Spike Island (concert)

Spike Island was a concert by concert promoter^[1] Phil Jones^[2] and the Stone Roses held on 27 May 1990 in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It was never officially recorded, although bootleg audio recordings and clips have emerged online, and there were rumours that the full video of the concert existed. As of 2024, the full footage of the concert has been found and is due to be released as part of a documentary about the show. It was recorded by an employee "who had been given time off and access to a video camera". The organizers suggest that about 28,000 baggy people in bucket hats^[3] attended the concert, not including gatecrashers.^[4] The concert is considered a seminal moment for the Britpop movement that followed it. For example, Noel Gallagher of Oasis has described the concert as "the blueprint for my band."

Spike Island

Concert by The Stone Roses
Location	Spike Island, Widnes, England
Date(s)	27 May 1990

Support acts

The support^[5] act DJs included: Dave Booth,^[6][7][8] MC Tunes, Dave Haslam, Paul Oakenfold, Frankie Bones and Alphonso Buller,^[9][10] aka M.V.I.T.A..^{[citation needed]} M.V.I.T.A., also known as MVITA (Manchester Vibes In The Area)^[11] and sometimes spelled M-VITA,^[10][12][13] includes members such as Alfonso Buller (MC)^[14] and Himat 'Chester' 'The Guru' Singh.^[15][16] The support acts included a Zimbabwean drum orchestra, a ska/rock/reggae fusion band called Ruff Ruff & Ready and the reggae artist Gary Clail.^[17][18] DJ Stefano began his career as part of the MVITA Soundsystem.^[19]

2012 Comedy Film

A comedy film, called Spike Island, was released in 2012. It is set at the concert, set in May 1990, and follows a group of aspiring musicians on their journey from school to Spike Island.

Documentary Film

Martin Cornell's three hours of video footage, including soundcheck on 26 May 1990, and preparations, may be used in a documentary film about the concert.^[20] In December 2008, Martin's brother David Cornell began uploading nine short clips from the video footage to YouTube.^[21][20] The doc is being developed by freelance journalist Matt Mead and director and producer Paul Crompton.^[20] In the 2013 Shane Meadows documentary, about The Stone Roses, a DVD extra include 10 minutes of this video footage.^[20]

In popular culture

In 2025, Pulp released a single called "Spike Island", which is lyrically inspired by the gig.