The Happy Mondays – Shaun Ryder: Celebrating 35 Years of ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’
The Happy Mondays breakthrough album “Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’ turns 35, and a gig is scheduled at Brighton Dome on April 2nd as part of a 22-date tour. I caught up with frontman Shaun Ryder who was on top form, “Did I think we’d still be performing 35-years later? Course I did. Me and Bez were never going anywhere.”
Produced by the legendary Paul Oakenfold, Pills ’n’ Thrills fused indie guitars with the emerging rave sound in a way that felt seismic. But for Shaun, it wasn’t some grand masterplan, “It just came together naturally.” He explained. “Being out in the clubs in Ibiza, hearing what Oakenfold was doing, mixing guitar bands with Italian dance beats. That’s where I first clocked him.”
© Happy Mondays Credit Shavorne Wilbraham
And the rest is music folklore. The Mondays’ became prolific on the ‘Madchester’ scene with regular performances at the iconic Haçienda, following in the footsteps of New Order and The Stone Roses. But Shaun remembers a very different early scene. “When the Hacienda first opened in ’82 it was empty unless there was a band on. We were going in there loads. You could skin up, didn’t even have to wear [smart] trousers to get in.”
Coming up between Salford and Manchester at a time when the Indie and underground rave scene were exploding, did it feel like musical alchemy? Not exactly. “You don’t walk around thinking it’s an amazing time to be alive. It’s just what’s normal to you.” Ecstasy changed everything, culturally and musically, he revealed, “It opened minds, even bands that weren’t into dance music, it shifted the vibe. The way we dressed, grew our hair…” And while some genres burn bright then fade, rave culture has endured. Shaun credits Malcolm McLaren, who predicted the rise of dance culture as far back as 1979. “It did carry on, didn’t it?” He laughed.
© Happy Mondays Credit Mark Field
Following chart-topping success, platinum status and headlining Glastonbury in 1990, The Mondays split a year later amid drug issues and internal band strife. Ryder and Bez bounced back in 1993 when they formed Black Grape, heralded as one of the greatest comeback stories, with the band surpassing the commercial success of the Mondays.
I asked if he’d do it all again? “I wouldn’t want to go back. I enjoyed being 18, 20, 30, but I enjoy now just as much. I really do. I wouldn’t want to be young and messed up in the head again.” He and Bez remain firm friends after all these years, a dynamic duo in every sense of the word, “we’re like a married couple without the sex, although I’m pretty sure Bez would like to’” he joked, ever the lovable rogue. His advice for a happy life? “Just be happy. Do what you want. Enjoy what you’re doing.”
Thirty-five years on, Shaun Ryder remains exactly who he’s always been: open, honest and entirely himself. And as we sign off from our interview he tells me, “My meds are wearing off and I’m starting to forget what I’m saying…” That’s rock n roll baby.
Book tickets at Brighton Dome April 2
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