When the Stone Roses reunited in 2013, the band played its only American date at the Coachella music festival in California. The festival’s promoters had enough confidence in the existence of American Stone Roses fans that they booked the band as headliners. As the Stone Roses started to play, one could easily walk to the front of the nearly empty field. How could one of the most important guitar bands in the UK be met by a collective American shrug? Coachella once again showed that when it comes to the Stone Roses something is lost in translation.

For the British, the Stone Roses feature on the soundtrack of your life, part of the cultural DNA. For the few British attendees at Coachella, seeing the Stone Roses play to a field of indifference is much closer to what an American Stone Roses fan experienced from the start. Without the cheering crowds, you can really hear the band. While Stone Roses concerts are legendary for life-altering experiences, the live performances are just as legendary for sounding terrible. British audiences have seemed not to care because the Stone Roses have great songs, “attitude” and an audience that creates a rapturous atmosphere. At a Stone Roses concert it is the collective experience that matters. Being a Stone Roses fan unites in the UK.

In the US, the Stone Roses are largely unknown. It is the experience of otherness. The American Stone Roses fan is a rare breed: a subset of a subset. They are a small fraction of the American anglophiles of the late 80s and early 90s who were buying imported music at specialty shops and seeing hugely popular British bands at tiny clubs. Most of them now are well over the age of 30.

The American Stone Roses fan is a rare breed: a subset of a subset

In 1989 when I Wanna Be Adored was released, most Americans were completely uninterested in British music and the internet wasn’t there to grease the wheels of communication. The Stone Roses’ “Madchester” happened at the height of the divide between the American alternative college rock scene and the British indie dance revolution. Alt Rock was loud and angry. Indie was sensitive and intelligent, but you could dance to it at the same time.

To most of the anglophile listeners, the Stone Roses were just another good British band. It meant the small section of the American listening public that was aware of the Stone Roses were fairly casual in their fandom. Very few would identify the Stone Roses as one of their favorite bands. In the UK, the band was a cultural phenomenon, cocky working-class heroes with swagger. The Stone Roses’ surly attitude and temper tantrums were celebrated in Britain, but left Americans cold.

Within this already small group of American indie music fans, there was a contingent of hardcore Stone Roses fans. They embraced that special Manchester braggadocio. American Stone Roses fans could relate to the petulant attitude, the bravado, and working-class rebelliousness. Meeting another true believer could produce a friendship lasting decades. As Roger, a Stone Roses fan, explained: “We were in our 20s. We loved the Stone Roses and started a band. The Stone Roses were an introduction to the history of psychedelic pop. They spoke well of their history and low of their peers … perfect for your early 20s.”

American Stone Roses fans are a small but fervent cult. While bands like Oasis eventually got their due, Stone Roses always stayed underground in the US, something to be read about but rarely experienced first hand. An American Stone Roses fan had to rely on recordings and mythology. Even with only two albums, fans have extensive collections. One American fan has seven copies of the debut album: original vinyl and CD, 10th anniversary edition, 20th anniversary edition, DVD video version, Flaming Lips cover version, and the USB Lemon (a copy of the remastered 20th anniversary box set including artwork and bonus material in the shape of a lemon).

Despite American Stone Roses fans being such a rare breed, having the band play Madison Square Garden in June could be a wise decision. It won’t just be American devotees. New York City is close enough to the UK for British fans to fly out and make a weekend of it in the same way more British fans attend Primavera Sound in Barcelona than Spaniards. Stone Roses at Madison Square Garden might just provide the American Stone Roses fan with the experience he or she always dreamed of: to finally see the Stone Roses surrounded by people who love them, singing all the words and to be part of an atmosphere of unity, a feeling so powerful that you can hardly hear the band playing and it’s all the better for it.

Stone Roses play Madison Square Garden on 30 June, tickets go on sale today at 10am