Stone Roses, Manchester Reunion Concert: Band Bashes Royal Family, Plays to 70,000 Fans

If you're going to make a political statement, why not do it when you've got the ears of 70,000 people? Last night (June 29), Contact Music reports, as the Stone Roses took the stage in Manchester, England, for the first of three hotly anticipated hometown reunion shows, singer Ian Brown dissed the British royal family, telling fans in no uncertain terms what he thinks of the queen's recent Diamond Jubilee.

"This song's dedicated to those parasites down the road [in London]... celebrating 60 years of tyranny," Brown said, readying the capacity crowd in Heaton Park for "Elizabeth My Dear," a song that recently made our list of 12 Great Anti-Royalty Songs.

Joining Brown and his iconic band -- which will continue touring throughout the summer -- were Primal Scream and reggae legends the Wailers, who Brown tapped to play all three nights.