Stone Roses shock fans with release of first single in 21 years

The Manchester band, who are set to headline shows in the city and T in the Park later this year, have not released new music since the mid-1990s.

Posters featuring the band’s lemon logo appeared across Manchester ahead of the announcement - signalling to fans that big news was imminent.

And on Thursday they simply tweeted: “THE STONE ROSES WILL RELEASE A NEW SINGLE TONIGHT AT 8PM.”

A spokeswoman for the band would not give any further details on the single, including how or in what format the single will be released.

Tantalising images featuring nothing but Ian Brown and co’s famous lemon logo started appearing on digital advertising screens in their native Manchester earlier this week.

And a printed advert – again showing the lemon against a plain white background with no text – popped up in Victoria Gardens in Leeds city centre.

Fronted by Ian Brown, the four-piece are often hailed as the inspiration for a generation of bands.

The Stone Roses made a triumphant comeback in 2012, having announced in 2011 that they were reforming after an acrimonious split 15 years earlier.

The reunion was one which many fans thought would never happen after their bitter fall-out.

They had long met rumours of a revival with assurances that the band would not reform.