Happy Mondays are an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

formed in

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer, songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bl ...

(vocals) and

Paul Ryder Paul Anthony Ryder (24 April 1964 – 15 July 2022) was an English musician. He was a bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays with his brother Shaun Ryder. Early life Paul and Shaun are the two sons of Derek R ...

(

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Gaz Whelan Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry late ...

(drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage as a dancer and maracas player.

Rowetta Rowetta Idah (born 5 January 1966), also known as Rowetta or Rowetta Satchell, is a British singer. She worked with Happy Mondays, recording and touring with the band from 1990. Her 1989 track "Reach Out" with Sweet Mercy has been Sampling (musi ...

began working with the band as guest second vocalist in 1990. They were originally signed to

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

label. The group's work bridged the Manchester

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

music of the 1980s and the emerging UK

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

scene, drawing influence from

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

to pioneer the

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that emerged in the English city of Manchester during the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance movement. Indie dance (also referred to as indie rave) blended indie rock with elements o ...

sound. They experienced their commercial peak with the releases ''

Bummed ''Bummed'' is the second studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 21 November 1988 on Factory Records. During 1987 and early 1988, the band discovered house music and the rave drug ecstasy. Factory producer Martin Hannett ...

'' (1988), ''

Madchester Rave On ''Madchester Rave On'' is the second EP by Happy Mondays. It was released in November 1989 on Factory Records. The track "Hallelujah" became the band's breakthrough release, reaching the top twenty in the UK and leading to the group's first ''Top ...

'' (1989), and ''

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches ''Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. Disc jockey (DJ) Paul Oakenfold and collaborator Steve Osborne were previously enlisted by the ...

'' (1990), with the latter going platinum in the UK. Happy Mondays disbanded in 1993. They reformed several times and released the reunion album ''

Uncle Dysfunktional ''Uncle Dysfunktional'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays. It was released by Sequel Records on 2 July 2007. After the band reunited in 2004, they toured into 2005; by 2006, a new album was recorded with producer Sunny ...

'' (2007).

History

First incarnation

The band were signed to

after passing a demo tape to Phil Saxe, a trader at

Manchester Arndale Manchester Arndale is a large shopping centre in Manchester, England. It was constructed in phases between 1972 and 1979, at a cost of £100 million. Manchester Arndale is the largest of the chain of Arndale Centre, Arndale Centres built ac ...

who was on friendly terms with

Mike Pickering Mike Pickering is an English musician, DJ, songwriter, A&R Executive from Manchester, UK. Career Pickering was a DJ at The Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights, and later Shine. He worked for Factory Records, where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell ...

, a DJ at

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England, which became famous during the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually fosteri ...

nightclub. Saxe became the band's manager. Their first release was the "Forty Five EP", often called the "Delightful EP" after its first track. It was released on Factory Records in September 1985. Their first album, ''

Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) ''Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Happy Mondays, which was released in mid-April 1987 by Factory Records. After finalising their line-up, ...

'', was released in 1987 and was produced by

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

. This was followed by two further albums: ''

'', in 1988, produced by

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...

, and ''

'', in 1990, produced by

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (; born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Ma ...

and

Steve Osborne Stephen John "Steve" Osborne (born 1963) is a British record producer, living in Bath, England. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Suede, the B-52s, A-ha, New Order, Elbow, U2, Happy Mondays, Placebo, Gregory Porter, D ...

. The latter, recorded at

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...

in Los Angeles, went platinum in the UK, selling more than 350,000 copies. Singles "

Step On "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and ...

" and "

Kinky Afro "Kinky Afro" is a song by the English alternative rock band Happy Mondays, produced by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne. It was released as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches'', on 8 October ...

" from this album both reached number 5 in the UK singles chart. By the late 1980s, the Happy Mondays were an important part of the Manchester music scene and personified

culture. The line-up of the band during this first and most important ten-year phase never changed, and the six original members

, Paul Davis, Mark Day, and Bez remained a tight unit until the first incarnation came to an end in 1993. The band headlined the Friday night at

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

1990. In November of that year,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

commented in ''NME'': "I saw the Happy Mondays on TV, and they reminded me of the Beatles in their 'Strawberry Fields' phase." Musically, the band fused indie pop guitars with a rhythmic style that owed much to

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

, and

northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

. Much of their music was remixed by popular DJs, emphasising the dance influences even further. In style and dress, they crossed

hippy A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to different countries around the w ...

fashion and ideals with 1970s glamour. Sartorially and musically, the band helped to encourage the

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

revival associated with

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

. One of their most popular songs is "Lazyitis (One Armed Boxer)", featuring a surreal duet between Ryder and

Karl Denver Karl Denver (16 December 1931 – 21 December 1998) was a Scottish singer, who, with his trio had a series of UK hit singles in the early 1960s. Most famous of these was a 1961 version of " Wimoweh", which showed off Denver's falsetto yodelli ...

. In February 1991, Happy Mondays played in Rock in Rio 2 at the

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium (, ; named after the Maracanã River), officially known as Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium (, ; , named after Mário Filho), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located in the Maracanã neighbor ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and went to meet

Ronnie Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 y ...

in Brazil with

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...

, who at the time was a writer for ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' newspaper. The Mondays influenced many bands around the Northwest and beyond, including

the Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentthe Charlatans. A multi-city US tour followed, with the group returning home early in May 1991. In 1991, they played to 30,000 people at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, said to be the Happy Mondays' own Spike Island. By July that year, they revealed details of a fourteen track 'official bootleg'

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, ''Baby Big Head'', recorded at the

concert. The official record label release, ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' followed later in the year. ''

Yes Please! ''Yes Please!'' is the fourth studio album by British rock band Happy Mondays, released on 22 September 1992 through Factory Records. Following the non-album single "Judge Fudge", Factory allotted the band a budget of £150,000 for their next a ...

'' followed in 1992, produced by

Chris Frantz Charton Christopher Frantz (born May 8, 1951) is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer for both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, both of which he co-founded with wife and Talking Heads bassist, Tina Weymouth. In 2002, Frant ...

and

Tina Weymouth Martina Michèle Weymouth ( ; born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with her husband, ...

, recorded at

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese in the United Kingdom, Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound and socially conscious lyrics; his music has blended elements of p ...

's studio in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. The album was a commercial failure that bankrupted Factory Records.

Second incarnation

Happy Mondays disbanded in 1993, and

and Bez formed

Black Grape Black Grape are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1993, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples. History Forma ...

with ex-

Paris Angels Paris Angels were an English seven-piece band from Guide Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England, associated with the Madchester scene of 1989–1991. Their music fused indie guitars with electronic dance music. The band com ...

guitarist "Wags" (who would later go on to serve in the 1999–2000 reincarnation of the Mondays) and ex-

Ruthless Rap Assassins The Ruthless Rap Assassins were a British hip hop group from Hulme, Manchester, England. The group was formed by MC Kermit La Freak (later simply Kermit - real name Paul Leveridge) and brothers Dangerous Hinds (real name Anderson Hinds) and Danger ...

star Kermit. Seven years passed, and in 1999 Happy Mondays re-formed, with founding members Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Gaz Whelan and Bez but without Paul Davis and Mark Day. In the place of Day and Davis were Wags and a number of other session musicians including Ben Leach who had once been a member of The Farm, percussionist Lea Mullen, and rapper "Nuts". Also appearing with the new line-up was soul diva Rowetta Satchell (who sang back-up on Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches, as well as Yes Please!). The band toured extensively in the UK and internationally, selling out the 20,000 capacity

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...

and two nights at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

, and released a new single, a cover version of the

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

hit "The Boys Are Back in Town". The single reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart. They provided support for

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Fuji Rock Festival is an annual music festival, rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash (Music promoters), Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it th ...

in Japan, numerous European festivals including T in the Park and also toured Australia the same year. The band once more ceased their activity in 2001 following the departure of bass player and founding member Paul Ryder. A fictionalised depiction of the band is featured in the 2002 film ''

24 Hour Party People ''24 Hour Party People'' is a 2002 British biographical comedy drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Wint ...

'', with Danny Cunningham as Shaun Ryder and Paul Popplewell as Paul Ryder. Paul Ryder himself had a cameo role in the film as a

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

and

appeared in the film as herself.

Third incarnation

2004 saw another re-formation, comprising original members Bez,

Gaz Gaz may refer to: Geography *Gaz, Kyrgyzstan Iran * Gaz, Darmian, village in South Khorasan province * Gaz, Golestan, a village in Bandar-e Gaz County * Gaz, Hormozgan, a village in Minab County * Gaz, Kerman, a village * Gaz, North Khorasan, a ...

and

along with another group of musicians. Shaun Ryder recruited

Kav Sandhu Kavin Sandhu is a British musician from Leicester, England, now based in Los Angeles. Sandhu played guitar with British band Happy Mondays for four years after helping reform the band with frontman Shaun Ryder in 2004. He launched his solo proj ...

to join on guitar and bring in a new group of musicians. Sandhu brought on-board bassist Mikey Shine, keyboard player Dave Parkinson and guitarist Jonn Dunn. Dave Parkinson was later replaced by Dan Broad. Backing singers on the first tour were

Angie Brown Angie Brown (born 13 June 1963) is a British singer and songwriter from Brixton, South London. Brown is a co-artist on the hit single " I'm Gonna Get You" (1992) by Bizarre Inc. She performed on a number of recordings with Bizarre Inc as lead ...

and

Ron Carroll Ronald Michael Carroll is an American DJ, singer, songwriter and producer. He is primarily known in the house music circuit. Carroll has worked with many of house's most famous producers, including E-Smoove, Maurice Joshua, Bob Sinclar an ...

. from 2004 to 2006 the band were managed by Danny Newman, MD at London Club

Turnmills The Turnmills building was a warehouse originally on the corner of Turnmill Street and Clerkenwell Road in the London Borough of Islington. It became a bar in the 1980s, then a nightclub. The club closed in 2008 and the building was later demol ...

brother of London Club DJ Tall Paul. Rowetta was replaced by Julie E. Gordon who toured with the band until 2010. Paul Ryder was not present, having sworn to never perform with his brother again following the 2000 break-up, and formed his own band Big Arm. That year, the Happy Mondays released a live DVD of a show in Barcelona. They played a variety of festival dates in 2005 (including

Global Gathering Global Gathering was an annual dance music festival by Angel Festivals Limited. Festivals are held in countries such as the UK, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and feature leading electronic music artists from around the globe. The festival ran ...

), capping it off with a concert at the Manchester Arena. In June 2006, Happy Mondays performed in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and on 30 July 2006 they were special guests at the Fuji Rock Festival. In August 2006, the band announced that they had completed their first album in fourteen years, with producers Sunny Levine and

Howie B Howard Simon Bernstein (born 18 April 1963, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish musician, producer and DJ who has worked with artists including Björk, U2, Tricky, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soul II Soul, Robbie Robertson, Elisa, Mukul Deo ...

, and had signed to

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is, as of 2013, a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest ...

. A single "Playground Superstar", from the soundtrack for the football film '' Goal!'', was released a few months prior to completion of the new album, ''

'' released in mid-2007. on

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

's label

Big Brother Records Big Brother Recordings Ltd. is a British record label set up in 2000 to release material by rock band Oasis in the UK and Ireland. On 19 June 2008 a deal was signed with Sony BMG which entitled them to an arranged portion of the profits from ...

. Happy Mondays performed before another re-formed act,

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

, at the 2007

Coachella Music Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorad ...

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. Indio is approximately east of Los Angeles, east of Palm Springs, ...

. They were introduced by Tony Wilson. Bez missed the show because he could not get into the US due to "passport issues". The band then toured throughout the summer of 2007 including a trip to the Numusic Festival in Norway. They played

Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...

in Australia in July 2009, and the UK

V Festival V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...

in August 2009. Happy Mondays toured the US and Canada with

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...

in late 2009 with Paul Ryder's son and Shaun Ryder's nephew Jake Ryder filling in for Gaz Whelan on drums. Happy Mondays appeared at the Wizard Festival in North-East Scotland in August 2010. This version of the band continued until 2010. Members Mikey Shine, Jonn Dunn & Dan Broad continued to back Shaun Ryder for his solo tour until 2011, surrounding the release of his autobiography.

Fourth incarnation

On 29 January 2012, Shaun Ryder announced on radio station

Xfm Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

that the band would return with the original and definitive lineup of himself, his brother

on bass,

on drums, Rowetta as guest second vocalist, Mark Day on guitar, Paul Davis on keyboards and dancer Mark Berry. They appeared on ITV's ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * ''CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succes ...

'', and were interviewed by

Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield ( ; born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter. He began his career as a Children's BBC continuity announcer from 1985 to 1987, and went on to present a wide range of high-profile programmes for the BBC and ...

. Shaun Ryder pronounced that amends had been made, friendships reinstated and that it was just like the old days, but without the madness. They did a 13-date UK tour in May 2012, most of which were sold out, and an extra date was added at London's Brixton Academy due to the demand for tickets. The tour included other shows at the Manchester Arena, plus other dates in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. To coincide with the band's reformation tour a

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album, ''Double Double Good'' was released in July 2012, as well as a live recording of the band's May 2012 gig in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

. The band went on to play gigs in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in May 2012 and then a number of European festivals in the summer of 2012, including Ireland's Sea Sessions, Scotland's T in the Park, the band were headliners at Camp Bestival in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

in July 2012 and they performed at the V Festivals in August 2012. They then travelled to

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

and

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

to play the Ibiza and Majorca Rocks events. The band announced in September 2012 that they were writing their first album with the original lineup in more than 20 years. The band played two nights at the Roundhouse, London and in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in December 2012. They travelled to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

in April 2013 to perform and in May 2013 played gigs at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

's Vegfest and one in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. June 2013 brought gigs at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, then in July 2013 they played at the

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Music Festival and at

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt racing, National Hunt races and one Group One, Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Sta ...

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. They played dates in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

and Dublin in August 2013. In October 2013 they travelled to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to do gigs in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

then in November 2013 they kicked off a 16 date UK tour to celebrate 25 years since their second critically acclaimed album ''Bummed'' was released, and the band plan to play most of the songs from that infamous album. The band signed to

Creation Management Creation Management was formed by Alan McGee and Simon Fletcher to manage global music artists, launched in Wales in April 2014. The first signing was The Jesus and Mary Chain. The current roster includes Wilko Johnson, Black Grape, Happy Monday ...

in 2015. They have announced an international tour to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the ''Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches''. In September 2015, the programme ''Singing in the Rainforest'' followed the band as they travelled to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

to record a new song with an isolated tribe called the Embera. The band composed a track with members of the tribe for a performance, penning the track "Ooo La La to Panama". Although billed as the first original line-up recording since 1992, Paul Davis was not present, and no mention of him was made. Gaz Whelan confirmed on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that Davis had left the band. The band toured

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in February and March 2019, performing their 1990 album ''

''. On 15 July 2022, the band announced via their

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page that

had died in the early hours of that morning. He was 58 years old. In March 2024 the band embarked on a UK tour with

Inspiral Carpets Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist ...

as the support act. Prior to the tour, frontman Shaun Ryder stated that the band would be on hiatus for a few years following the tour.

Awards and nominations

{, class=wikitable ! Year !! Awards !! Work !! Category !! Result , - , 1989 , rowspan="3" ,

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...

, " WFL" , Best Dance Record , , - , rowspan="4" , 1990 , ''

, Best LP , , - , rowspan="6" , Themselves , rowspan=2, Best Band , , - , rowspan=3,

Smash Hits Poll Winners Party The ''Smash Hits'' Poll Winners Party was a British awards ceremony which ran from 1979 to 1987 as the ''Smash Hits'' Readers' Poll, then on television from 1988 to 2005. Each award winner was voted by readers of ''Smash Hits'' magazine. It ende ...

, , - , Best New Act , , - , rowspan="3" , 1991 , Best Indie Group , , - , rowspan="2" , Brit Awards , Best British Newcomer , , - , Best British Group , , - , 2013 ,

Q Awards The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...

, ''

'' , Q Classic Album , , - , 2016 ,

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

, Themselves , The Ivor's Inspiration Award ,

Members

Current members *

– lead vocals, guitar * Mark "Bez" Berry – dancer, maracas * Gary "Gaz" Whelan – drums * Mark Day – guitar * Dan Broad – keyboards, samples, programming, musical director Former members *

– bass, keyboards * Paul Davis – keyboards, samples, programming *

– guitar, keyboards

Collaborators

– vocals, percussion

Timeline

Discography

*''

'' (1987) *''

'' (1988) *''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) *''

'' (2007)

References

External links

Official website
* * {{Authority control English alternative rock groups English electronic music groups Alternative dance musical groups Baggy groups Madchester groups English indie rock groups English neo-psychedelia groups Musical groups established in 1980 Rock music groups from Salford Factory Records artists Elektra Records artists Sibling musical groups British musical sextets