Daily Mail

The one lesson I’ve learned from life

Happy Mondays’ Bez

- Interview by KATE SPICER

Mark ‘Bez’ Berry, 57, the dancer, and maracas shaker in indie band Happy Mondays, won Celebrity Big Brother in 2005, was disqualifi­ed from Bargain Hunt in 2018 for cheating, and is a Gogglebox regular. He lives in Herefordsh­ire with girlfriend, Firouzeh razavi, and has three children, arlo, 30, Jack, 28, and Leo, 13, plus a grandson, Luca, nine.

WHEN THINGS GET HEATED, STEP BACK

Life gives back what you give out. if you go around grumpy and drunk, then that is what life throws back at you. i’ve learnt that from the teachings of the ancient Toltec people in Mexico.

And also how to deal with ‘petty tyrants’ — people who behave disagreeab­ly: controllin­g, pushing your buttons. You meet them in families, business, schools, in any circumstan­ce.

i can spot one instantly. But as soon as i spot that behaviour i avoid the traps and deal with it with calm or humour.

When i was in politics briefly (in 2015, Bez led the We Are The Reality Party, which stood on an anti-banking, antifracki­ng anarchy ticket), i had a major petty tyrant in my party. i consulted ancient Chinese wisdom in the i Ching, which told me to take a step back. i did, and it got much better. Getting involved just gives the petty tyrant power.

i’ve been one myself in friendship­s, with ex-partners, the band. But since i read these books, i am aware of the consequenc­es of my behaviour.

My girlfriend has got the new, improved me. Before, i was argumentat­ive: now i will get out of a situation before mudslingin­g begins. Having said that, i have good relationsh­ips with all my exes.

Being in Happy Mondays has been like a long marriage with highs and lows. We’ve known each other since high school and are great friends, though there have been severe fallings out.

Once, we were on the verge of a major deal with eMi and Shaun [Ryder, lead singer] said he was off to Kentucky in the U.S. but in fact was off to get wasted and never came back. That was the end of that. But it worked out well because, instead of going down the big-money route with eMi, we came up with our next band, Black Grape. Life throws up these conundrums but you always come away having gained knowledge.

■ Bez stars in the new Celebrity MasterChef series, which starts on BBC1 at 9pm tonight.

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