At the peak of their creative powers Happy Mondays were that rarest of bands: their sound was so utterly unique that if they didn’t exist it’s doubtful anyone would have had the imagination to have created them.
A spellbinding mix of funk, hip hop, psychedelia, house, electronic pop and Northern soul, it was like watching Funkadelic jamming with the Beatles produced by Frankie Knuckles. Oh, and being fronted by a hilarious hooligan poet.
The band formed in the less salubrious parts of Manchester in the early-80s and for all of their first incarnation (up to 1993) this was centred around Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul on bass (who sadly passed in 2022), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboards), Mark Day (guitar) and the charismatic Bez (dancer).
Their first EP, Forty Five, was released on Factory Records in 1985. This was followed by the Bernard Sumner-produced Freaky Dancin’ the following year. Their first album, the marvellously-titled Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) was released in 1987 to much acclaim.
After soaking up the revolutionary sounds of acid house at Factory’s club, The Haçienda, the band expanded their music. Bummed, featuring the majestic Wrote For Luck single, saw the band’s appeal rise further in 1988. The following year, the Madchester Rave On EP not only christened a musical movement it saw the group become mainstream stars – a fact confirmed by their cover of John Kongos’ Step On hitting number five on the UK singles chart in 1990, by which time singer Rowetta joined the fray.
Later that year, their third album, Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches, reached number four on the album charts and was named album of the year by a host of music magazines.
Their fourth album, 1992’s Yes Please!, was recorded in Barbados with Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads. After the lofty heights of Pills ‘n’ Thrills, it was almost inevitable that the expectations around Yes Please! would be a challenge to meet. With the band splitting in 1993 Shaun and Bez formed the similarly-inclined Black Grape.
In the time since then, there have been numerous reunions and one more studio album (Uncle Dysfunktional in 2007). The band continues to tour regularly and Shaun and Bez becoming stars of the small screen appearing on the likes of Googlebox and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
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