It’s a miracle that Happy Mondays are still standing, never mind selling out more shows than in their 1990s heyday, when they were as famous for their drug consumption as their songs. Their secret? Stick to the old hits and cause as much chaos as possible.
The 61-year-old singer Shaun Ryder could be heard ranting into his microphone long before he appeared in an oversized jacket and sunglasses. By then the backing singer Rowetta, in a fabulous floor-length sparkly silver dress, was twirling cheerleader tassels above her head.
The rock’n’ravers’ most effective live weapon remains the dancer Bez, a maracas-wielding beanpole in shorts and a T-shirt who, at 59 and sober, looked as ludicrous as he did high on Ecstasy in his twenties. A reality
