The English Roses book and its characters were named after Madonna's daughter Lourdes' school friends at Lycée Franco-Libanais Tripoli. It tells the story of four friends who are jealous of a girl called Binah. However, they come to know that Binah's life is not easy and decide to include her in their group. A moral tale, while writing "The English Roses" Madonna drew from her own personal experiences, including her mother's death at an early age. Jeffrey Fulvimari spontaneous line drawings illustrated the book. The book was released simultaneously in more than 100 countries worldwide and translated into 42 languages. Promotional activities included
The Stone Roses rehearsing for some time without a band name, Squire came up with "The Stone Roses". Several stories later emerged suggesting that the band had initially been called "English Rose" or that the name was somehow linked to The Rolling Stones, but these were untrue, Brown explaining "No, I don't know where that English Rose story came from. John thought up the name "Stone Roses" - something with a contrast, two words that went against each other". The band rehearsed for six months, during which time Wolstencroft had been auditioning for other bands, and he left to join Terry Hall's band