Bassist Simone Marie Butler has announced her departure from Primal Scream.
READ MORE: Primal Scream’s Simone Butler on her “eye-opening” new documentary, ‘Year Of The Dog’
Butler first joined the band as a full time member in 2012 after late bassist Mani, quit to rejoin The Stone Roses the previous year.
Announcing her departure on Instagram, she wrote: “I want to thank everyone who I’ve had the pleasure to play in front of for the last 13 years with Primal Scream. It truly has been an amazing ride with genuinely beautiful people.
She went to say that she shared “so so many incredible times, laughs and experiences. That’s the dream right there. Bobby [Gillespie], Andrew [Innes] and the band are incredible musicians and people.”
Butler added: “Going forward I will no longer be playing with the band and shall miss that, but I truly wish them all the very best for the future. I’m incredibly grateful to have been part of this band for so long, to have travelled the entire world, to meet the most amazing people and amazing fans and to play music I love and learn so much from the guys as musicians and performers. It’s been an incredible learning curve.
“Primal Scream’s music meant a lot to me even before I was playing those iconic bass lines and when I got that call to audition it felt like divine timing so I’d like to thank Bobby and Andrew for taking a chance on me all those years ago. I love you all and although not on stage, I’ll always be part of the scream family.”
Butler didn’t play on Primal Scream’s ‘XTRMNTR’ album shows, which caused controversy after claims of antisemitism were aimed at the band during a recent concert, at the Camden Roundhouse. Shortly after their forthcoming show at Trentham Estate was cancelled.
Despite that she did play at the band’s Manchester’s Warehouse Project shortly after Mani’s death where Primal Scream paid tribute to their former bassist by performing ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’ in his hometown.
Butler also expressed her sadness following Mani’s passing writing: “Truly in shock at this. An incredible loss to everyone who knew and loved him. The moment u met Mani u loved him. The most brilliant and wickedly sharp sense of humour and the biggest heart and generosity. The smile in that first pics was so absolutely him. He called me his scorpio bass sister. My heart is breaking for his boys, family and loved ones. Was meant to see him tmro in Manchester.
“A terrible and sad loss. An amazing person, so so loved by everyone all over the world X just heartbreaking.”
More recently, she spoke about his funeral in another post writing: “Today was the most palpable testament of how much love one person can spread just by being their truly genuine brilliant self. Words of love said by every single person, people gathering in the streets to make it known how much Mani meant to them, fans on scooters leading the cortège.”
She added: “When I joined the Scream and Mani started to come and watch shows I’d be tentatively hanging in the dressing room while his jokes and laughter set the tone and thinking to myself ‘Jesus don’t fk anything up tonight’ and then one night he came out with ‘you go and smash it sister I fkin love you, but it is like watching yer ex bird being fkd by the new guy’. We all burst into laughter and I knew at that point he was a stone cold legend.”
In 2021, she made a film about homeless people and their pets entitled Year Of The Dog.
She told NME at the time: “I wanted to get something out there to challenge the stigma that comes along with homelessness and rough sleepers, and these people owning dogs.”
Butler added: “As a friend said to me a while back, one minute you’ve got a dog and the next you’ve got a member of the family who you’d die for. In a situation of being homeless, people can be devoid of human interaction and connection, but the dog and the community that it brings gives them a sense of belonging. I can’t imagine a lonelier or more dangerous place than being on the streets, so that relationship is so important.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United paid tribute to Mani, ahead of their game against Arsenal earlier this week (January 25).
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