‘When life deals you a pair of twos, you must get your game face on’
11:51, 22 Nov 2025Updated 12:24, 22 Nov 2025
Andy Burnham with Mani and Peter Reid at a fundraiser(Image: Paul Husband)
As Madchester indie royalty, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield is best-known for creating a musical legacy with The Stone Roses that spanned the globe.
But the much-loved bassist – who sadly died this week at the age of 63 – had a hidden philanthropic side which often went under the radar to the world at large.
His perhaps lesser-known, but equally as important, legacy gave hope to thousands – and it came directly from the heart.
Despite rising to stardom and world-acclaim through his music, with The Stone Roses and later Primal Scream, Mani’s commitment to good causes and charities in Greater Manchester never wavered.
When The Stone Roses bassist passed away on Thursday (November 20) it was almost exactly two years since the death of his wife Imelda. The Crumpsall-born rocker launched a number of major charity fundraisers with her following her bowel cancer diagnosis in 2020.
Tragically, she passed away in 2023.
Grateful recipients of their fundraising work together included The Christie in Manchester, The Stockport Charitable Trust and Maggie’s cancer care charity.
Mani and his wife, Imelda(Image: PR pics submitted)
Mani said his wife’s diagnosis made him ‘re-evaluate everything’ and led to a new-found but unstinting appreciation of the NHS and its staff.
He told the Manchester Evening News ahead of a charity night: “When life deals you a pair of twos, you must get your game face on! The past two years since my wife’s diagnosis have been brutal in so many ways, but it’s also opened our eyes to so many things. This disease needs to be eradicated – we feel duty bound to do our bit to achieve this. “
There were online auctions and fundraisers.
The couple auctioned off rare Stone Roses memorabilia, with lots including signed tour posters and prints, platinum discs and even a pair of used – and signed – drumsticks used by Stone Roses drummer Alan ‘Reni’ Wren during the Heaton Park comeback concerts of 2012.
Oasis platinum discs, a John Squire guitar, a pair of David Beckham’s football boots and Peter Savile’s original cassette artwork for Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album all went under the hammer, with Blur and the Foo Fighters also donating guitars and gold discs.
Portrait of Mani and Imelda by Stan Chow ahead of a fundraising ball(Image: Stan Chow)
Father-of-two Mani reportedly said he had ‘shamelessly’ cast out a net over his famous pals. Coldplay and Chris Martin even donated VIP concert tickets.
The only auction raised more than £100,00 for The Christie and the NHS charity in Stockport, with a gala evening held at The Kimpton Hotel ballroom in Manchester.
Fundraising evenings were held in aid of Maggie’s at The Edwardian Hotel in Manchester, with the great and good of Manchester flocking to buy tables and lend their support.
Imelda sadly passed away aged just 52. Her death was announced on November 18, 2023, with Mani passing away almost two years to the day after his wife. His death, at his home in Heaton Moor, Stockport, was announced on Thursday (November 20). A cause of death hasn’t been confirmed.
Maniu’s death was announced on Thursday(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Mani kept up the charity work after Imelda’s death.
In July this year, he donated a guitar as part of ‘Music For The Senses’ – a city-wide art trail from Wild in Art, which has previously worked on the Bee In The City and the BookBench trails in Manchester, which featured a trail of 60 guitars as well as art installations.
Mani’s guitar was positioned in the shop window of the N Brown department store on Lever Street, in the Northern Quarter, with all the guitars going on to be auctioned off for charity.
Mani’s passing has led to a groundswell of tributes.
The couple, however, will be fondly remembered for far more than the music, as cancer survivors with no knowledge of the Roses or Primal Scream have benefitted from their tireless charity work.