He made a quip at the audience when on stage with Bobby Gillespie
By Liberty Dunworth 24th November 2025
Mani and Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream arrive at the NME Awards 2008. CREDIT: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Following the death of The Stone Roses legend Mani, fans have been re-sharing a brilliant clip of him at the NME Awards in 2008.
- READ MORE: Gary “Mani” Mounfield, 1962-2025: baggy bass hero whose melodies made the Madchester movement
The legendary bassist was best recognised for his time in The Stone Roses and formerly Primal Scream. He died last Thursday (November 20), aged 63.
News of his passing was shared by his brother Greg, who wrote on social media: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce the sad passing of my brother gary mani mounfield.” Tributes then came in from the likes of Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown, Primal Scream’s Simone Butler, Liam Gallagher and many more.
Now, fans have been remembering their fond memories of the charismatic rock icon by resharing footage of Mani over the years. One in particular that has been making the rounds online is a clip of him at the NME Awards in 2008, which perfectly shows his big personality and tongue-in-cheek humour.
Posted numerous times on different accounts on Instagram over the weekend, the clip shows the musician taking to the stage with his Primal Scream bandmate Bobby Gillespie to present the award for Best Album. He began by making a quip at how quiet the audience had been up until then.
“How are you all doing? Fucking hell, you woke up,” he said, before joking: “It’s been like a Leonard Cohen B-side at a snooker tournament in fucking space.”
After the crowd burst into laughter at the jab, he went on to say: “Right then, that’s more like it. Alright, what are we here for? It’s the nominations for the Best Album which isn’t a [Primal] Scream album this year.”
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“RIP Mani what a character sadly missed,” one fan commented on the post, while another agreed and shared: “Amazing. What an absolute legend.”
“Mani you fuckin turned my world upside down, I will miss you immensely,” a third commented. “Thank you so much for your talent and your staying true to your roots man, RIP my friend.”
Remembering the time at the 2008 ceremony, The Cribs also shared a picture of Mani on the night and recalled an interaction they had with him while at the NME Awards.
In a post on X/Twitter, the band shared that Mani came up to them and asked what it was like “to be in a band with a legend”. Assuming that he meant Smiths legend Johnny Marr, Mani then went on to joke: “nah mate, I meant your kid”.
In their tribute to the Stone Roses legend, The Cribs went on to describe Mani as “so funny” and “a really nice guy”.
At the @NME awards, 2008.
Mani: “what’s it like to be in a band with a legend, then?”Me: “yeah, it’s been great working with Johnny”Mani: “nah mate, I meant your kid!” 😂
So funny. RIP to a really nice guy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/DzQr6GvKUu
— The Cribs (@thecribs) November 20, 2025
Since news of Mani’s death, both Oasis and Richard Ashcroft paid respects to the musician during their respective performances in Brazil over the weekend. The latter dedicated The Verve classic ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ to him, while Liam and Noel Gallagher honoured him on ‘Live Forever’.
Also this weekend, My Bloody Valentine kicked off their first tour in seven years in Dublin and dedicated the gig to the icon, and Primal Scream paid tribute to Mani at their Manchester Warehouse Project show.
In a tribute to the late musician, NME described how Mani “held a rare place in the world of bass heroes” as he “defined a scene with some of the most infectious and hypnotic basslines ever recorded.”
“Both weighty and melodic, Mani’s bewitching basslines became the bedrock and, often, the driving force of The Roses’ breakthrough tracks ‘Elephant Stone’, ‘Made Of Stone’ and ‘She Bangs The Drums’, and underpinned the band’s low-slung funk development on ‘Fools Gold’ – arguably a four-minute encapsulation of the entire late-’80s dance rock scene,” it read.
