Interview
Interview
Michael Eavis still won’t talk to Happy Mondays after Glastonbury ‘90 chaos
Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder talks us through the Madchester icons’ maddest and most memorable moments on stage
To say the interview with Shaun Ryder got off to a sizzling start would be an overstatement. “Good luck,” he joked over the blower, whilst chuffing on his vape. “I can never f*ckin’ remember a thing.. I looked at the request for this interview and thought ‘f*ckin’ hell…’”.
Admittedly, the Happy Mondays’ manic frontman has never been the most reliable of raconteurs – largely down to the fact he treated his brain (via his nose) like a medical trial for the best part of four decades. Ryder’s antics are the stuff of legend however, so why not take up the chance to grease those cogs inside his twisted melon, given the amount of mad anecdotes – probably too many in reality – that are surely tucked away in there somewhere.
Known as much nowadays for his lifelong bromance with fellow 24 Hour Party Person and maraca shaker extraordinaire Bez, lovable rogue Shaun has risen to the ranks of national treasure here in his native Britain. But he’s still eager to create new memories with the Happy Mondays.
The band are heading out on tour to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their career-defining album, Pills ‘n’ Thrills And Bellyaches, which takes them around the entire UK.
The album (and the Happy Mondays in general, let’s face it) epitomise an era of hedonism where ravers and rockers could let loose without fear of consequence – well, without being publicly humiliated online, as nobody could shove a phone in your face if you were off your head and share it with the world in an instant. It was about being in the moment. Which Shaun agrees with. As hazy as his memory might be. “It still does the same thing it did back in the day. If it sounds good, it sounds good.”
Talking of moments, Shaun took the time out ahead of the tour to talk us through his most memorable moments on stage with the Madchester greats: nearly getting electrocuted in Brazil, feigning kidney disease to get out of playing a show, and pissing off Michael Eavis so much at Glastonbury 1990 that he still won’t talk to him or Bez.
The first
Either a youth club in Salford, or The Gallery. It was a venue on Peter Street, I think? It was next to a kebab house. It was quite a small venue. That or the youth club. I think all three people enjoyed it. I asked me mam, she said it was great. Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie thought it was good, so yeah, it went down well. The gig at the youth club, I was the oldest at 18. The rest of the band were still in school. I remember all these girls came to the youth club. We were dressed up in our smart gear, in our trainers and all that lot. These girls, about five or six girls came up to us, and Paul Davis goes ‘f*ck off you lot, you stupid girls’. We all looked at him like, you ‘f*ckin’ idiot’. It sticks out for that.
The worst
Usually, the worst gigs with the Mondays would end up with me singing the whole set singing lying down on the stage.
Any particular reason?
Narcotic. Neurotic. A bit of paranoid schizophrenia. Pissed. I can’t remember any specific gig when that happened. I’d just be f*cked up.
The weirdest
Weirdest gig? F*ck… I’ll need some time to think about this. After I get off the phone I’ll probably think ‘oh that f*ckin’ gig!’. There’s definitely a lot. I think we were playing somewhere in France. It exploded. The French police came in and battered us. It was an actual venue. It might’ve been Germany. We’d just play any gigs that were offered to us outside the UK. To be honest, that’s not weird – that was normal for us. We just loved the life of being in a band when you’re young. You can do what the f*ck you want, you know. You can park your car in someone’s garden. Pretty sure I’ve done that now.
Another one that sticks out, is that in the late 80s, us and the Ruthless Rap Assassins played Heaton Park. We didn’t do the great big… thing. But everyone kicked the fences in and pulled all the security stuff out, let them f*ckin’ themselves in.
The biggest
Brazil, Rock In Rio. There were 150,000 in there. The crowd were clapping us even before we’d finished our songs. Probably because it was pissing it down and we kept playing. They thought that was insane. We could’ve got electrocuted. Not that we understood that water and electricity don’t go together. It was at the Maracanã. Actually, I can’t remember. Don’t know what it was f*ckin’ called.
We shouldn’t even been on that night. We were supposed to be supporting George Michael, and all our gear went missing. We got an extra three or four days in Brazil, so played with a-ha instead. It was great. It was mega. They certainly know how to party. Back in those days it was about a tenner for an ounce…
We did another mega show in Mexico. It was us and Cypress Hill. I wanted to stop my gig and go watch them. We have actually done that. When we were first touring Pills ‘n’ Thrills… through the States we eventually got to LA, which is where we’d be playing a show then staying around to finish the next album. We found out that Soul II Soul were playing that night. So we all became “ill”. Dead poorly, you know. “The kidneys went”. It was the only time we’ve ever done something like that. Apart from the tour in Spain years ago. We called it the “too much cocaine tour”. We’d get to the venue and if they didn’t have one thing on the rider, we’d sack off the gig. The next one, if there wasn’t a handbag (or something) on the list then we’d do the same.
The best
Glastonbury 1990. It was the first time we got hold of a laminate machine. It made sense to us to give laminates out to all our mates that were skint, so we made our own. Michael Eavis still won’t speak to us now. Bez saw him a couple of years ago and he had a proper hump on.
There was Elland Road too, with the dude who climbed up the floodlights. ‘The Lone Raver’. I got told the other day who was on the bill with us there. The La’s, before John Power started Cast, and The Farm, Northside. I totally forgot about that. Well, I forget about everything.
You looking forward to touring with The Farm again?
Oh yeah. They are a bunch of good lads, they really are. Salford has a slightly different relationship with Scousers than the Mancs. They’re great lads.
It’s all sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll innit. But the sex and drugs have gone, so we’re left with the rock ‘n’ roll. I get asked if I miss those days, but I don’t. I loved it when I was 18, I loved it when I was in my 20s, it was great in my 30s. I really enjoy playing now. I used to love the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, but now we love playing the gigs.
Photo credit: PYMCA/Avalon
