Monday 2nd July 2012 by Michael Baggs | Photos by WENN.com

Tags: The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses are estimated to have earned £16.5million from their shows at Manchester's Heaton Park on the weekend, according to an economics report.

The reformed indie band played to 240,000 fans in Manchester over the weekend following a string of warm-up shows across Europe. The band battled bad weather on Saturday night for a spectacular show.

The band earned £12.5million from ticket sales, with an additional £4million earned in merchandise sales at the three shows across the weekend.

"We don't know how long the second coming of the Stone Roses will last, but these gigs are providing a boost to the economy that Manchester has been waiting for," said Dr Alexander Roy of UK think tank New Economy. "They have generated an estimated £23 million over three days, and showcased Manchester music to a new generation."

Manic Street Preachers last week told Gigwise that The Stone Roses deserved every penny they earned.

"If anyone's going to criticise them for earning that amount of money i'd just tell them they were talking absolute rubbish," said James Dean Bradfield. "For me the Roses just feel like those classic footballers that didn't make as much money as other people. They're like Kevin Keegan. It feels like they're making the money that they always deserved. I'm dead happy for them."

Below: The Stone Roses, live at Heaton Park