DALBIR SINGH RATTAN on Tablas
Friday May 2
The John Hewitt 9.00pm Aziz Ibrahim began playing guitar even before he could pick up a spoon. The son of a Pakistani mother and father who had migrated out of their home country to find a better life, Aziz was brought up on the notorious Longsight council estate in Manchester where he still lives.

Following stints with Simply Red, he famously became the only Muslim in The Christians and then the only Asian in Asia ! In 1996 he took a job which Noel Gallagher so aptly described as ‘...the hardest job in the world...’ replacing John Squire in The Stone Roses.

As the Stone Roses imploded under the immense media scrutiny bestowed upon them, Aziz quietly formed a friendship with Ian Brown which would later be the basis for ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’ on which he had numerous songwriting credits.

This year has seen the release of Aziz’s debut album LAHORE TO LONGSIGHT. Recorded over the last 18 months at various studios around the country, the album boasts guest appearances from Paul Weller, Steve White, Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, Talvin Singh, Mani, Reni and Denise Johnson.

Tickets £6/ £5 available from the Festival Office on 028 9023 2403

www.aziz.co.uk