It took five years for them to follow up that incredible debut album, but no one ever expected a third record back in 1996 when the band slowly fell apart.
But now, The Stone Roses could be about to produce what the world has been waiting for - in the form of a brand new album and tour.
Mysterious posters of lemons - prominent in much of their historic artwork by guitarist John Squire - appeared all around their native Manchester this morning, leading to huge and fevered speculation. The word is that an announcement will be made at 7pm tonight revealing all.
The band's reformation in 2012 was arguably one of the most unexpected developments in musical history given the previous animosity between Squire and frontman Ian Brown, coupled with the almost total disappearance from public life of drummer Reni. Nonetheless, they came together to play a series of huge shows, documented fantastically in the 2013 Shane Meadows film The Stone Roses: Made of Stone.
The last gig of what became an extensive tour was in June 2013, when they played Glasgow Green.
In the excitement of the band reuniting, it was often forgotten that they signed a new album deal with Universal in the UK (and Sony worldwide), promising new songs. However, Noel Gallagher stoked the rumour mill a week ago when on Soccer AM he was asked if he knew what was going on with the band: "Yes, I know exactly what's going on... They're blooming."
However, with nothing confirmed - yet - it could be a new album, it could be a new album and a tour, it could be just a tour, it could be a Glastonbury performance next summer, it could be two shows at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium or, as these wags suggest, it could be something much more mundane. We shall soon see....
