Why did The Stone Roses use a lemon as their logo?

2 May 2025, 12:00

A slice of fruit on the cover of the band's classic 1989 debut album wasn't just a random addition - it was a political statement

The Stone Roses’ debut album from 1989 is, we can all agree, an all-time classic.

Not only is it a musical masterpiece, blending indie guitar rock, dance rhythms and psychedelia, but the cover is striking and unique.

Painted by Roses guitarist John Squire, the sleeve is an abstract design in the style of American artist Jackson Pollock and features three slices of lemon laid flat on the work, with one forming the “O” in “Roses”.

The lemon went on to feature on a famous Stone Roses t-shirt and poster, and when the band released their first new song in over 20 years, All For One, a slice was used to advertise the group's imminent return.

By that point, the logo was so well-known, no other hint as to the name of the band or the song was needed.

At first, the lemons just seemed like a random addition to the painting, but there’s a meaningful story behind the fruity addition.

The painting is titled Bye Bye Badman, which is also the name of one of the tracks on the LP.

Speaking to Q magazine in 2001, Brown explained that the song was about the Paris riots of May 1968, which saw students, then workers protest the then-current government, capitalism and other political causes. 

Strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations all took place, which saw the police react violently to the protesters. The movement inspired art, writing and even music, with John Lennon’s song Revolution being one track that summed up the mood.

The Stone Roses - Bye Bye Bad Man (Audio)

Ian Brown and John Squire watched a documentary on the riots, broadcast by Channel 4 on the 20th anniversary of the original events and the imagery inspired a song.

Brown claimed that he imagined the words "Choke me, smoke the air, in this citrus-sucking sunshine I don't care" were being sung by a student protester to the face of an armed policeman.

John Squire told Q in 2001: “Ian had met this French man when he was hitching around Europe. This bloke had been in the riots, and he told Ian how lemons had been used as an antidote to tear gas.”

So the lemon is actually a symbol of protest and defiance, and form a direct link to the title “Bye Bye Badman”

The lemons have lived on - when the band reunited in 2012, you could even buy a Stone Roses jacket that features the Bye Bye Badman artwork, complete with the citrus fruit all present and correct. Even Ian Brown rocked the coat during the Roses' performance at V 2012.