 | | The Happy Mondays in 2007 |
Since the group went on gardening leave in 1992, following the release of Yes Please!, a lot has happened. Apart from anything else, the line-up has changed. Only Shaun, Bez and Gary Whelan remain from the two previous incarnations of the band (hands up who remembers the aborted comeback in 1999?), but such details shouldn’t get in the way of celebrating their return. In case you wondered what the trio have been up to for a decade and a half, it's like this. Apart from his time in Black Grape, Shaun’s been to financial hell and back, kicked the drugs and stared as a giant head for the Gorillaz smash, Dare; Bez has written a book, headlined D:Percussion with his own Domino Bones, and won Celebrity Big Brother; and Gaz has his own label, littleBIGMAN Records. But that’s all the past and this is about the future. The newly reformed band recorded the as-yet-untitled album with US hip-hop producer Sonny Levine, who happens to be no less than Quincy Jones’ grandson, and got it mixed by Howie B, who’s worked with U2 and Björk amongst others. After premiering it in California at the Coachella festival in April, the band will be showcasing their new material (and some old favourites) on a tour of small UK shows in May, followed by an appearance at the Ritz as part of the Manchester International Festival. Apparently, they’ve chosen smaller venues especially to be intimate and get down and dirty with their fans. The tour starts at Inverness Ironworks on Tuesday 22 May and ends on Friday 1 June at Dudley JB's. The band play the Ritz on Sunday 8 July. Tickets for the main tour are £22.50, while the Ritz show is £28.50. All go on sale on Friday 30 March at 9.30am. |
