James Watt College in Greenock opened its new state of the art recording studio and former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown helped the launch with a surprise gig. He now intends to have a very hands on role at the college, doing workshops for local kids and even recording some of his own music there. Asked by ‘Scotland Today’ correspondent Billy Sloan how his involvement came about, he said: “It came through Roddy McKenna. Roddy’s involved with the place and he signed the Roses back in ’88, kept in touch, stayed friends with Roddy and he phoned me up, told me his involvement in the place, told me what the place was about – did I fancy being a patron. major honour for me.” Scotlandtoday.scottishtv.co.uk has since removed the video.

Former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown tells Radio 1 his three children seem to be following in his footsteps. “They are pretty musical – they’re getting more and more musical,” he said. “I’ve got all the gear downstairs in my house – I’ve got drums, guitars, keyboards and all that. They love it, they love music – I’d love ’em to get into music. We’ve got our own little band – they’re good players, they’ve got a good feel for music.”