ISTD Research: Happy Mondays

Formed in Little Hulton, Manchester 1984  Signed by Anthony Wilson to Factory Records  Disbanded in 1992 - successful spin-off group Black Grape followed  Reformed in 1999 for world tour and supported Oasis but split again in 2000  Reformed again in 2004  The movie, 24 Hour Party People, takes its name from a Happy Mondays track  The band's relationship with Factory Records is featured in the film  The band also penned the theme, 'Playground Superstar' for the movie, 'Goal!'  Dancer, Bez, won Celebrity Big Brother in 2005  Backing singer, Rowetta, came 4th in the first series of X Factor  The band are all avid Manchester United fans  Bez's parents are actually from Liverpool - his father was a policeman  Both Shaun and Bez live in Padfield, Derbyshire, just outside Manchester Happy Mondays are an alternative rock band formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, UK in 1985. The band is fronted by Shaun Ryder, who formed the band with his brother Paul Ryder, who played bass.  The rest of the band consists of their friendBez, who danced and played percussion, plus guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan. There are several theories about why the Happy Mondays are called what they are. One is that the band's name refers to what Manchester's unemployed population called the day that welfare checks were issued, or that simply they didn't have to go back to work on Mondays unlike the poor working sods. However, Shaun Ryder did remark in an interview with drug smuggler Howard Marks that the name Happy Mondays was merely a quick solution to naming the band and bears no real relevance atall. The name has no connection with the song "Blue Monday" by New Order, as the Mondays were together and had named the band before this song was released. First incarnation Manchester pop impresarioTony Wilson discovered the Mondays at a battle of the bands contest held at his Hacienda nightclub. The story goes that Wilson signed them to his label, Factory Records, even though they came in last. Their first album, Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out), debuted in 1987. A number of other albums followed, most of which were released in the United States on the Elektra Records label. By the late 1980s, the Happy Mondays were an important part of the madchester music scene and personified rave culture. By this time frontman Ryder was fighting a serious drug problem and the band's productivity plummeted. Musically, the band fused indie pop guitars with a rhythmic style that owed much to house music, techno and northern soul. Much of their music was remixed by popular DJs, emphasizing the dance influences even further. In terms of style and dress, they crossed hippy fashion and ideals with 1970s glamour. Sartorially and musically, the band helped to encourage the psychedelic revivalassociated with acid house. One of their most popular songs was Lazyitis, featuring a surreal duet between Ryder and country music legend Karl Denver. The Mondays disbanded in 1992, and Shaun Ryder and Bez formed Black Grape with ex-Paris Angels guitarist, Paul Wagstaff a.k.a."Wags" and ex-Ruthless Rap Assassins star, Paul Leveridge a.k.a. "Kermit". "Kuff Dam" – 3:06 "Tart Tart" – 4:25 "'Enery" – 2:22 "Russell" – 4:53 "Olive Oil" – 2:36 "Weekend S" – 2:23 "Little Matchstick Owen" – 3:42 "Oasis" – 3:45 "24 Hour Party People" – 4:40 "Cob 20" – 4:20 "Little Matchstick Owen's Rap" taken from The Guardian, Wikipedia and Pride of Manchester