| Happy
Mondays History |
|
|
| 1984 |
Formed in Little Hulton, Manchester by brothers Shaun Ryder
(vocals), Paul Ryder (bass), Mark 'Cow' Day
(guitar), Paul Davis (keyboard) and Gary
'Gaz' Whelan (drums). They later admitted to having stolen
most of their equipment. |
| 1985 |
|
They entered Mike Pickering's Battle Of The Bands
at The Hacienda nightclub
in Manchester. They came last but Tony Wilson signed
them to Factory Records anyway. |
 |
Forty-Five EP |
| Released 3 track
EP featuring 'Delightful', 'This Feeling' and 'Oasis' in Sep
2005. Produced by Mike Pickering. Did not chart.
'Oasis' re-appeared on the Monday's debut album 2 years later. |
|
click
here to bid for the single
buy
the single |
|
Friend of the band, Mark 'Bez' Berry, was invited
to join the band on stage at The
Hacienda. His dancing inspired the next single and
he became a permanent member of the group |
1986 |
|
| 1987 |
 |
Tart Tart  |
| Released John
Cale produced 12" single in March 1987. The centre
label on the vinyl had a picture of George Best.
B-side Little Matchstick Owen's Rap wasn't on the debut album.
Did not chart. |
|
bid
for the single
buy
the single |
|
 |
Squirrel
and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile
(White Out) |
| 'Tart Tart' appeared
on the interestingly titled debut album, originally released
in April 1987. The track 'Desmond', a drug-influenced rip-off
of The Beatles 'Obla Di, Obla Da' resulted in legal action from
The Beatles management so the album was withdrawn and re-issued
in Sep 1987 with the new '24 Hour Party People' replacing the
offending song. Did not chart. |
|
buy on CD
bid
for original pressings
download |
|
 |
Twenty Four Hour Party People |
| Released 12"
single in Oct 1987, from the album. Had 2 new tracks on the
B-side, 'Yahoo' and 'Wah Wah (Think Tank)'. Interestingly, the
Yahoo company didn't appear until 8 years later. Did not chart. |
|
bid
for the single
buy
the single |
|
1988 |
|
 |
Bummed
|
| The Martin
Hannett produced 2nd album cheekily included another
Beatles rip-off with 'Lazyitis' adding a nod to 'Ticket to
Ride' - although this time crediting Lennon & McCartney
- it featured vocals from their childhood hero Karl
Denver. It also boasted singles 'Wrote For Luck'
and 'Lazyitis'. Reached number 59 in the charts, Nov 1988 |
|
buy on CD
bid
for original pressings
download |
|
| 1989
|
|
 |
Lazyitis (One Armed Boxer) |
| Happy
Mondays & Karl Denver |
| Released single
in May 1989, sampling and crediting Lennon & McCartney,
David Essex and Sly & The Family Stone. Together with B-side,
'Mad Cyril (Hello Girls), was on 'Bummed'. Reached no.85 |
|
bid
for the single
buy
the single |
|
 |
W.F.L. |
| 'Wrote For Luck'
was remixed by Vince Clarke and released as the single, 'W.F.L.'
in Sep 1989. The 12" and CD Single also included a Paul
Oakenfold remix. Reached UK number 68 |
|
click
here to bid for the single
buy
the single |
|
 |
Madchester
Rave On EP |
| Nov'89 - the record
that labeled a generation and gave the Mondays their first hit.
Included tracks 'Hallelujah', 'Holy Ghost', 'Clap Your Hands'
and 'Rave On'. Kirsty MacColl, daughter of
legendary Salford folk hero, Ewan MaColl, provided
backing vocals for 'Hallelujah'. Reached UK no.19 |
|
click
here to bid for the ep
buy
the ep |
|
 |
Madchester
Rave On |
| This
VHS video was released in Nov 1989 and offered a mixture of
live footage, comical interviews and promo videos of 'Kuff
Dam', 'Tart Tart', 'Wrote For Luck', 'Mad Cyril', '24 Hour
Party People', 'Performance', 'W.F.L', 'Lazyitis - One Armed
Boxer', 'Hallelujah', 'Clap Your Hands' and 'Wrote For Luck
(Live at the Ritz, New York)' |
|
buy on video
bid
for the video
watch
video |
|
 |
Hallejulah
|
| This
USA-only album was released in Nov 1989 and included the tracks
from the 'W.F.L.' single and 'Madchester Rave On' EP together
with 3 remixes from the 12" versions. Did not chart on
the Billboard but successfully introduced the band to America |
|
buy on CD
bid
for original pressings
download |
|
1990 |
After seeing the Happy Mondays performing on Tony Wilson's Granada
TV show, 'The Other Side Of Midnight', former Simply Red
backing singer, Rowetta, pestered the band to allow
her to join. They agreed and her soulful vocals would go on to compliment
Shaun's Stretford End chants, taking the group to another level
of success. |
|
|
Lazyitis (One Armed Boxer) |
| Happy
Mondays & Karl Denver |
| With the Monday's
new found success, they re-released this single in May 1990,
still missing out on Top 40 success but scoring higher than
before, peaking at UK no.46. |
|
bid
for the single
buy
the single |
|
 |
The
Happy Mondays Party - G-MEX 25.3.90 |
| VHS
video recorded live at Manchester's G-MEX in March 1990, featuring
'Rave On', 'Step On', 'Tart Tart', 'God's Cop', 'Do It Better',
'Wrote For Luck' and many more (Jul 1990) |
|
buy on video
bid
for the video
watch
video |
|
|
 |
Pills
'n' Thrills and Bellyaches |
| The
album that would go down in Manchester musical history was released
in November 1990. Featuring the singles 'Step On', 'Kinky Afro',
'Loose Fit' and 'Bob's Yer Uncle', it was produced by Paul Oakenfold
and Steve Osborne and reached number 4 in the UK charts (no.89
on the USA Billboard 100). |
|
buy on CD
bid
for original pressings
download |
|
1991 |
 |
One
Louder - Live At Manchester Free Trade Hall |
| VHS
video recorded live at the Manchester Free Trade Hall on the
18th November 1989. 12 tracks featured including 'Rave On',
'Do It Better', 'Clap Your Hands', '24 Hour Party People' and
'Kuff Dam' (Jan 1991) |
|
buy on video
bid
for the video |
|
 |
Loose Fit
|
| Released single
in Feb 1991 with B-side 'Bob's Yer Uncle'. Re-mix versions were
named 'Loose Fix' and 'Bob's Yer Tune'. Because of the 1991
Iraq war, the lyrics "Gonna buy an airforce base, Gonna
wipe out your race" were replaced by music on the radio
version. Reached UK no.17 |
|
buy
the single
buy
rare versions
bid
for the single |
|
 |
Live
|
| On
June 1st 1991, the Mondays played a massive concert at Leeds
United's Elland Road Stadium. It was an interesting venue to
choose given that all the band, and the majority of their hardcore
fanbase, were avid Manchester United fans - Leeds deadliest
rivals. This recording of the gig was released in September
1991 and featured 13 songs, many funkier than the original album
tracks. It reached number 21 in the UK charts in Oct 1991 |
|
buy on CD
bid
for original pressings
download |
|
 |
Judge Fudge
|
| Released this
single with 3 new tracks in Nov 1991. Featured B-side 'Tokoloshe
Man' and a cover of 'Stayin Alive', originally from fellow
Mancunians, The Bee Gees. Reached UK no.24 |
|
buy
the single
bid
for the single |
|
|
|
By now Shaun Ryder had become addicted to heroin, so the band were
sent to Barbados to record a new album where it was believed the drug
would be harder to obtain. Unfortunately the band spent all of Factory
Records recording money on cocaine instead. |
|
On their return to Manchester, Shaun Ryder blackmailed Factory Records
to obtain more money for drugs. He refused to hand over the master
recordings unless extra money was paid. In an infamous incident at
Manchester's Dry Bar, brandishing a pistol, he shot
a hole through the window in an attempt to scare Tony Wlson to pay
up, which he duly did. |
 |
The
Ghosts Of Oxford Street |
| The
Happy Mondays acted and sang in Malcolm McLaren's musical Christmas
story charting the history of London's Oxford Street. Playing
a gang of Victorian thugs, they sing their cover of The Bee
Gees 'Staying Alive'. Produced by Andy Harries (Cold Feet &
The Queen), other actors included Kirsty McColl, the daughter
of Salford-legend Ewan McColl, The Pogues, Tom Jones, Rebel
MC, John Altman and Sinead O'Connor. (25 Dec 1991) |
|
buy the soundtrack |
|
| 1992 |
 |
Stinkin Thinkin
|
| Ahead of the
new album, this single with it's re-mixes and B-side 'Baby
Big Head' was released in September 1992. It only reached
no.31 in the UK although topped the US dance chart |
|
buy
the single
bid
for the single |
|
 |
Yes
Please! |
| The
album that would bankrupt Factory Records was eventually released
in Oct 1992. Reportedly costing the label over £250,000,
Talking Heads duo Chris Frantz and Tina
Weymouth produced the album which flopped, failing
to chart higher than UK no.14. It spawned the two failed singles,
'Stinkin Thinkin' and 'Sunshine & Love'. |
|
buy on CD
bid
for original pressings
download |
|
|
|
Factory Records declared bankruptcy in November 1992. Blame was placed
on the costs of 'Yes Please' together with the debts of The
Hacienda and New Order's 'Ceremony'
album, which had taken just as long to produce. |
Factory had planned to release the track 'Angel' as the next single
of the 'Yes Please!' album |
|
|
|
