Stone Roses gig to be resurrected on film

The celebrated Spike Island show by the Stone Roses is to be immortalised in a new movie. The 1990 concert was a high point in the indie rock band's career, with nearly 30,000 people flocking to the outdoor gig near Widnes, Cheshire. It will be the backdrop for a film being made by Tom Green, director of Channel 4's Misfits.

The gig – affectionately known as the "baggy Woodstock" – came as the Madchester scene was at its height. The Mancunian band were flying high on the back of their top 10 hit "Fools Gold" and an acclaimed debut album.

The quartet had played a major show at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom a few months earlier, then went one better with their own mini-festival. Green's film follows a group of young council estate hopefuls in an unsigned band, Shadowcaster, who head to Spike Island to see their idols. It is backed by the independent distributor Revolver.

The Madchester scene has already been depicted on screen with the Factory Records film 24-Hour Party People, which saw Steve Coogan playing the label boss and broadcaster Tony Wilson. Film-makers have promised cameo appearances in the yet-to-be-named Stone Roses movie.

Green said: "This is a raw and truly authentic rites-of-passage story. It's full of the humour, heartache, dreams and fears of being part of a brotherhood of mates, and set to the greatest record ever written."