Hall of Fame 9
Happy Mondays were formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1980. The original line up was Shaun Ryder on vocals, his brother Paul on bass, Mark Day on guitars and Paul Davis on keyboards. Mark “Bez” Berry joined the band later after befriending Shaun and became a dancer/percussionist. Rowetta Satchell joined in the early 1990’s to provide backing vocals.
The first official release from the group was the “Forty-Five E.P”, often called the “Delightful E.P” after the first track. This was released on the now infamous Factory Records in September 1986.
Manchester music impresario Tony Wilson discovered the group in a battle of the bands contest held at the Hacienda nightclub. The bands first album (are you ready for this title?) “Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)” was released in 1987. Their two following albums, “Bummed” in 1988 and “Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches” in 1990 went platinum in the UK and sold more than 350,000 copies. This put the band firmly on the map as one of the most influential bands to come out of the UK in the early 90’s. Two singles, “Step On” and “Kinky Afro” both reached number 5 in the UK singles charts. The Manchester music scene was important and influential around this time and the band personified the rave culture. The line up never changed for the first 10 years together, and the group remained tight-knit until their split. In the early 90’s, the group also performed at Glastonbury Festival.
Happy Mondays split in 1993 and Shaun Ryder and Bez formed “ Black Grape” with ex-Paris Angel’s guitarist Wags and ex-Ruthless Rap Assassins star Kermit. In 1999, Happy Mondays reformed, minus Paul Davis and Mark Day. The band enjoyed major success in their second reincarnation, with the group selling out the 20,000 capacity Manchester Evening News Arena and two nights at Brixton Academy. Their cover of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” reached number 24 in the UK singles chart. The band provided support for Oasis and toured in Japan. The band ceased once again in 2001 following the departure of bassist Paul Ryder. The band also appeared in the film “24 Hour Party People”, in which Paul Ryder had a small cameo. Actors played all the other parts, except Rowetta Satchell. According to Tony Wilson she was “the only one still good looking enough to play herself.”
The band reformed again in 2004 and say they will continue to tour.
Shaun Ryder in particular has weaved in out of the spotlight over the years and been involved in some slightly weird projects. For a man who can’t actually sing, he’s done a very good job at being a singer. I loved his vocal performance on “Dare” with the Gorrilaz, and the fact that he sings or speaks his vocals in such a heavy Manchester accent. His way with lyrics is unusual, comical and clever, particularly evident on the song “Kinky Afro”.
Bez has also been in and out of the spotlight, mostly involving himself in reality television to help pay off some heavy debts. Despite being without any obvious talent, if you watch an interview with Bez I am sure you will notice as I did what a thoroughly lovely and down to earth chap he is. He is always incredibly laid back and happy. Some of this may be due to his extended years of substance abuse, such as he notes in his autobiography. During a gig, Bez tripped and fell off the stage, cutting his forehead open. He was told to stay off and get plenty of rest, but he notes that he instead dripped some acid (LSD) into the cut and went back out there. You’ve got to admire his spirit if nothing else.
Happy Mondays are unusual band, and when they dropped the ball musically they produced some absolutely diabolical stuff that no-one in their right mind would listen to. However, when they were on form- they were so on form they couldn’t be beaten by anyone. I’ve always been a fan of them and their casual, loose sounding music. They were part of a scene that mattered, a scene that counted, and for that I’ll always be grateful.
