Happy Mondays
By user • Sep 1st, 2009 • Category: Band Bios
It’s difficult to comprehend how certain musicians are still alive. Somehow Keith Richards keeps chugging out guitar riffs. Somehow The Vines’ Craig Nicholls hasn’t fallen to his demise amidst reckless on-stage flailing. And somehow Shaun Ryder — the Happy Mondays’ drug-riddled vocalist and hard-partying leader — has managed to stay alive long enough to keep kicking on stage. It’s a feat in itself that the off-key, lyrically challenged singer could front one of the quintessential dance ensembles of the ’80s. But it’s even more perplexing that the Manchester, England, musician revived his career almost two decades after the downfall of the storied Hacienda venue and Factory Records, both of which came to define the ecstasy-fueled rave culture of that era. Almost 20 years after touring the world as part of his substance-abusing caravan, Ryder still commands the main stages of modern-day high-profile gigs such as the Coachella Music Festival. Some guys have all the luck.
Chicago Innerview, September 2009
user is
Email this author | All posts by user