Shaun Ryder: Happy Mondays, Black Grape & Other Traumas

Formed from the fringes of juvenile criminality in Swinton in 1984, Happy Mondays established themselves, not so much as a band in the traditional sense, but as a swirling vortex of wild hedonism. Fuelled by endless tales of petty thievery, drug dealing, pill popping skag smoking, car smashing, purse nabbing, liberty taking and rogue-ish near anarchy, Happy Mondays careered uncontrollably through the heart of the late eighties Madchester rave scene before finally imploding in spectacular fashion.

Shaun Ryder chronicles this story and details how, from the ashes of the Mondays, self-confessed heroin addict and ex-postman, Shaun Ryder defied all the odds to emerge triumphant as the front man of Black Grape, arguably the only band fulfilling the potential laid down by their flawed predecessors.