Happy Mondays interview: Shaun Ryder

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Shaun Ryder and the Happy Mondays helped shake-up and then shape an entire generation when they unleashed their irresistable baggy-beat, badman sound onto a standing-still UK music scene back in the early '90s. Splintering the divide between acid house and indy rock, the band put the mad into 'Madchester' and the E into everything, while notoriously defining a social scene that saw footi hooligans getting loved up on pills, pschedelic ravers bopping along with goths, and everyone who had arms and legs imitating the silly dance of a small, gurning fella from Manchester. They quite literally set the decade alight, before the band eventually self-combusted in a blaze of debauched chaos. After briefly returning in 2000 for an ill-fated festival tour, many thought they'd seen the last of the Mondays. But suddenly, now they're back - and sounding serious for a change. This reunion is not about the money, they say. It's not about the glory. It's about doing what they always set out to do, and that's play their records in the way they were originally intended. A fresh and exciting new driving force, their latest recruit, guitarist Kav, has helped inspire the old guard of Shaun, Bez, and Gaz Whelan to get back together for one last show ... or is it? We grab a beer with Shaun to find out.      

Virtual Festivals: We thought it was all over. How did this latest reunion come about?
SR: It started two years ago when I met Kav, our new guitarist, who was doing his thing, promoting and DJing. The first thing that struck me about him was that he wasn't like, 'Alright, how can we make loads of money?' His crew were just a bunch of mates who'd just fucking saved up cash on their own and were just off touring together and that. I'd just had a baby, sleepless nights and all that, and, it's a horrible thing to say, but I was like: 'Fuck this is worse than any crazy fucking tour.' So we jumped in a people carrier and off we went DJing all over the UK and Europe, doing the 'Get Loaded' thing, just playing tunes in return for a bed and a beer and building a fan base. They're all in their 20s, me in my 40s, but I can still keep up with them - for a bit!

VF: So who hatched the idea of reforming the band to headline Get Loaded In The Park?
SR: It was all Kav's idea really. He's in another band as well and is very committed to exposing new talent. That's an essential part of this festival. A lot of people just do it like it's a whole money churning experience but the thing that got me interested in the first place was finding these new bands and getting them playing in front of a good audience of 10,000 people. We thought, let's give these guys some good exposure and get people like Clint Boon and Bez to DJ. Then Kav suggested the Mondays reform as well and we went for it. We've all been touring and DJing together anyway so it seemed like a good idea. Bez was a bit like, 'How much am I gonna get? How much am I gonna get? How much am I gonna get? Oh, alright I'll do it.' But for me it makes no difference 'cos all my income's been frozen since my court case five years ago, so I don't see fuck all anyway.

VF: So what's the motivation for you, personally, to play this gig?
SR: When I was in my 20s right, I loved touring. Then I hit my 30s and I started hating touring, but I still, and always have, enjoyed doing live shows. It's like going on the piss on a Saturday night and you get sick and wake up on Sunday going 'I'm never gonna drink again'. Now, that might last a few days but if you've been on tour for a year and you say to yourself 'I'm never going to do another gig again' it's the same thing, only it lasts for a few years, not days. But it comes back eventually, you get the itch.

VF: So is there the possibility of more gigs then?
SR: We might do a few one-offs. If this goes well then maybe, yeh. If it's bollocks then no. I'd never do a huge tour mind. But we've got the will now, and the talent, and it's kind of a favour to Kav. He's helped to get me smiling again. And it's better than doing any of that washed-up reality TV bollocks! I've had offers but there's no fucking way i'd do it. The only person who's come out of that and not looked a total knob-head is Johnny Rotten. He had the image of being some kind of nutcase, whereas me, even after 20 years, I'm still a mad, drug-taking fucker. But Johnny goes on there and he's clever and witty and you see it working for him.