OLDER & RYDER
UNDISPUTED heavyweight king of the 24hr Party People and survivor of the hedonistic ‘Madchester’ era, Shaun Ryder is back!
Now aged 55 and noteably more sedate, the Happy Mondays’ frontman speaks to the Daily Post ahead of the band’s 30th anniversary tour and Llandudno gig.
“The 80s and 90s were crazy” he said. “I can remember the 1960s better the 90s and I was 8 when the 60s ended!
“When we were younger we just took it all for granted. Especially me, the partying meant just as much as doing the gigs.
“Where really now, it’s like the sex and drugs have gone and it’s just the rock n roll. Less complicated and it’s very nice.
“And we are playing better, I’ve got to admit. Now at 55 we enjoy it in a different way.
“I mean, I’m only 9 years off getting my bus pass!”
The Happy Mondays were signed to Factory Records, co-founded by the late Tony Wilson. Known as Mr Manchester, the mogul was a driving force for the Madchester scene - and the success of the band. When asked about his favourite memory of Wilson, Ryder did not hesitate in reply: “Tony? One of my favourite memories of him was, in his Jag.
“He used to have this special little shelving unit next to his steering wheel for skinning up and rolling a joint or putting lines of coke on it.
“I always found it hilarious that Tony was so ballsy that he would drive around Manchester doing that. Never got pulled over though - it’s Tony Wilson.”
The Salford-born personality is an avid believer in extra terrestrial life, even starring in his own Discovery Channel documentary, Shaun Ryder on UFO’s. He claims his first experience of alien life was as a young boy: “When I was 15 and I was on my way to work one morning. It was about seven o’clock and I was walking towards the bus stop and there was another young lad stood there. He must’ve been abut 11 and was in the uniform for the local grammar school.
“We saw this thing whizzing above our heads doing about ten thousand miles an hour doing zig zags across the sky. Then is stoppped and then shot off at phenomenal speed. This was 1978 and ever since seeing that, I knew that it wasn’t ours, we didn’t have the technology and I just knew there was something else going on.”
Describing Wales as busy with extra terrestrial activity, Ryder has an idea of what was happening with the alleged aliens that had recently been spotted around a nudist beach in Gwynedd. He explains: “There always has been a lot of UFO activity in Wales. It’s always been pretty busy in that department!
“The famous one was the police officer who reported what he saw and they all thought he was bonkers.
“The nudist beach aliens - you never know, they could be up to allsorts. Maybe they need sea water
“But I do know they are very interested in our sex lives so it could just be a bunch of pervy aliens!”
The singer has had several alien encounters, including one at his own home. But is keen to assure people that the sightings are not a result of his previous excessive drug use: “Once you start reeling off more than one encounter you really do sound insane. But I’ve said this before, not long after we were filming in South America and I get back home and a couple of days later, I’d gone to sleep without the curtains drawn.
“I woke up at about seven o’clock, and I thought it was the prodction team taking the p*ss but there was what looked like a very large airfix model of a UFO hovering over the tree in my back garden. It looked like it was made out of plastic, it was light grey and it had blue and pink lights around it. It made cloud and then it went off very slowly towards the field at the back of my house.
“But I get it all the time ‘Shaun Ryder is off his face again, seeing UFO’s and aliens’, but we’re certainly not alone in this universe, there’s allsorts going on.
“Aliens are here. I’ve had it from people who really do know what’s what. People involved in govern- ment. They’ve been visiting this planet from day one. Margeret Thatcher knew about it, but her response was ‘The people should never know.’”
“It’s not b******s. Read up on modern physicists and you’ll see. When i interviewed some of them on the show, they wouldn’t say much on camera, but as soon as the cameras were finished, they were totally different.
“The reality is, with the new physicists it’s a totally different ball game. There’s stuff going on now that should be all over the front pages, but it’s not. And that’s just the way it is. “
Happy Mondays perform at Venue Cymru, Llandudno December 14 at 8pm. Tickets from the Box Office (01492) 872000 or online at www. venuecymru.co.uk or the usual major outlets.