The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Happy Mondays – Greatest Hits Tour
Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, October 25
Legendary Manchester indie band Happy Mondays are returning to Courier Country with a greatest hits tour that arrives at Dunfermline’s Alhambra Theatre on October 25.
More than three decades on and with years of hardcore partying behind them, the Madchester icons will perform timeless hits such as Step On, Kinky Afro, Hallelujah, W.F.L., Loose Fit, Judge Fudge and 24 Hour Party People, among many others.
The 29-date tour, which starts in Inverness on October 23 and finishes in Lincoln on December 21, features 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 Dan Broad (MD/ guitar/keys).
Shaun Ryder said of the tour: “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.”
Formed in 1980 and signed to the legendary Factory Records, the Mondays bridged the Manchester independent rock music of the 80s and the emerging UK rave scene, drawing influences from acid house, funk, and psychedelia.
The band released their first album – Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) – in 1987.
They experienced their commercial peak with Bummed (1988) and Madchester Rave On (1989).
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.
During time out from the Mondays, Shaun, Rowetta and Bez all appeared on reality TV shows.
Bez appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2005 (to pay off outstanding tax bills) and was voted the winner of the series.
Shaun was a runner-up in the 2010 I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here series while Rowetta finished fourth in the first series of The X Factor in 2004. The original line-up got back together in 2012.
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.