Legendary hellraisers Happy Mondays reunite, but Shaun Ryder says: "We're older and more refined"

 

Madchester's legendary hellraisers the Happy Mondays are back – but frontman Shaun Ryder insists there won't be quite the same pills, thrills and bellyaches of old now the original line-up have reunited for a new UK tour. Shaun laughs: “We're now a bunch of old men with behavioural problems, we're naughty old men, but we're all grown up now.  We're just the same people but older and a bit more refined.” The band's original members – frontman Shaun, his bassist brother Paul Ryder, freaky dancer Bez, guitarists Mark Day and Paul Davies, drummer Gary Whelan and backing singer Rowetta all met at The Lowry Hotel in Salford last week to sign and seal the comeback, as revealed in the M.E.N. That meeting – the first time in 15 years since they've all been together – led to the announcement yesterday of a new tour to include a huge homecoming gig at the Manchester Arena on May 5. Shaun says: “It was relatively easy, it wasn't awkward at all.” As for the reasons certain bandmates left in the first place? Shaun insists it's all water under the bridge. He grins: “They all had a big bummer on Shaun, but I'm a very forgiving person.” Shaun reveals that the seeds were first sown for the comeback after fellow Manchester band the Stone Roses announced their big reunion Heaton Park reunion shows back in October. “When the Stone Roses thing happened we straight away got similar things with offers,” says Shaun. “We could have just done it again with me Bez, Rowetta and approached our Paul, but we wanted to do it with the full line-up because it's not something we've done since 1993.” Shaun and his manager Warren Askew set about gathering together all the seven original bandmates leading to that rather special get together at The Lowry Hotel in Salford last week. Shaun reckons the setlist is “already sorted” while rehearsals don't start proper until April. There's set to be a re-release of seminal album Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches, although Shaun has played down talk of the band recording any new material either before or after the forthcoming tour. He said: “There's no plans for new music.  I've got my solo album coming out and I'm already halfway through writing the next. “There's the 12 shows, there's possibly a few summer festivals, after that I'm not going to say there's ever going to be another Happy Mondays tour, you just never know.” So, best get your tickets sorted for this one while you can!