It's hard to remember a breakup quite as venomous as that of Freebass. Having already lost ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke last month, former Stone Roses member Mani took to Twitter last week and called Peter Hook "a self-centred sellout reduced to hawking his mates corpse around to get paid." Now, Mani has apologized for the rant and the pair have publicly made up.
Mani, who currently plays bass for Primal Scream, issued the following statement via Freebass's official website:
"I wish to apologise unreservedly to Peter Hook and his family regarding comments made on a social networking site which was totally out of character for me. It was a venomous, spiteful reaction to a lot of things that are going on in my life right now and I chose to vent my frustrations and anger at one of my true friends in this filthy business, and ventured into territory which was none of my concern. The Freebass thing has tipped me over the edge and became the focus of my bilious rants. Twenty-two years of being tripped up, face down in the mud and being kicked in the face with an iron boot will do that to the most stable of men. I hope I haven't blown a great friendship forever. Sorry Pete."
We're not likely to be hearing more off-the-cuff outbursts from Mani anytime soon, as he has now deleted his Twitter account.
Former Joy Division/New Order bass man Hook issued a statement of his own, accepting Mani's apology. He wrote, "Mani is a great friend of mine and he always will be! I have the upmost respect for him as a person and a musician! Have none of you lot ever fallen out with somebody you love? Hooky."
Despite having cleared the air, there's no indication that Freebass will be reuniting anytime soon. While he previously said that their album was destined for the "bargain bin," Mani wrote, "I'm proud of what we achieved really. It's not often bass players get to step out of the shadows and create something from scratch, and between us we've managed it."
Pick up a digital download of the LP over at FAC51 The Haçienda.
Mani, who currently plays bass for Primal Scream, issued the following statement via Freebass's official website:
"I wish to apologise unreservedly to Peter Hook and his family regarding comments made on a social networking site which was totally out of character for me. It was a venomous, spiteful reaction to a lot of things that are going on in my life right now and I chose to vent my frustrations and anger at one of my true friends in this filthy business, and ventured into territory which was none of my concern. The Freebass thing has tipped me over the edge and became the focus of my bilious rants. Twenty-two years of being tripped up, face down in the mud and being kicked in the face with an iron boot will do that to the most stable of men. I hope I haven't blown a great friendship forever. Sorry Pete."
We're not likely to be hearing more off-the-cuff outbursts from Mani anytime soon, as he has now deleted his Twitter account.
Former Joy Division/New Order bass man Hook issued a statement of his own, accepting Mani's apology. He wrote, "Mani is a great friend of mine and he always will be! I have the upmost respect for him as a person and a musician! Have none of you lot ever fallen out with somebody you love? Hooky."
Despite having cleared the air, there's no indication that Freebass will be reuniting anytime soon. While he previously said that their album was destined for the "bargain bin," Mani wrote, "I'm proud of what we achieved really. It's not often bass players get to step out of the shadows and create something from scratch, and between us we've managed it."
Pick up a digital download of the LP over at FAC51 The Haçienda.
