Richard Dyers Star Theory applied to The Stone Roses

Richard Dyers star theory is based on the idea that icons and celebrities are purely manufactured by corporations and institutions for the benefit of that company financially.

The theory is split up into 3 different sections :

1. Audiences and institutions
2. Constitutions
3. Hegemony

1: Audiences and Institutions

The idea that stars are made for money purposes alone , a fake character is created for the benefit of the audience. A target audience will be chosen by the corporation and the artists/bands music , attitude and clothing will all be altered depending on this audience. This is all in an effort to make the a recognised household name and create a large following.The stone rose for example : there first manager who was a famous hairdresser from the Manchester area Gareth Evans. He had no interest in music whatsoever and no fashion sense according to the roses. He tried to change their image by getting them onto big time recording labels such as revolver. But he put them in a very unfair contract which restricted the band significantly. He attempted to change the bands appearance to gain them more followers within Manchester's music scene , but the band members decided to stick with how they dressed and this became the signature clothing for the 'madchester' scene. This therefore goes against Richard Dyers theory as the band stuck with how they dresses and did not try to appeal to any audience. They stayed true to their roots so to speak.

2.Constitutions

This idea is slightly similar to the idea of audiences and institutions however this concentrates more on how a company such as a recording label or management label suppresses the artist or artists and changes them into their idea of a star. When applying this to the stone roses the recording labels wanted to change their music slightly they were adamant on putting in clippings of sound that were not recorded live with the song. However the Roses decided against this and just made their music solely on how they wanted it to sound which obviously turned out to be a good decision as they gained many fans in doing so . There first album proceeded to go platinum three times. This shows that bands are better off to be left alone to record their music how they want to , and not how a company believes they should sound.

3.Hegemony

This idea describes the way that politics and the world around us control what we do where we do it and how we do it. Plus the idea that we should all go along with our lives and not stray from the norm. When applying this to the Stone Roses they went completely against this idea and lived their lives how they wanted to. This led to retaliation against their manager , they entered his office in 1990 and proceeded to throw paint all over him and his girlfiend , and aslo smash and cover their cars in paint. This shows to an extreme extent that the roses were not going to live normally and fit in with society and if they thought something was wrong they were going to retaliate against it.