of ‘The Defamation Of Strickland Banks’, too. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Kid British chilling out backstage. They had the honour of opening up for The Stone Roses on Friday’s gig. Photo: Andy Willsher/NME
Mani can’t believe he’s performing on stage with The Stone Roses again. Unsuprising, really: it had been 16 years since they split and, until the press conference last October, nobody thought we’d ever see them back on stage together again. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Speaking of Mani, here’s his old pals Primal Scream warming up for the Roses. Photo: Andy Willsher/NME
Of their Stone Roses support slot, Bobby Gillespie said: “We’re really happy to be doing Heaton Park – I think we were the first band they thought of, which is really nice, and we just wanna help make it a great day.” Photo: NME
“This is the one”: the Roses’ long-awaited homecoming gets underway. The three Heaton Park gigs will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to be there. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
We hate to be party-poopers, but this is a potential fire hazard, surely? Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
The spectacular firework display which ended each night with a bang – all to a soundtrack of Bob Marley and The Wailers’ classic ‘Redemption Song’. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
And so the most-anticipated weekend of the year draws to a close. Truly, a moment to savour for all who were there… Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Don’t forget, NME’s The Stone Roses review issue hits the newsstands on Wednesday (July 4). It’s packed full of amazing photos, special guest reviews, fans’ stories and our definitive verdict – make sure you grab a copy. Photo: Richard Johnson/NME
Still want more photos of The Stone Roses at Heaton Park?