Happy Mondays Announce Greatest Hits Tour For 2019
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
1st November 2019
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
1st November 2019
INTERVIEW
Happy Mondays bring their psychedelic party pomp to Southend
Ryder, Rowetta and the famed Happy Mondays are taking in Southend’s Cliff’s Pavilion in early November as the cult band roll out their Greatest Hits tour.
Founded in the early eighties and quickly noticed, and signed, to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, the band didn’t take long to envelope the burgeoning Madchester music scene which was creating waves of its own around that time. Potential was instantly recognised and Ryder didn’t take long adding Bez and Rowetta to increase a stage presence that is, even today, very much second-to-none; after all, they’re friends both on, and off the stage.
“As a co-founder of Factory Records, (Tony) Wilson, along with Alan Erasmus (Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays) was the only person in Manchester who could see the talent in the Mondays,” began Ryder. “Tony thought there was an art in the way the band ganged together and the way we huddled when we talked. He could see the art in all that."
“I could see an art in the way we dressed, how we looked and how we talked to each other, but I would never make a big deal out of that.”
That art, both in their music, stage presence, and the way in which they dressed, was certainly added to when Bez and Rowetta were added to the mix.
Rowetta added the style and class to the group whilst Bez brought a unique ability to be, well, just Bez – their chemistry alone, combined with the friendship which runs through them, is there for all to see.
“We’ve all been friends for a long time really, going back to school days and we’re still friends now which is great,” Bez explains of that chemistry. “Rowetta though, she is the maddest person I know and I really wouldn’t have her any other way which is why we spend a lot of time together.”
Although they’ve only five albums to their name in the four decades tearing up stages around the world, they’ve been successful without actually being successful.
‘Uncle Dysfunktional,’ the band’s 2007 offering, was their first release in fifteen years, ‘Yes Please’ having landed back in 1992 before which there was their critically acclaimed ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches' in 1990, 'Bummed' in 1989, and the brilliantly named, go on, we’ll say it….
‘Squirrel and G-Man Twenty-Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Can’t Smile (White Out),’ a debut offering from April 1987, a release which contains the now iconic, ’24 Hour Party People.’
“That Madchester scene is incredible and the creativity it has is what gives it that; it’s great to live, and be a part of it and long may it continue,” added Bez.
“Although the Mondays have not been a massive success (when compared to others) we’ve become more of a cult success, and been lucky enough to have the following that we have." “That’s where we’ve been the most fortunate, with the fans, and the record label.”
Even more fortunate for Ryder though is that he can’t remember much of some of what they’ve done, the proverbial sex, drugs and rock n’ roll chasing them around wherever they went. Fortunately now, as they prepare for their Greatest Hits tour, most of that is behind him.
“Fuzzy didn’t start until the nineties,” explained Ryder. “I can actually remember the sixties and listening to the Tony Blackburn show and walking to school in the dark."
“In the nineties, we were a bunch of young men immersed in the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle like we wanted. It’s weird when people say it had dark moments. They don't know how bad it is on the streets. The music business is a bubble where you wake up. Out there in the real world I’ve had friends die or end up in jail. I had my drug life in a bubble, there was always a way out. It was like a video game with a secret door and it’s dead easy.”
And now, with Southend one of numerous dates being taken in between October and December, what can Mondays' fans expect from these psychedelic all-stars?
“We will still be alive. We will still be breathing,” says Ryder. “It will be a good show, better than ever really. The sex and drugs have gone and now it’s just the rock ‘n’ roll. We are better than ever live and when I listen to the old records - like when we took ‘Bummed’ out and I listened to the album for the first time since 1988 - I said to myself: pat yourself on the back, lad.”
“Between me and you though, the Mondays on stage now are better than ever. We are adults now and everyone can see the truth. We worked out how to be a band. We all get to the gig differently and show each other respect…and it doesn’t hurt that the songs are brilliant!”
Interview: Peter Mann
The Happy Mondays will appear at Southend's Cliff’s Pavilion on Friday November 1, tickets available from https://southendtheatres.org.uk/Online/tickets-happy-mondays-southend-2019
Founded in the early eighties and quickly noticed, and signed, to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, the band didn’t take long to envelope the burgeoning Madchester music scene which was creating waves of its own around that time. Potential was instantly recognised and Ryder didn’t take long adding Bez and Rowetta to increase a stage presence that is, even today, very much second-to-none; after all, they’re friends both on, and off the stage.
“As a co-founder of Factory Records, (Tony) Wilson, along with Alan Erasmus (Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays) was the only person in Manchester who could see the talent in the Mondays,” began Ryder. “Tony thought there was an art in the way the band ganged together and the way we huddled when we talked. He could see the art in all that."
“I could see an art in the way we dressed, how we looked and how we talked to each other, but I would never make a big deal out of that.”
That art, both in their music, stage presence, and the way in which they dressed, was certainly added to when Bez and Rowetta were added to the mix.
Rowetta added the style and class to the group whilst Bez brought a unique ability to be, well, just Bez – their chemistry alone, combined with the friendship which runs through them, is there for all to see.
“We’ve all been friends for a long time really, going back to school days and we’re still friends now which is great,” Bez explains of that chemistry. “Rowetta though, she is the maddest person I know and I really wouldn’t have her any other way which is why we spend a lot of time together.”
Although they’ve only five albums to their name in the four decades tearing up stages around the world, they’ve been successful without actually being successful.
‘Uncle Dysfunktional,’ the band’s 2007 offering, was their first release in fifteen years, ‘Yes Please’ having landed back in 1992 before which there was their critically acclaimed ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches' in 1990, 'Bummed' in 1989, and the brilliantly named, go on, we’ll say it….
‘Squirrel and G-Man Twenty-Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Can’t Smile (White Out),’ a debut offering from April 1987, a release which contains the now iconic, ’24 Hour Party People.’
“That Madchester scene is incredible and the creativity it has is what gives it that; it’s great to live, and be a part of it and long may it continue,” added Bez.
“Although the Mondays have not been a massive success (when compared to others) we’ve become more of a cult success, and been lucky enough to have the following that we have." “That’s where we’ve been the most fortunate, with the fans, and the record label.”
Even more fortunate for Ryder though is that he can’t remember much of some of what they’ve done, the proverbial sex, drugs and rock n’ roll chasing them around wherever they went. Fortunately now, as they prepare for their Greatest Hits tour, most of that is behind him.
“Fuzzy didn’t start until the nineties,” explained Ryder. “I can actually remember the sixties and listening to the Tony Blackburn show and walking to school in the dark."
“In the nineties, we were a bunch of young men immersed in the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle like we wanted. It’s weird when people say it had dark moments. They don't know how bad it is on the streets. The music business is a bubble where you wake up. Out there in the real world I’ve had friends die or end up in jail. I had my drug life in a bubble, there was always a way out. It was like a video game with a secret door and it’s dead easy.”
And now, with Southend one of numerous dates being taken in between October and December, what can Mondays' fans expect from these psychedelic all-stars?
“We will still be alive. We will still be breathing,” says Ryder. “It will be a good show, better than ever really. The sex and drugs have gone and now it’s just the rock ‘n’ roll. We are better than ever live and when I listen to the old records - like when we took ‘Bummed’ out and I listened to the album for the first time since 1988 - I said to myself: pat yourself on the back, lad.”
“Between me and you though, the Mondays on stage now are better than ever. We are adults now and everyone can see the truth. We worked out how to be a band. We all get to the gig differently and show each other respect…and it doesn’t hurt that the songs are brilliant!”
Interview: Peter Mann
The Happy Mondays will appear at Southend's Cliff’s Pavilion on Friday November 1, tickets available from https://southendtheatres.org.uk/Online/tickets-happy-mondays-southend-2019
Legendary Manchester band Happy Mondays have announced a marathon twenty-nine date Greatest Hits Tour for October, November and December 2019.
The Happy Mondays’ classic line-up of front man Shaun Ryder, Bez (freaky dancing and percussion), Rowetta (vocals), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Ryder (bass), Mark Day (guitar) and and Dan Broad (MD/guitar/keys) will perform timeless hits such as Step On, Kinky Afro, Hallelujah, W.F.L., Loose Fit, Judge Fudge and 24 Hour Party People, amongst many others.
The tour begins on 23rd October and ends on 21st December, stopping off along the way London’s Roundhouse on 31st October.
Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder said, “Be great to be back out on the road with Happy Mondays for some pre-Christmas partying!! Looking forward to playing all the hits and more at these shows.”
Bez said, “Really excited and looking forward to the Happy Mondays tour - can't wait to do some freaky dancing.”
Rowetta added, “I’m really looking forward to this tour, almost 30 years since I first got on stage with the Mondays. The band and the fans are like family to me and I still love singing these songs as much as I did in 1990.”
After signing to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, the late ‘80s saw the Happy Mondays become the pioneers of the Madchester sound, as they blended their love of funk, rock, psychedelia and house with the sounds of the UK’s emerging rave scene.
The band’s third album, 1990’s platinum-selling ‘Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches’, led to the Happy Mondays crossing over into the mainstream to become icons of Britain’s biggest cultural phenomenon for a generation.
In 2016, the Happy Mondays won the Ivor Novello’s Inspiration Award, further cementing their reputation as one of Britain’s most influential and loved bands.
The Happy Mondays’ classic line-up of front man Shaun Ryder, Bez (freaky dancing and percussion), Rowetta (vocals), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Ryder (bass), Mark Day (guitar) and and Dan Broad (MD/guitar/keys) will perform timeless hits such as Step On, Kinky Afro, Hallelujah, W.F.L., Loose Fit, Judge Fudge and 24 Hour Party People, amongst many others.
The tour begins on 23rd October and ends on 21st December, stopping off along the way London’s Roundhouse on 31st October.
Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder said, “Be great to be back out on the road with Happy Mondays for some pre-Christmas partying!! Looking forward to playing all the hits and more at these shows.”
Bez said, “Really excited and looking forward to the Happy Mondays tour - can't wait to do some freaky dancing.”
Rowetta added, “I’m really looking forward to this tour, almost 30 years since I first got on stage with the Mondays. The band and the fans are like family to me and I still love singing these songs as much as I did in 1990.”
After signing to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, the late ‘80s saw the Happy Mondays become the pioneers of the Madchester sound, as they blended their love of funk, rock, psychedelia and house with the sounds of the UK’s emerging rave scene.
The band’s third album, 1990’s platinum-selling ‘Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches’, led to the Happy Mondays crossing over into the mainstream to become icons of Britain’s biggest cultural phenomenon for a generation.
In 2016, the Happy Mondays won the Ivor Novello’s Inspiration Award, further cementing their reputation as one of Britain’s most influential and loved bands.
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The full list of tour dates is as follows:
Wed 23 Oct Inverness The Ironworks Thu 24 Oct Aberdeen Music Hall Fri 25 Oct Dunfermline Alhambra Theatre Sat 26 Oct Glasgow O2 Academy Glasgow Thu 31 Oct London The Roundhouse Fri 01 Nov Southend Cliffs Pavilion Sat 02 Nov Cambridge Corn Exchange Thu 07 Nov Brighton Dome Fri 08 Nov Folkstone Leas Cliff Hall Sat 09 Nov Portsmouth Pyramids Centre Thu 14 Nov Preston Guild Hall Fri 15 Nov Newcastle O2 Academy Newcastle Sat 16 Nov Scunthorpe Baths Hall Thu 21 Nov Manchester Academy 1 Fri 22 Nov Sheffield O2 Academy Sheffield Sat 23 Nov Bristol O2 Academy Bristol Thu 28 Nov Oxford O2 Academy Oxford Fri 29 Nov Cardiff Cardiff University, Great Hall Sat 30 Nov Nottingham Rock City Wed 4th Dec Belfast Limelight 1 Fri 06 Dec Liverpool Mountford Hall Sat 07 Dec Leeds O2 Academy Leeds Thu 12 Dec Norwich UEA Fri 13 Dec Northampton Roadmenders Sat 14 Dec Birmingham O2 Institute Wed 18 Dec Frome Cheese & Grain Thu 19 Dec Bournemouth O2 Academy Bournemouth Fri 20 Dec Guildford G Live Sat 21 Dec Lincoln Engine Shed |
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A ticket presale through all of the tour’s venues will take place from 10.00am on Wednesday, 20th February.
Tickets go on general sale at 10.00am on Friday, 22nd February, available from https://www.alttickets.com/happy-mondays-tickets
Happy Mondays online:
facebook.com/HappyMondaysOnline
twitter.com/Happy_Mondays
instagram.com/happymondaysofficial
Tickets go on general sale at 10.00am on Friday, 22nd February, available from https://www.alttickets.com/happy-mondays-tickets
Happy Mondays online:
facebook.com/HappyMondaysOnline
twitter.com/Happy_Mondays
instagram.com/happymondaysofficial