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Song · The Stone Roses

“Fools Gold” by The Stone Roses

Released 1989

“Fools Gold” by The Stone Roses appears on 44 radio countdowns from 15 stations between 1989 and 2023. It was first released in 1989. Its best result is #1 on the CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #22 alternative song of 1990 and #474 alternative song of all time.

44countdowns
15stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
1989–2023years charted

Watch

The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (StoneRosesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Fools Gold" slid out on Silvertone on 13 November 1989, sharing a double A-side with "What the World Is Waiting For", and it was the moment the Stone Roses' Madchester groove went properly overground: it became their first UK top-ten single, peaking at number eight and hanging around the top 75 for fourteen weeks.

Ian Brown and John Squire wrote it, and John Leckie produced and mixed it, and the whole thing is built to go on and on: a loping, loose-hipped beat that could run all night, a rubbery bassline, wah-soaked guitar curling around the edges and a hazy vocal floating over the top. It sounds like indie guitars wandering onto the dancefloor and deciding to stay.

Outside Britain it turned up on some versions of the band's self-titled debut album, and it arrived between "She Bangs the Drums" and "One Love".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 23 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1989 50
1990 5 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 33 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91
1990 1 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 118 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1990 6 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1990) 100
1991 240 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 288 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 15 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 7 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991) 100
1992 479 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 59 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 167 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 246 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 218 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 39 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 309 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 181 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 285 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 218 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 1356 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 183 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1356 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1358 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 212 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2002 1357 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 898 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1343 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 381 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1343 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 296 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 255 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 1343 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 266 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 148 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 345 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 408 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 1938 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1910 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1945 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 76 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2010 1999 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2021 79 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2023 446 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Also listed as: Fools Gold 9.53; Fool's Gold.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

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