NARDWUAR: Mani, what do you think of Gay Dad?
MANI: Um, I can't say I've ever really heard of them, you know? I've heard the name, but I haven't heard any songs.

The reason why I mention that is because Denise Johnson from Gay Dad, she does backups for Gay Dad-
Yeah, she's singing for them now, isn't she?

She was part of Primal Scream. Was she in the band when you were in the band?
No, she had just departed kind of just before I joined.

Because I interviewed her recently and she said she loved Primal Scream and was kind of disappointed because she thought with 'Exterminator' you guys were trying to sound like the Chemical Brothers or something. What do you think about that? You actually have the Chemical Brothers on your LP!
Um, I think she's talking out of her ass!

When she was in the band, didn't you have any of those kind of leanencies?
No, the way it works with us is, we don't really start out with any kind of ideas of a plan or anything like that. We just let the music sort of evolve in the studio and what have you. I don't know. I think saying we sound like Chemical Brothers is just of a bit of an easy answer, you know what I mean? I think it goes way deeper than that.

Didn't you use to practice at an old abandoned textile mill in Guy-Bridge?
Yeah, yes, we did too, yeah. A lot of those places are being used for band rehearsal spaces and what have you, which is good.

It's really an interesting area where you practice, like Droylson, Audenshaw, Openshaw like where Davey Jones of the Monkees is from, Openshaw!
Yeah, well, I'm surprised you know so much about my hometown, man! This is kind of the area where I'm kind of from, you know what I mean?

Herman Hermits, they're from Manchester?
Yeah. Right. Yeah.

Is Boddington's really 'The Cream of Manchester'?
Um, a lot of people would agree with you. Yeah.

Do you drink Tizer at all?
I love Tizer! I mean that! (laughs)

That's a soda, right?
Yeah, there's that and Iron Brew which is excellent as well, man.

Is that on the Primal Scream rider?
Um, I haven't seen it yet, but it should be. It's the best hangover cure known to man.

When you come to Canada, on your rider, is there any stuff that you request especially because you know you're in Canada?
Mmmm. We could just ask for a moose, couldn't we, man?

What happened to the legendary Hacienda Club? Like what is it now?
Well, the Hacienda, it's been empty. It's no longer a club. There was talk of people wanting to like knock it down and put a car park there but there's been some people like really kicking off about that idea so I think now they are going to do it up into living spaces and like a mini hotel or something weird like that.

Do you know what the deal was with the Inspiral Carpets psychedelic spinning cow head? What was the deal on that, Mani?
Well (laughs) that was the extremely fertile bizarre mind of Clint Boon at work there! He's always thinking up of weird scams like that. He's that kind of guy.

Mani, what's Paul Gallagher like? I talked to him once, and he was pretty insane! That's not Noel, not Liam, but Paul, the older brother.
That Paul's okay, you know. Once again he is a very good friend of mine. I like him a lot. He's a great guy, man, he's a good guy.

Because I was kind of joking to him about his book "Brothers" and he threatened to come over to Canada and beat me over the head with a snowboard.
(laughs) Oh man those Gallaghers, that's what they're like, man!

What do you think about Chrissy Hynde's protest against the leather at the Gap, Mani? Because in a recent 'Q Magazine', you were pictured wearing leather beside Miss Sweden.
Yeah.

So what do you think about Chrissy Hynde's protest against leather at the Gap?
Well, you know, if she wants to protest against it, then that's her thing, but you know, cows are just dumb animals. Let's kill them. Let's eat them. Let's wear their fucking skin, man.

Mani, Bobby Gillespie said he would die for the Jesus and Mary Chain. Would you, Mani, die for Primal Scream?
Oh, absolutely man, yeah. Absolutely.

And didn't the Moors Murders' Ian Brady and Myra Hindley live in Gorton, on Garlick Street?
Yeah, there is still so much resentment for those two bastards in Manchester, man. They gotta burn.

Do you think they should release Myra Hindley because she is old and weak and ill?
Do you know what they should do? Just release Myra Hindley into the street and say, "Here's Myra Hindley," and just let the people deal with her.

How would you describe your haircut, Mani?
It's like a floppy '60s bowl cut right now.

1963 Mersey Beat.
Yeah, man, there's a bit of Brian Jones going on a bit around there you know.

Now, what's the deal with Bobby's hair? Is there a band called 'Bobby Gillespie's Hair'?
I think there is you know, because I keep seeing--- some girl writes into the music magazines and that's how she signs herself. Yeah. That's Strange.

A few years ago when you were in the Stone Roses, didn't you guys fly all the way to Barcelona to watch Man United get thumped four-nil at Nou Camp Stadium?
Yeah man, well you know, that was a bad night all around, but we're massive massive football fans you know.

Stone Roses vs the Farm -- Mani and Reni vs. Pete and Keith -- what do you think? Did you have any rivalries with the Farm at all, when you were in the Stone Roses, Mani?
Yeah, we made up with Peter and the boys here and there. Yeah, we always kind of got on like a house on fire. It's good to see Liverpool come out with a band because all this football rivalry, you know the rivalry thing, and that's all it is, it's just football, but at the end of the day, Scousers and Mancs are very, very similar people. Uh, yeah, there was never any rivalry on the music front.

Now, looking back to the Stone Roses, you rode it out right to the end. Do you feel, Mani, that the Stone Roses "George Bested" it?
We did, most definitely. Yeah, a lot of unfulfilled potential there, but shit happens in life, you know. I can remember when we came to play Toronto and it was not the best of gigs and we really weren't really getting along too well. I think myself and Ian Brown, we preserved its life a little bit too long. When John Squire left, we should have just called it a day there and then, you know?

How bad was John Squire on cocaine?
Uh, not as bad as people would you make out really. It's... a lot of bullshit. No, John's a very controlled guy. I still see him, and he wasn't that bad at all. I think it's just been blown out of all proportion really, you know?

Because I guess I was just curious ,what was the largest amount of cocaine you have ever seen John sniff and where was this?
Uh, it would probably be when we were recording the 'Second Coming LP' and ,um , it wasn't that large an amount, man. Not as much as the weed that Ian Brown and bloody Reni used to smoke.

So at the end of all of the recording, at the end of the end of the end of the Stone Roses, was there any cash left over at all?
Um, no, money was a bad thing because we all spent loads of money going through all these bloody legal cases you know. And alot of people around Manchester, they look at me and they think, "Oh, that guy's a millionaire." Because they don't see how your payments work out ,you know. They just see you selling shitloads of seeing loads of records and see you on the TV, and think you are a millionaire. But no, there was no money really left over. Funnily enough, we've only just now started receiving royalties from Silvertone for the first LP. Can you believe that, eleven years on?

Did you end up flying back and forth between LA and England in the Stone Roses during that long period when you were recording the album? Because it is quite an amazing story, you know, taking so long to get the record out.
Yeah, we just got too many pounds and just went bonkers with it for a couple of years, you know?

What was one of your favourite instances here, just winding up with Mani of Primal Scream, when you were in the Stone Roses?
I remember we had a competition to see who could spend ten grand the quickest and we all flew to the south of France and we chartered a helicopter and we were staying in a six hundred pounds a night hotel suites and what have you. We all just got a little bit too Duran Duran for a week and it was good fun.

And who won?
I won.

All right! And you're Mani of Primal Scream, in Toronto but not coming to Vancouver. Also just curious, do you have any good Paula Yates stories?
Uh, I've never met her but I can remember she used to be booking into hotel rooms and phoning Liam Gallagher up. I think she really wanted to shag Liam, you know, and Liam had to be on his toes to avoid her quick, you know.

And, Mani of Primal Scream, why should people care about Primal Scream?
Because we care about people and we support people man, and we're real.

Well, thanks very much, keep on rockin' in the free world, and doot doola doot doo.
Thank you, Nardwuar.

Actually, Mani, doot doola doot doo....
Doot doot.