Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music. Artists associated with the scene included New Order, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, Northside, 808 State, James, The Charlatans, The Fall, A Guy Called Gerald, and other bands. At that time, the Haçienda nightclub was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love.

Pre-Madchester[link]

The music scene in Manchester immediately before the Madchester era had been dominated by bands such as The Smiths, New Order, The Fall and James. These bands were to become a significant influence on the Madchester scene.

The opening of the Haçienda nightclub, an initiative of Factory Records, in May 1982 was also influential in the development of popular culture in Manchester. For the first few years of its life, the club played predominantly club orientated pop music and hosted gigs from artists including New Order, Culture Club, The Thompson Twins, and the Smiths. It had DJs such as Hewan Clarke and Greg Wilson and switched focus from being a live venue to being a dance club by 1986.^[1] In 1987 The Hacienda started playing House music with DJs Mike Pickering, Graeme Park and "Little" Martin Prendergast hosting the Nude night on Fridays.^[2]

The Festival of the Tenth Summer in July 1986, organised by Factory Records, helped to consolidate Manchester's standing as a centre for alternative pop-culture. The festival included film-screenings, a music seminar, art shows and gigs by the city's most prominent bands, including an all-day gig at Manchester G-Mex featuring A Certain Ratio, The Smiths, New Order and The Fall. According to Dave Haslam, the festival demonstrated that "the city had become synonymous with ... larger-than-life characters playing cutting edge music ... Individuals were inspired and the city was energised; of it's [sic] own accord, uncontrolled" although Manchester was already fully energised.^[3]

The Haçienda went from making a consistent loss to consistently selling out by early 1987.^[4] During 1987, it hosted performances by American house artists including Frankie Knuckles and Adonis.^[5] Other clubs in the Manchester area started to catch on to House music including Devilles, Isadora's, Konspiracy, House, Soundgardens and Man Alive in the city centre, Bugsy's in Ashton-under-Lyne and the Osbourne Club in Miles Platting.

Another key factor in the build-up to Madchester was the sudden availability of the drug ecstasy in the city, beginning in 1987 and growing the following year.^[6] According to Dave Haslam: "Ecstasy use changed clubs forever; a night at the Haçienda went from being a great night out, to an intense, life changing experience".^[7]

By the late 1980s, the British music was symbolised by a robust sound such as a Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet and the pop music of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. The Guardian stated that 'The 80s looked destined to end in musical ignominy.'^[8] The Madchester movement burgeoned, its sound was new and refreshing and its popularity soon grew.^[9] Music by artists such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays began to chart highly in 1989 with New Order releasing the house-influenced Technique, which topped the UK album charts.

Artists' early careers[link]

Although the Madchester scene cannot really be said to have started before 1988 (the term "Madchester" was not coined until a year after that by Factory Records video director Philip Shotton), many of its most significant bands and artists were around on the local scene long before then.

The Stone Roses were formed in 1984 by singer Ian Brown and guitarist John Squire, who had grown up on the same street in Timperley, a suburban area of Altrincham, to the south of Manchester. They had been in bands together since 1980, but the Stone Roses were the first to release a record, "So Young", in 1985. The line-up was completed by Alan "Reni" Wren on drums and, from 1987, Gary "Mani" Mounfield on bass.

Happy Mondays were formed in Salford in 1985. The members between then and the break-up of the band in 1992 were Shaun Ryder, his brother Paul, Mark "Bez" Berry, Paul Davis, Mark Day and Gary Whelan. They were signed to Factory Records, supposedly after Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering saw them at a Battle of the Bands contest in which they came last (the winners being Manchester band The Brigade). They released two singles - "45", produced by Pickering in 1985, and "Freaky Dancin'", produced by New Order's Bernard Sumner in 1986 - before putting out an album produced by John Cale and bearing the title Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) in 1987.

Inspiral Carpets were formed in Oldham, Greater Manchester in 1986. The line-up was Clint Boon (organ), Stephen Holt (vocals - Tom Hingley would not join up until the beginning of 1989), Graham Lambert (guitar), Martyn Walsh (bass) and Craig Gill (drums). They released a flexi-disc a year later, and in 1988 the Planecrash EP (on their own Cow Records) brought them to the attention of John Peel.

James were formed in 1981 by Paul Gilbertson and Jim Glennie (after whom the band was named), recruiting Drama student Tim Booth on vocals and Gavan Whelan on drums (Gilbertson and Whelan were to leave the band before it attained commercial success). They released their first EP, Jimone on Factory Records in 1983, and attracted critical enthusiasm, as well as the patronage of Morrissey. Sales of their two albums for Sire Records, Stutter in 1986 and Strip-mine in 1988, were disappointing and, at the time Madchester hit, the band was using t-shirt sales to fund its own releases through Rough Trade Records and a live album called 'One Man Clapping' on Rough Trade Records , who early in 1989 put out the original Version of Sit Down. Madchester helped bring them commercial success and the single "Sit Down" became one of the most popular anthems of the era.

808 State were formed in 1988 by the owner of the Eastern Bloc Records shop on Oldham Street, Martin Price, together with Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson. The three put together an innovative live acid house set, performing at various venues around town, and releasing an acclaimed and influential album Newbuild on Price's own label. Simpson left soon after the release of Newbuild, but went on to record as A Guy Called Gerald.

Beginnings[link]

In October 1988, the Stone Roses released "Elephant Stone" as a single. Around the same time, Happy Mondays released the single "Wrote for Luck" (followed by the Bummed album, produced by Martin Hannett, in November). In November, A Guy Called Gerald released his first solo single, "Voodoo Ray".

Only "Voodoo Ray" was a commercial success, but by December, a sense had started to develop in the British music press that there was something going on in the city. According to Sean O'Hagan, writing in the NME: "There is a particularly credible music biz rumour-come theory that certain Northern towns—Manchester being the prime example—have had their water supply treated with small doses of mind-expanding chemicals ... Everyone from Happy Mondays to the severely disorientated Morrissey conform to the theory in some way. Enter A Guy Called Gerald, out of his box on the limitless possibilities of a bank of keyboards".^[10]

The Stone Roses' following increased as they gigged around the country and released the "Made of Stone" single in February 1989.^[11] This did not chart, but enthusiasm for the band in the music press intensified when they released their debut album (produced by John Leckie) in March.

Bob Stanley (later of Saint Etienne), reviewing the Stone Roses album in Melody Maker wrote: "this is simply the best debut LP I've heard in my record buying lifetime. Forget everybody else. Forget work tomorrow".^[12] The NME did not put it quite so strongly, but reported nonetheless that it was being talked of as "the greatest album ever made". John Robb in Sounds said "The Stone Roses have revolutionised British Pop".^{[citation needed]}

The club scene in Manchester continued to grow during 1988 and 1989, with Haçienda launching Ibiza-themed nights in the summer of 1988 and the Hot acid house night (hosted by Mike Pickering and Jon DaSilva) in November of the same year.

"Baggy"[link]

In May, the Happy Mondays released the single "Lazyitis" and the Inspiral Carpets put out their first single with new singer Tom Hingley, "Joe". Like the Stone Roses, the Inspiral Carpets were producing sixties-inspired indie music. These bands mixed disco basslines and wah-wah guitar with their indie jingle-jangle. The Inspiral Carpets added the sound of the Farfisa organ.

This sound, which was to become known as "baggy", generally includes a combination of funk, psychedelia, guitar rock and house music. In the Manchester context, the music can be seen as mainly influenced by the indie music that had dominated the city's music scene during the 1980s, but also absorbing the various influences coming through the Haçienda.

Alongside the music, a way of dressing emerged that gave baggy its name. Baggy jeans (often flared) alongside brightly coloured or tie-dye casual tops and general sixties style became fashionable first in Manchester and then across the country - frequently topped off with a fishing hat in the style sported by the Stone Roses drummer Reni. The overall look was part rave, part retro or part hippie, part football casual. Many Madchester bands had football casual fans and a number of bands even wore football shirts. Shami Ahmed's Manchester-based Joe Bloggs fashion label specialised in catering for the scene, making him a multi-millionaire.^[13]

The baggy sound influenced numerous Greater Manchester bands including James, The Charlatans (Who formed in Birmingham) and The Mock Turtles. However, in the early 1990s the sound spread across the country, with bands such as The Farm, Flowered Up, Candy Flip and Blur treading where Mancunians had gone before.

Dave Haslam notes that the interest of the press in the baggy scene skewed impressions of the Madchester scene.^[14] In Manchester, electronic dance music was prevalent in the clubs, and the scene also gave a home to hip-hop artists Ruthless Rap Assassins, Hybrid and MC Tunes.

Growing success[link]

During mid-1989, media interest in the Manchester scene continued to grow. In September, the Happy Mondays released a Vince Clarke remix of "Wrote for Luck" as a single. In November, four important singles were released: "Move" by the Inspiral Carpets, "Pacific State" by 808 State, The Madchester Rave On EP by the Happy Mondays and "Fools Gold"/"What the World is Waiting For" by the Stone Roses.

The Happy Mondays record, featuring the lead track "Hallelujah!", coined the term "Madchester" - it had originally been suggested by their video directors the Bailey Brothers as a potential t-shirt slogan.

In November, the Stone Roses performed a gig at London's Alexandra Palace which was a nightmare, with 8000 fans and only 2 bar staff, and were invited onto BBC2's high-brow Late Show (remembered by many because the electricity cut out during their performance and they stormed off). On 23 November 1989, the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays appeared on the same edition of Top of the Pops. The "Fools Gold" single made number 8 in the UK singles chart, becoming the biggest-selling indie single of the year.^[15]

Madchester became something of an industry bandwagon from this time. According to NME journalist Stuart Maconie, the British press had "gone bonkers over Manchester bands".^[16] James were amongst the first beneficiaries of this. The local success of their self-financed singles "Come Home" and "Sit Down" led to a deal with Fontana, and they were to score chart hits with "How Was it For You" and a re-recorded version of "Come Home" in the summer of 1990.

The Charlatans came to prominence through appearances in Manchester, particularly as a support act to the Stone Roses and became strongly associated with the scene. They released a debut single "Indian Rope" in October 1989 and their second "The Only One I Know" made the UK top ten.

A number of other Manchester bands gained the attention of the music press during 1990, including World of Twist, New Fast Automatic Daffodils, The High, Northside, Paris Angels, and Intastella. These "second wave" bands, according to John Robb, "copped the critical backlash, but were making great music".^[17] and they also received a great deal of local support with TV appearances on various Granada shows and local radio play.

Commercial success[link]

Bands associated with the Madchester scene released material almost exclusively on indie records labels, with the significant exception of James, who signed to Fontana Records in 1989. The Madchester was growing in popularity and was not just a local trend in Manchester with an article entitled Stark Raving Madchester appearing in the Newsweek Magazine in 1990 describing the Madchester scene.^[18] The main Madchester bands dominated the UK Indie Charts during late 1989 and much of 1990.^{[citation needed]}

The success in the UK Singles and Albums charts of a number of indie acts associated with a "scene" was unprecedented at the time. "Step On" and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays both made number 5 in the singles charts, whilst James scored the biggest Madchester hit, making number 2 in 1991 with a re-recording of "Sit Down". In the album charts, the Happy Mondays made number 4 with Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches, and the Inspiral Carpets got to number 2 with Life. The Charlatans were the only Madchester band to take the number 1 spot, with the album Some Friendly in the autumn of 1990.

Outside the UK, the success of Madchester was limited, although some releases gained recognition in specialist charts around the world. In the U.S., the albums The Stone Roses, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and Some Friendly reached the lower echelons of the U.S. album chart. Several singles by The Stone Roses, The Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays and The Charlatans were successful on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Happy Mondays toured the US in 1990 and were the only Madchester band to have a single enter the Billboard Hot 100 when "Step On" reached #57 in 1990. They also reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, with "Kinky Afro" in 1990. The only other Madchester artist to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart was The Charlatans, whose single "Weirdo" was #1 for the week of 23 May 1992.

Decline[link]

"Madchester" graffiti in Salford

On 27 May 1990, the Stone Roses performed at Spike Island in Widnes, Cheshire, supported by DJs Frankie Knuckles, Phonso Buller, Dave Haslam, and Dave Booth. This concert has been described as a "Woodstock for the E generation.^[19]

A rapid succession of chart hits followed during the summer, including "One Love" by the Stone Roses, "This Is How It Feels" by the Inspiral Carpets, "The Only One I Know" by The Charlatans and "Kinky Afro" by the Happy Mondays.

The end of the year saw triumphal concerts by James and a double-header with the Happy Mondays and 808 State, both at Manchester G-Mex.

The Stone Roses cancelled their June 1990 tour of the US, issuing a press statement saying: "America doesn't deserve us yet".^{[citation needed]} however, their debut album sold more than 350,000 copies in the U.S. that year.^{[citation needed]} The band also cancelled a gig in Spain and an appearance on the U.K. chat show Wogan. They did not face the public again until the end of 1994, spending the intervening time in and out of studios in Wales - where they recorded a second album, Second Coming - and fighting in court to release themselves from their contract with Silvertone Records.

The making of the next Happy Mondays album, Yes Please! was also problematic, and it would not be released until October 1992. The band flew to Barbados to record it, where they went "crack crazy", according to Paul Ryder,^[20] making repeated requests of Factory Records for extra time and additional funds. This is reputed to have been the major factor in the bankruptcy of the label in November 1992.^{[citation needed]}

With the two bands seen as the most central to the scene out of action, media fascination with Madchester dwindled. James, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans and 808 State continued to record, with varying degrees of success, during the 1990s, but ceased to be seen as part of a localised scene.

Local bands catching the tail-end of Madchester, such as The Mock Turtles, became part of a wider baggy scene. The music press in the U.K. began to place more focus on shoegazing bands from the south of England and bands emerging through the U.S. grunge.

Legacy[link]

Musical legacy[link]

The immediate influence of Madchester was in inspiring the wider baggy movement in the UK, with bands from various parts of the country producing music in the early 1990s heavily influenced by the main Madchester players. These bands included Flowered Up (from London), The Farm and The Real People (from Liverpool), The Bridewell Taxis (from Leeds), the Soup Dragons (from Glasgow) and Ocean Colour Scene (from Birmingham). Blur, from Colchester, adopted a baggy style in their early career, although in an interview with Select Magazine in 1991 they claimed to have "killed" the genre.^[21]

Bands formed in Manchester during the Madchester era included the Chemical Brothers, Verve, Sub Sub (who would later become Doves) and Oasis (Noel Gallagher had been a roadie for Inspiral Carpets). More generally, the Madchester scene brought together dance music and alternative rock, in particular the combination of the types of drumming found in funk and disco music (and sampled in 80s hip-hop music) with jingle-jangle guitar. In the 1990s, this became a commonplace formula, found frequently in even the most commercial music.

There have been numerous polls in the year following the Madchester movement to find the best song of the era. In 2005, Voodoo Ray by A Guy Called Gerald was voted as the best song from the Madchester scene.^[22] The song beat Step On by the Happy Mondays and Waterfall by The Stone Roses for first place.^[22] In 2010, a new nightclub managed by Peter Hook of New Order, FAC251 opened in Manchester, with musical emphasis on Madchester music.^[23][24]

Impact on Manchester[link]

The mushrooming of Manchester's nightlife during the Madchester period has had a long-term impact, particularly with the subsequent development of the Gay Village and Northern Quarter. City centre living is also something that began to catch on in Manchester in the wake of Madchester, and which continues to this day.^[25]

The attraction of the city was such that, at the height of Madchester in 1990, the University of Manchester was the most sought-after destination for university applicants in the UK^{[citation needed]}, a position shared year-on-year by Oxford and Cambridge in the normal course of things.

The scene also gave a boost to the city's media and creative industries. Channel 4 already had great success with 'The Word' and in its wake The BBC launched The 8:15 From Manchester, a Saturday morning kids' TV show (with a themetune by the Inspiral Carpets, a re-write of "Find out Why")and Granada Television also jumped on the bandwagon with a cheaper version of The Word , called 'Juice' presented by John Bramwell and Joan Collins' daughter Tara Newley.

Organised crime became an unfortunate side-story to Madchester, with the vibrancy of the clubbing scene in the city (and the popularity of illegal drugs, particularly ecstasy) providing a fertile environment for opportunist gangsterism. Violent incidents at the Haçienda led to a campaign against it by Greater Manchester Police, and contributed to its closure in 1997.^[26]

In the late 1990s, a Manchester musical walk of fame was commissioned for Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester.^[27] The walk includes a triangular slab for each music group and pays homage to bands such as The Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, 808 State, James.^[27]

Depiction in film[link]

Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People follows the story of Tony Wilson and Factory Records, including the Madchester period and the Happy Mondays' success.

See also[link]

• Music of Manchester
• List of city nicknames in the United Kingdom

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Haslam, Dave: Manchester, England, Fourth Estate, London, 2000 (ISBN 1-84115-146-7)
• Luck, Richard: The Madchester Scene, Pocket Essentials, London, 2002 (ISBN 1-903047-80-3)
• Wilson, Tony: 24-hour Party People, Channel 4 Books, London, 2002 (ISBN 0-7522-2025-X)
• McNichols, Conor (ed): NME Originals: Madchester, IPC, London, 2003
• Robb, John: The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1976–1996, Aurum Press, London, 2009
• Christian Terry : My Word , Orion 2006
• Christian Terry : Brothers From Childhood To Oasis

External links[link]

• Madchester at the Open Directory Project
• Madchester on Pride of Manchester website
• Madchester by Jonathan Schofield

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays in 2006
Background information
Origin	Little Hulton, Greater Manchester, England
Genres	Alternative rock, Madchester, acid house, hip house
Years active	1980–1993 1999–2000 2004–2010 2012–present
Labels	Factory, Elektra
Associated acts	Black Grape, Buffalo 66, Amateur Night In The Big Top, Big Arm, The Hippy Mafia
Members
Shaun Ryder Mark "Bez" Berry Gary Whelan Mark Day Paul Ryder Paul Davis Rowetta Satchell

Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan. Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage during a live performance after befriending Shaun Ryder and served as a dancer/percussionist. Rowetta Satchell joined the band to provide backing vocals in the early 1990s.^[1]

History[link]

First incarnation[link]

The first official release from Happy Mondays was the "Forty Five E.P.", often called the "Delightful E.P." after its first track. It was released on Factory Records in September 1985.^[1]

Manchester music impresario Tony Wilson discovered them (then managed by Phil Saxe) at a battle of the bands contest held at his Hacienda nightclub. Their first album, Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out), debuted in 1987 and was produced by John Cale. This was followed by two classic albums; Bummed in 1988, produced by Martin Hannett, then Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches in 1990 produced by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne which went platinum in the UK selling more than 350,000 copies. This put the band firmly on the map as one of the most influential bands to come out of the UK in the early 1990s.^[2] The album was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. Singles "Step On" and "Kinky Afro" from this album both reached number 5 in the UK singles chart. Yes Please! followed in 1992, produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, recorded at Eddy Grant's studio in Barbados.^[3] By the late 1980s, the Happy Mondays were an important part of the Manchester music scene and personified rave culture. Numerous world tours meant the band had international success as well as massive success in their home country. The line up of the band during this first and most important ten year phase never changed, and the six original members Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Gary Whelan, Paul Davis, Mark Day and Mark "Bez" Berry remained a tight unit until the first incarnation came to an end in 1994.^[4] Earlier that year, the band had appeared on the bill at the 1990 Glastonbury Festival.^[5]

In late 1990, Paul McCartney stated:

NME - November 1990^[6]

Musically, the band fused indie pop guitars with a rhythmic style that owed much to house music, funk, and northern soul.^{[citation needed]} 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 revival associated with acid house.^{[citation needed]} One of their most popular songs was "Lazyitis (One Armed Boxer)", featuring a surreal duet between Ryder and Karl Denver. In February 1991, the Happy Mondays played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[7] and famously went to meet Ronnie Biggs in Brazil^[8] with Piers Morgan, who at the time was a writer for The Sun newspaper. The Mondays also influenced many bands around the northwest and beyond, including The Stone Roses, Oasis, and The Charlatans. A multi-city US tour followed with the group returning home early in May 1991.^[9] However, by July that year they revealed details of a fourteen track 'official bootleg' live album, Baby Big Head, recorded in Leeds. The official record label release, Live followed later in the year.^[10]

Second incarnation[link]

The Mondays disbanded in 1993, and Shaun Ryder and Bez formed Black Grape with ex-Paris Angels guitarist "Wags" (who would later go on to serve in the 1999-2000 reincarnation of the Mondays) and ex-Ruthless Rap Assassins star Kermit.^[1] Seven years passed, but in 1999 Happy Mondays re-formed,^[11] with founding members Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Gary Whelan and Mark "Bez" Berry minus Paul Davis and Mark Day. In the place of Day and Davis were Wags and a number of other session musicians including Ben Leach who had once been a member of The Farm, Percussionist Lea Mullen and rapper "Nuts". Also joining the new line-up was soul diva Rowetta Satchell, who would go on to have solo success. The band toured extensively in the UK and internationally, selling out the 20,000 capacity Manchester Evening News Arena and two nights at Brixton Academy and released of a new single, a cover version of the Thin Lizzy hit "The Boys Are Back in Town". The single reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart.^[12] They provided support for Oasis on their "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" arena tour, played at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, numerous European festivals and also toured Australia the same year. Although critically acclaimed and playing to sell-out crowds, the band once more ceased their activity in 2001 following the departure of bass player and founding member Paul Ryder.^[13]

A fictionalised version of the band is featured in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, with Danny Cunningham as Shaun Ryder and Paul Popplewell as Paul Ryder. Paul Ryder himself had a cameo role in the film as a gangster and Rowetta Satchell (who sang for the band on Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and Yes Please!) appeared in the film as herself^[14] (according to Tony Wilson, she was the only one still good-looking enough to play herself).

Third incarnation[link]

2004 saw another re-formation, comprising Bez, Whelan and Shaun Ryder along with another crop of session musicians. (Paul Ryder was not present, having sworn to never perform with his brother again following the 2000 break-up,^[15] and also having gone on to have success with his new band Big Arm.^{[citation needed]}) The trio of original members were joined for a short time by Kav Sandhu, and Danny Newman with the rest of his band Sonic Audio (bassist Mikey Shine, keyboard player Dave Parkinson, guitarist Jonn Dunn and Poss on decks). This new version of the group released a live DVD that year of a show in Barcelona. The Mondays played a variety of festival dates in 2005 (including Global Gathering), capping it off with a concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena in their hometown. Backing singers on the tour included Angie Brown and Ron Carroll.

In June 2006, the Mondays performed in Liverpool, and on 30 July 2006 they were special guests at The Fuji Rock Festival.^[16] In August 2006, the band announced that they had completed their first album in fourteen years, with producers Sunny Levine and Howie B, and had signed to Sanctuary Records. A single "Playground Superstar", from the soundtrack for the football film Goal!, was released a few months prior to completion of the new album, Uncle Dysfunktional released in mid 2007.^[17]

Happy Mondays performed before another re-formed act, Rage Against the Machine, at the 2007 Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. They were introduced by Tony Wilson. Bez missed the show because he could not get into the US due to "passport" issues.^[18] The band then toured throughout the summer of 2007. They played Splendour in the Grass in Australia in July 2009, and the UK V Festival in August 2009.

The Happy Mondays toured the US and Canada with The Psychedelic Furs in late 2009 with Paul Ryder's son and Shaun Ryder's nephew Jake Ryder filling in for Gaz Whelan on drums.^[19]

The Happy Mondays appeared at the Wizard festival in North-East Scotland in August 2010.^[20]

Fourth incarnation[link]

On Sunday 29 January 2012, Shaun Ryder exclusively announced on radio station Xfm that the band would return with the original and definitive lineup of himself, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, Gary Whelan on drums, Rowetta as backing vocalist, Mark Day on Guitar, Paul Davis "PD" on keyboards and dancer Mark Berry "Bez". They are due to tour around the UK,^[21] with dates planned for London, Bournemouth, Glasgow and their hometown Manchester along with many others plus a range of festivals in the summer of 2012 including the V Festival and T in the Park. To coincide with the band's reformation gig will be a re-release of Step On - Live in Barcelona as a special CD/DVD pack to be called Hallelujah It's The Happy Mondays.

Sound files[link]

Year	Song title	Album	Label
1988:	"Wrote for luck"  Listen (help·info)	Bummed	Factory Records
1989:	"Hallelujah"  Listen (help·info)	Madchester Rave On E.P.	Factory Records
1990:	"God's Cop"  Listen (help·info)	Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches	Factory Records

Discography[link]

• Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) (1987)
• Bummed (1988)
• Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990)
• Yes Please! (1992)
• Uncle Dysfunktional (2007)

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References[link]

• Vinylnet Record Label Discographies. link. - Factory Catalogue Numbers.

External links[link]

• Official website

Anthony "Tony" Livesey
Born	(1964-01-11) 11 January 1964 (age 48). Burnley, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Journalist & Presenter

Anthony Livesey (born 11 January 1964, Burnley) is a British journalist and broadcaster who currently presents a late night show on BBC Five Live. The show runs from 22.30 to 1:00 from Monday to Thursday.

Early life[link]

He attended St Georges Junior School Vaughan Street, Nelson, Lancashire. His mother died aged 42, when he was 13 years old.^[1]

Career[link]

Newspapers[link]

He began his career with the Nelson Leader and then worked in the Middle East with Sam Sloan^{[disambiguation needed ]} at the Gulf News in Dubai. Returning to his native Lancashire, he worked at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph before spending 18 years with Sport Newspapers where he was editor-in-chief and managing director of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers.

Radio and television[link]

Livesey in 2009

After resigning in August 2006 from the Sport newspapers, he joined the BBC, presenting the breakfast show on BBC Radio Lancashire, where his daily podcast was the BBC's most popular for regional radio, until he joined 5 Live in January 2010. On this station Livesey presents the late night discussion show from MediaCityUK, Salford Quays.^[2] At the time of this move, it was announced he would continue to host a weekend show on BBC Lancashire, though this has yet to transpire.

In 2004 Livesey appeared as the moderator in the BBC2 game show Traitor, although his name did not appear in the opening credits.^[3] He is also the sports reporter for regional TV news progamme BBC North West Tonight, and additionally covered for regular news anchor Gordon Burns in his absence, up to Burns' retirement, which he still does occasionally for Burns' successor Roger Johnson, as well as presenting the North West edition of the BBC's regional football show Late Kick Off. A staunch supporter of Burnley F.C., Livesey is a regular pundit on BBC1's Inside Sport alongside Gabby Logan as well as appearances on Have I Got News For You, What The Papers Say and Never Mind The Buzzcocks, all on the BBC. He also occasionally presented the Breakfast programme on 5 Live.

Livesey presented the one-off documentary Crumpet: A Very British Sex Symbol, which was transmitted on BBC2 on 28 December 2005 and a year later he presented another programme related to this called Beefcake: A Very British Sex Symbol, which too was transmitted on BBC2 on 27 December 2006.

On 11 January 2010, Livesey started to present a new late night show on BBC Radio Five Live. The show is a mixture of news, sport, discussion and entertainment. He took over from Richard Bacon, who moved to the afternoon show following Simon Mayo's departure to BBC Radio 2. Livesey's show was the first of the station's London-based programmes to move north prior to the whole station moving to BBC North's new broadcasting facility at MediaCityUK, Salford Quays in 2011.^[4] Livesey's late night show on 26 September 2011 was the very first to be presented from MediaCity. He is occasionally stand-in presenter on Shelagh Fogarty's programme on 5 Live.

In October 2011, Livesey began presenting BBC News Breakfast television.

In 2011 he competed twice against representatives of other BBC radio stations. Firstly, he performed a stand up comedy routine against representatives from Radio 1, 2, 3 and 6 Music for Comic Relief. Secondly, he and Pat Nevin took on BBC 6 Music in a Fighting Talk special.

Livesey currently presents the sports news on BBC North West Tonight. He is famous for his ankles and pixie boots which often appear as Livesey sits on the sofa.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Press Gazette: Sport editor Livesey resigns
• BBC profile
• Breakfast show gallery
• Tony Livesey at the Internet Movie Database
• His contributions on BBC TV
• Editor gets complaints
• Tony Livesey on Twitter
• Tony Livesey Experience Podcast