The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored

I don't have to sell my soul. He's already in me.

Album: The Stone Roses (debut album)
Recorded: London, England
Genre: Indie Rock, Baggy, Alternative Dance 
Single Release: September 1991 (UK) (US release in 1989)
Length: 4.52
Producer: John Leckie
Vocalist: Ian Brown (26 at the time of release)
Label: Silverstone Records & RCA

Music Video


Live in Blackpool


Live in Manchester from 1985

Charts, Streams & Sales

UK (singles): Number 20 (certified platinum in 2021)
Spotify: Over 130 million
YouTube Music: Over 60 million

Credits & Gear

Bass, drums, guitar, vocals

Details

• 'I Wanna Be Adored'  is largely instrumental except for the repeated lines of "I don't have to sell my soul, he's already in me" and "I wanna be adored" which is referring to the old trope of a vocalist selling his soul to the devil.
  
  It must have been thrilling for a young band to play for thousands of fans chanting their names on a regular basis. Maybe Brown knew the changing tides of fame were dangerous, which is why he frames the experience as being provided by devil. As if he has made a pact fully aware of the hell that awaits him, so he makes every second of his stardom count, basking in the adulation while he can.
  
  If heaven exists, it isn't a place for musicians, especially the young ones, and The Stone Roses came to the fore during the peak of the drug-fuelled Madchester scene.
  
  There is religious imagery in 'I Wanna Be Adored' that is centred around the sinful nature of fame — of wanting to be adored and celebrated. The Bible lists worshipping false idols as one of the Ten Commandments. The band, whose sophomore album is titled The Second Coming, in a reference to resurrection of Jesus Christ, have a fondess for religious iconography and in the music video for 'I Wanna Be Adored' walk around the desert like a baggy, Mancunian version of Jesus and his disciples. 
  
  The video takes place in a desolate landscape. The camera pans slowly to reveal a vista under maroon skies which is free of life, and populated only by sand dunes. It creates an air of mystery, which captures the viewers attention and lasts for roughly 40 seconds while primordial noises swirl.
  
  All of a sudden, music and people (the Roses) are there. These 40 seconds of barren, ambient sound draw a parallel with the Gospel of Matthew that tells us how Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the Judean desert, and how during that time he was tempted to make a deal with the devil. Jesus declined and Brown didn't need to accept. He already had the devil in him. Fame is something he had wanted for a long time.
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