This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2009)

Shaun Ryder
Ryder at the Coachella Music Festival, 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Shaun William Ryder
Also known as	X
Born	(1962-08-23) 23 August 1962 (age 49) Little Hulton, Salford, England
Genres	Alternative dance, Madchester
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter, television personality, author, columnist, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Factory
Associated acts	Bez, Happy Mondays, Black Grape, Gorillaz
Website	happymondaysonline.com

Shaun William Ryder (born 23 August 1962 in Salford, Greater Manchester)^[1] is an English musician, actor, author, singer-songwriter, television personality and occasional newspaper columnist. He is best known as lead singer of Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the tenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.^[2]

Happy Mondays era[link]

1980–92[link]

As the singer for Happy Mondays, Ryder's "often witty lyrics are the stuff of legend".^[3] Tony Wilson is known for having compared Ryder's lyricism to the work of W.B. Yeats.^[4][3] Ryder's struggle with drugs led to the break-up of the Mondays in 1992. The film 24 Hour Party People featured the (semi-fictional) story of Shaun Ryder's youth and the life of Happy Mondays whilst signed with Factory Records in the late eighties and early nineties. In the film Ryder is portrayed by Danny Cunningham.

Black Grape era[link]

1993–98[link]

Despite rumours of how his substance abuse had finally caught up with him, Ryder returned to the spotlight in 1995 with his new project, Black Grape,^[5] an immediate short-term success whose first release, It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah, topped the British album chart for a week.^[6] However, the follow-up album, Stupid Stupid Stupid, did not achieve the same critical or commercial success, and the group split in 1998.

Newspaper column & Television career[link]

1999–present[link]

Ryder wrote a column for the Daily Sport newspaper in which he gave his own take on current news events and celebrity goings-on.^[7] It was in this column that Ryder famously announced his intention to reform the Happy Mondays before even making any fellow former members aware of this.

Ryder has taken part in two reformations of the Happy Mondays (1999–2000 and 2004–) and released a solo album, Amateur Night in the Big Top, to mixed critical acclaim. He was involved in litigation with former Black Grape management,^[8] which he eventually lost.

In 2000 following The Big Day Out Festival in Australia with Happy Mondays, Ryder stayed on in Perth, Western Australia with Pete Carroll who had a label called Offworld Sounds. While in Perth he recorded Amateur night in the Big Top, an album of punk electronica with Carroll, Shane Norton, Stephen Mallinder from Cabaret Voltaire and Lucky Oceans from American country band Asleep at the Wheel.^[9] UnCut Magazine called it "Exhilarating stuff. Another wildly implausible Ryder comeback" while Ministry of Sound said it was "A remarkable album. The most vitriolic lyrics this side of Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man" and the Sex Pistols "EMI". The album was recorded quickly during a few late night sessions in Carroll's garage studio during an extremely hot Perth summer. The album was subsequently released on Offworld Sounds.

In 2004, The Mondays reunited to play a comeback gig called "Get Loaded In The Park" on Clapham Common with the only original members being Bez, Shaun Ryder and Gaz Whelan. Two years later they released the single "Playground Superstar", used in the football movie Goal, which was released after Bez had won Celebrity Big Brother.^[10]

In 2004, Ryder landed the job of a voice actor in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in which he played Maccer, a washed-up, self-abused musician who was planning a major comeback tour in 1992.^[11]

In 2007 the Happy Mondays produced yet another album, Uncle Dysfunktional.^[12] In 2009 he made a cameo appearance (Ryder later revealed that it was also a non-speaking role) as himself in Channel 4 drama Shameless.^[13]

In 2010, he supported The Charlatans on a UK tour, as well as one off headline show at The Assembly, Leamington Spa.

Ryder was a contestant on the tenth series of ITV's reality game show I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, where he finished second behind Stacey Solomon. In 2011, he published his autobiography, Twisting My Melon.^[14]

In January 2011, Ryder appeared on the first series of the ITV programme That Sunday Night Show,^[15] and again on the second series in September 2011.^[16]

His autobiography Twisting My Melon^[17] has been optioned by Granada Television and Bafta winning writer Danny Brocklehurst has been enlisted to write the screenplay.

Collaborations[link]

In 2005, he collaborated with the Gorillaz on "DARE", a song on their Demon Days album. In the music video, he is featured as a large disembodied head kept alive through a series of tubes and electronic wires, living in animated band member Noodle's closet.^[18] It was stated by the commentator on the 2006 BRIT Awards that the song's name came from Ryder's inability to pronounce the word "there".

Ryder also collaborated with ex-Talking Heads Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz on their post-David Byrne album No Talking, Just Head. He has also collaborated with Intastella and appeared on Peter Kay's "Is This The Way to Amarillo?" charity music video.

Ryder’s most unusual collaboration is his appearance on the British tenor Russell Watson’s 2001 debut album The Voice. Ryder lent his vocals to the Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona".^[19] Russell Watson claimed on Never Mind The Buzzcocks that he recorded some of Ryder's vocals himself. Ryder also collaborated with fellow 'I'm a Celebrity' contestant Stacey Solomon at the 2011 National Television Awards on 26 January 2011.^[20]

Discography[link]

Happy Mondays

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

Black Grape

• 1995 – It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah
• 1997 – Stupid Stupid Stupid

Solo

• 2003 – Amateur Night in the Big Top

Compilation

• 2010 – Shaun William Ryder XXX: 30 Years Of Bellyaching

Awards[link]

• NME Single Of The Year 1996 – Black Grape's "Reverend Black Grape"
• Godlike Genius – NME Awards 2000
• John Peel Music Innovation Award (for Gorillaz) – Shockwaves NME Awards 2006

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Middles, Mick (1997). Shaun Ryder – Happy Mondays, Black Grape & Other Traumas. Independent Music Press. ISBN 1-897783-11-6. 
• Verrico, Lisa (1998). High Life 'N' Low Down Dirty – The Thrills and Spills of Shaun Ryder. Ebury Press. ISBN 0-09-185419-9. 
• Middles, Mick (1998). Shaun Ryder... In His Own Words. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0.7119.6815.2. 
• Bez (1998). Freaky Dancin' – Me And The Mondays. Pan. ISBN 0-330-48197-5. 
• Haslam, Dave (1999). Manchester, England. 4th Estate. ISBN 1-84115-146-7. 
• Wilson, Tony (2002). 24 Hour Party People – What The Sleeve Notes Never Tell You. Channel 4 Books. ISBN 0-7522-2025-X. 
• Warburton, John and Ryder, Shaun (2003). Hallelujah!: The Extraordinary Story of Shaun Ryder and "Happy Mondays". Virgin Books. ISBN 1-4053-1031-6. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Shaun Ryder

• Shaun Ryder at the Internet Movie Database
• Shaun Ryder narrowly escapes a heavy fine after giving evidence at a trial
• Grape Minds: Shaun Ryder is up there with Dylan
• Straight but not great: Shaun Ryder
• Interview with Shaun Ryder in LeftLion magazine 2007
• Shaun Ryder at Biogs.com

Ryder System, Inc.

200px
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: R S&P 500 Component
Industry	Transportation
Founded	Miami, Florida, U.S. (1933)
Founder(s)	James Ryder
Headquarters	Miami, Florida, U.S.
Key people	Gregory Swienton (Chairman, CEO) Robert Sanchez (CFO)
Services	Fleet management Supply chain management Dedicated carrier Cargo truck rental
Revenue	US$5.136 billion (2010)
Operating income	US$405.46 million (2007)
Net income	US$186.31 million (2010)
Total assets	US$6.652 billion (2010)
Total equity	US$1.404 billion (2010)
Employees	25,900 (2010)
Website	http://ryder.com
References: [1][2][3][4]

A 2003-07 Ryder Ford E-450

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products, and is especially known for its fleet of rental trucks.^[5] Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage. Ryder operates in North America, the United Kingdom and Asia. It has its headquarters in suburban Miami, Florida within Miami-Dade County.

History[link]

This section requires expansion.

Ryder was founded in Miami, Florida in 1933 by James Ryder as a concrete hauling company with one truck, a 1931 Model "A" Ford.^[1] Within a few years,^[when?] the business expanded to leasing trucks to other companies. This led to Ryder changing its focus from distribution to leasing. By 1939, Ryder's truck fleet had increased to 50. Ryder bought Great Southern Trucking Company in 1952. In 1955 Ryder System, Inc. was formed to combine Great Southern and Ryder Truck Rental. Ryder System went public in 1955.^[6] By the 1960s and 1970s, Ryder had expanded into the distribution and supply chain markets.

In 2008, Ryder acquired three regional competitors: Pollock, Lily Transportation and Gator Leasing.

James A. Ryder, founder and chairman, retired in 1978.^[1]

Business[link]

Ryder divides its business into three segments: Fleet Management Solutions, Supply Chain Solutions, and Dedicated Contract Carriage. In 2008 (the last year whose report is posted online) the total company revenue was $ 6.2 billion with profits (earnings before income taxes) of $ 459 million. The numbers mentioned below are before eliminations.^[7] The basic variables are who owns the trucks, maintains the trucks, pays the drivers, does the warehousing, and supervises the driving.

Fleet management[link]

Ryder's fleet management business is its largest business segment, accounting for 71% of its revenue for a total of $ 4.4 billion. Profit of $ 398 million was 86% of the total.^[7] This arm of the business does contract based full service leasing, contract maintenance, commercial rental and fleet support services. Under full service leasing Ryder owns and maintains the trucks and the customer decides where they go. In contract maintenance Ryder just takes care of the trucks. Commercial rentals are the white Ryder trucks which the contract customers can rent on a temporary basis. Ryder grew its North American rental fleet to nearly 30,000 vehicles in 2010 and 2011 raising the percentage of model year 2010 or newer vehicles in the fleet to more than 40 percent.^[8] Support services consist of insurance, vehicle permits, and fuel.

In April 2011 Ryder bought B.I.T. Leasing, from Hayward California.^[9]. Also in 2011 it acquired the full service leasing and rental business of Carmenita Leasing, Inc., located in Santa Fe Springs, California^[10], and the full service lease, contract maintenance, commercial rental and dedicated contract carriage business, The Scully Companies, Inc., based in Fontana, California.^[11]

Supply chain[link]

Ryder' supply chain operations accounted for 26% of its revenue for a total of $ 1.6 billion. Profit of $ 42 million was 9% of the total. This business consists of management of a customer’s supply chain. Basically the customer owns the trucks and Ryder decides where they go, managing the warehouses and the drivers. Ryder managed over 15,000,000 square feet (1,393,546 m²) of warehouse space on December 31, 2008.^[7]

In December 2010 Ryder bought TLC, a supply chain services company based in Holland, Michigan^[12]

Dedicated Contract Carriage[link]

Ryder' Dedicated Contract Carriage accounted for 8% of its revenue for a total of $ 0.5 billion. Profit of $ 49 million was 10% of the total.^[7] This arm of the business conducts both leasing and supply chain management.

Rental trucks[link]

Ryder launched a consumer truck-rental operation in 1968 with 1,000 trucks and vans. These were the yellow trucks known as "one-ways" and available for the public to rent from filling stations and other automotive-service locations. In June 1998, Ryder decided to focus on commercial truck rental and leasing, and exited the "one-way" business arena; which it sold to Budget Truck Rental.^[13] The white Ryder trucks seen on highways today are available to the general public looking to move locally (returning the truck to the original pick-up location), businesses, and companies that have a contractual agreement with Ryder.

Headquarters[link]