Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - H
    Artists - H Music - 1980s Music - 1990s 2 Mins Read

    Happy Mondays

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Manchester (UK) band Happy Mondays took their name from a New Order song but came last in a ‘Battle of the Bands’ contest at New Order’s Haçienda Club.

    The band released their debut album in May 1987. The album, Squirrel & G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out), was produced by John Cale and proved very popular with rock journalists who were paid by the word. Otherwise, it was widely ignored.

    In 1988, their second album of drug-fuelled dance music Bummed was released – once again to rave reviews.

    Between the shambling Country Song (once titled Some Cunt From Preston) and the Ticket To Ride-infringing Lazyitis are eight cuts of pyschofunkedelia.

    By 1989, Manchester (or ‘Madchester‘ as it was dubbed) had declared itself the independent Republic of Rave. The city was aswarm with kids in 24-inch flares and lilac garb, while record shops pumped out low-slung, baggy dance crossover grooves.

    The Stone Roses released She Bangs The Drum and Shaun Ryder and Happy Mondays had become the talisman of a ‘movement’.

    Recorded in Los Angeles, Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches (1990) entered the UK album charts at #1. Housed in a psychedelic collage of candy wrappers it contained the tracks Step On (the Mondays’ re-working of John Kongos’ He’s Gonna Step On You Again) and Kinky Afro (with a hook whipped wholesale from La Belle’s Lady Marmalade).

    Of course, it all went horribly wrong. The band disappeared to the Bahamas where their producers Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth (from Talking Heads) tried their best to get Shaun to be more interested in recording than in smoking large amounts of crack.

    The lacklustre album Yes Please! (1992) was the disappointing result. Factory Records went bankrupt – due, in part, to the spiralling costs of the album – and the Mondays split up shortly afterwards.

    Shaun formed Black Grape and Bez wrote his autobiography.

    Ryder, drummer Gaz Whelan, and the apparently indestructible Bez performed a comeback in 2007 with a new and surprisingly listenable album called Uncle Dysfunktional.

    TRIVIA
    Bez’s father was a Detective Inspector. Ryder once described him as “a nasty fuckin’ high-ranking CID officer. A real nasty bastard”.  After being thrown out of the house by his Dad, Bez spent two years living in a shed.

    Shaun Ryder
    Vocals
    Paul ‘Horse’ Ryder
    Bass
    Mark ‘Cowhead’ Day
    Guitar
    Paul ‘Knobhead’ Davis
    Keyboards
    Gary ‘No Arse’ Whelan
    Drums
    Mark ‘Bez’ Berry
    Dancer

    Video

    Related Posts

    • A Certain Ratio
      A Certain Ratio
      A Certain Ratio (the name is a pointer to a Brian Eno song) formed in Manchester in 1977. The band's original members…
    • Guadalcanal Diary
      Guadalcanal Diary
      Jangle pop band Guadalcanal Diary originated in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta in the early 1980s. Singer/guitarist Murray Attaway's…
    • Zimmermen, The
      Zimmermen, The
      After working with several Australian bands - most notably Young Modern - during the late 1970s and early 1980s, singer…
    • Super Furry Animals
      Super Furry Animals
      Welsh band Super Furry Animals formed in Cardiff in 1993 with the aim of making techno records. Their music was, in…
    • Breakfast Club, The
      Breakfast Club, The
      The Breakfast Club's drummer, Stephen Bray, helped write and produce several hits for his former college friend, Madonna, including True Blue and Into the Groove.…
    • Black Grape
      Black Grape
      Britpop wasn't just about the vanguard of brand new bands spunking forth from Camden's Good Mixer pub. It was also about…
    • Hothouse Flowers
      Hothouse Flowers
      Throughout the 80s, the members of the Irish band Hothouse Flowers made their living busking on the streets of Dublin…
    • Adventures, The
      Adventures, The
      Formed in 1984, The Adventures were a melodic six-piece group from Belfast. Founder member Terry Sharpe had previously been the…

    Madchester
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleHanoi Rocks
    Next Article Hard-Ons, The

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Fiend Without a Face (1958)
      A scientist’s thoughts materialise as an army of invisible […]
    • Mike and The Mechanics
      Genesis bass player Mike Rutherford formed Mike & The […]
    • Clutch Cargo
      1 9 5 9 (USA) Clutch Cargo was a handsome and charming writer […]
    • Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
      1 9 5 5 – 1 9 5 8 (USA) 78 x 30 minute episodes Before Jay […]
    • Monster Club, The (1981)
      The scariest thing about Roy Ward Baker’s tribute to […]
    • Blossom
      1 9 9 1 – 1 9 9 5 (USA) 114 x 30 minute episodes […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.