Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays formed in Salford in 1980, the Ryder brothers — Shaun and Paul — at the centre of a band that would spend the next decade developing a sound that defied easy categorisation. Signed to Factory Records by Tony Wilson, they were part of the same Manchester scene as New Order and The Smiths, but their music was something else entirely: rock, funk, and soul filtered through a sensibility that was simultaneously street-level and psychedelic.

'Bummed' (1988) was the breakthrough — produced by Martin Hannett, it captured the band at their most raw and hypnotic. 'Wrote for Luck' in particular was a revelation: a groove that seemed to go on forever, Ryder's vocals floating above it like a man who had forgotten what words were for. The rave scene was just beginning, and Happy Mondays were already there.

'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches' (1990) was the masterpiece — produced by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne, it was the perfect synthesis of rock and rave. 'Step On', 'Kinky Afro', 'Loose Fit' — the singles were enormous. The band were everywhere. The chaos behind the scenes — drug use, financial mismanagement, the disastrous recording of 'Yes Please!' in Barbados — was equally legendary.

The band split in 1993 after 'Yes Please!' nearly bankrupted Factory Records. Various reformations followed, with Ryder's solo project Black Grape providing some of the best music of the mid-90s. The Happy Mondays name has been revived multiple times since, with varying degrees of original membership. Ryder's voice and lyrical imagination remain as distinctive as ever.