There are several theories about why the Happy Mondays are called what they are. One is that the band's name refers to what Manchester's unemployed population called the day that welfare checks were issued, or that simply they didn't have to go back to work on Mondays unlike the poor working sods. However, Shaun Ryder did remark in an interview with drug smuggler Howard Marks that the name Happy Mondays was merely a quick solution to naming the band and bears no real relevance at all. Despite fan speculation, he name has no connection with the song "Blue Monday" by synthpop band New Order, as the Mondays were together and had named the band before this song was released.
First incarnation
Manchester pop impresario Tony Wilson discovered the Mondays at a battle of the bands contest held at his Hacienda nightclub. The story goes that Wilson signed them to his label, Factory Records, even though they came in last. Their first album, Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out), debuted in 1987. A number of other albums followed, most of which were released in the United States on the Elektra Records label. By the late 1980s, the Happy Mondays were an important part of the Madchester music scene and personified rave culture. By this time frontman Ryder was fighting a serious drug problem and the band's productivity plummeted.
Musically, the band fused indie pop guitars with a rhythmic style that owed much to house music, techno and northern soul. Much of their music was remixed by popular DJs, emphasizing the dance influences even further. In terms of style and dress, they crossed hippy fashion and ideals with 1970s glamour. Sartorially and musically, the band helped to encourage the psychedelic revival associated with acid house. One of their most popular songs was Lazyitis, featuring a surreal duet between Ryder and country music legend Karl Denver.
The Mondays disbanded in 1992, and Shaun Ryder and Bez formed Black Grape with ex-Paris Angels guitarist, Paul Wagstaff a.k.a."Wags" and ex-Ruthless Rap Assassins star, Paul Leveridge a.k.a. "Kermit".
Second incarnation
Seven years passed, but in 1999 Happy Mondays reformed, minus Paul Davis and Mark Day. In their place were Wags and a number of other musicians close to Shaun Ryder. However, the reunion with a world tour and the release of a new single, The Boys Are Back In Town, was to be short-lived. The single sunk in the charts, reaching only number 30 in the UK singles chart. It was also dropped from the live set after proving difficult for the band to perform live. In 2000 the band called it a day after providing support for Oasis on their "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" tour.
The band is featured in the 2002 movie 24 Hour Party People, with Danny Cunningham as Shaun Ryder. Paul Ryder had a cameo role as a gangster and Rowetta (who sang for the band on Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and Yes, Please!) appeared in the film as herself.
Third incarnation
2004 saw another reformation, comprising Bez, Gary Whelan and Shaun Ryder, following the latter's unsuccessful solo career. The musicians released a live DVD that year of a show in Barcelona, and rumours abounded that the band was recording a new album. The Mondays played a variety of festival dates in 2005 (including Glastonbury), capping it off with a concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena in their hometown.
In June 2006 the Mondays performed another one-off gig in Liverpool, although Paul Ryder was not present - having sworn to never perform with his brother again following the 2000 break-up. On Sunday 30th July 2006 the Mondays were special guests at The Fuji Rock Festival - a 3 day festival held at the Naeba Ski Resort in Japan. They performed a 60 minute set - starting with Loose Fit and ending with 24 Hour Party People. Only Shaun, Bez and Gaz Whelan were present from the original lineup.
In early August of 2006, the band announced that they had completed their first album in 14 years with producers Sunny Levine and Howie B, and have recently signed to Sanctuary Records. A new single, "Playground Superstar" from the soundtrack for the football film "Goal!" was released a few months prior to completion of the new album, titled Uncle Dysfunctional and released in Summer 2007.
Happy Mondays performed before another reformed act, Rage Against the Machine, to put the finishing touches at the venerated 2007 Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California on April 27, 2007. The band then toured medium-sized venues in England in May 2007, playing old and new material. Various festival dates in the UK and New York City were performed throughout Summer 2007.
Fourth incarnation
On 29 January 2012, Shaun Ryder announced on radio station Xfm that the band would return with the original and definitive lineup of himself, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, Gary Whelan on drums, Rowetta as female vocalist, Mark Day on guitar, Paul Davis on keyboards and dancer Mark Berry. They appeared on ITV's This Morning, and were interviewed by Philip Schofield. Shaun Ryder pronounced that amends had been made, friendships reinstated and that it was just like the old days, but without the madness. They did a 13-date UK tour in May 2012, most of which were sold out, and an extra date was added at London's Brixton Academy due to the demand for tickets.[26] The tour included other shows at the Manchester Arena, plus other dates in Bournemouth, Glasgow, Dublin, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham. To coincide with the band's reformation tour a best of album, Double Double Good was released in July 2012, as well as a live recording of the band's May 2012 gig in Brixton. The band went on to play gigs in Chile and Argentina in May 2012 and then a number of European festivals in the summer of 2012, including Ireland's Sea Sessions, Scotland's T in the Park, the band were headliners at Camp Bestival in Dorset in July 2012 and they performed at the V Festivals in August 2012. They then travelled to Majorca and Ibiza to play the Ibiza and Majorca Rocks events.
The band announced in September 2012 that they were writing their first album with the original lineup in more than 20 years.[citation needed]
The band played two nights at the Roundhouse, London and in Manchester in December 2012. They travelled to Dubai in April 2013 to perform and in May 2013 played gigs at Bristol's Vegfest and one in Brighton. June 2013 brought gigs at the Isle of Wight Festival and Scarborough, then in July 2013 they played at the Warrington Music Festival and at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey. They played dates in Belfast, Crewe and Dublin in August 2013. In October 2013 they travelled to Spain to do gigs in Barcelona and Madrid then in November 2013 they kicked off a 16 date UK tour to celebrate 25 years since their second critically acclaimed album Bummed was released, and the band plan to play most of the songs from that infamous album. The band signed to Creation Management in 2015. They have announced an international tour to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches.
In September 2015, a special programme on Watch called Singing in the Rainforest followed the band as they travelled to Panama to record a new song with an isolated tribe called the Embera. The band composed a track with members of the tribe for a performance, penning the track "Ooo La La to Panama". Although billed as the first original line-up recording since 1992, Paul Davis was not present, and no mention of him was made. Gaz Whelan confirmed via the Happy Mondays Twitter account (in answer to a question from a Twitter user named ormi_shinobi) that Davis had left the band.
The band toured New Zealand and Australia in February and March 2019, performing their 1990 album Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches.
On 15 July 2022, the band announced via their Facebook page that Bassist and original member Paul Ryder had died in the early hours of that morning. He was 58 years old.
Happy Mondays have continued to perform live after Ryders death.
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Discography
Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) (1987)
Bummed (1988)
Hallelujah (1989)
The Peel Sessions 1989 (1990) #79 UK
Madchester Rave On EP (1989) #19 UK
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990) #4 UK, #89 US
Live (1991) #21 UK
Yes Please (1992) #14 UK
Loads (1994) #41 UK
Greatest Hits (1999) #11 UK
Step On - Live In Barcelona (recorded Dec. 2004) (2005) #194 UK
The Platinum Collection (2005) #19 UK
Uncle Dysfunktional (2007) #73 UK
Rats With Wings
Happy Mondays Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stoned with nasty mouth
She's eating concrete, man (x2)
And that's not rats they got wings
Well that's some Prada bashing something
to sing...
Well that's not people north & south
Like a ripped up tear, put, on my mouth
That don't hurt, em' they got wings
Rip it, smash it, break it, smash it again
Well I've got people Noth & South
Rip up, pull out the chair & pull out the revival
Slow down & take the jollee off (x4)
Lice with people they got wings
We'll ask her prodly, nicely, kill 'er teach her to sing
Thats not rats, they got wings
We'll ask her prodly, nicely, kill 'em teach her to sing
Well I got horses they got wings
I can ask 'em Rip it, smash it, break it, smash it again
Well I got people North & South, that can
Rip it, dig it, leg it rip it dig it out.
Slow down & take the jollee off (x4)
She got gear,
Pissing on ceiling
She pissing when kneeling
Pissed on fire,
The flames were hot
So she pissed in a cup
The Fuck cup wrong
She pissed on the mat
Folds of fat, fat, fat...
She sat on a trap
The cup was round
So she pissed on the ground
Slow down & take the jolly off (x2)
It better be concrete
She's eaten concrete (Not in my world)
She's eaten concrete (Not in my world)
She's eaten concrete
She's eaten concrete (Not in my world)
She's eaten concrete
The lyrics to Happy Mondays' song "Rats With Wings" are quite surreal and difficult to interpret, but they seem to be describing a woman who is under the influence of drugs, possibly cocaine or some other stimulant. The opening line, "This one's a concrete eater, man / Stoned with nasty mouth" suggests that she is so high that she is literally eating concrete. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for her reckless or destructive behavior, or as a commentary on the absurdity of drug abuse.
The following lines are equally nonsensical, with references to "rats with wings" and "Prada bashing." These seem to be random images that the singer is throwing out, perhaps as a way of conveying the disorientation and confusion that come with being high. The repeated refrain, "Slow down and take the jolly off," could be interpreted as a plea for the woman to calm down and come back to reality.
As the song continues, the woman's behavior becomes more and more bizarre, with references to her urinating on the ceiling and the floor, as well as sitting on a trap. The chorus repeats the idea that "it's not rats they got wings," which could be interpreted as a way of saying that things are not what they seem, or that the woman's behavior is not as innocent as it might appear.
Overall, the lyrics to "Rats With Wings" paint a vivid picture of drug use and its disorienting effects. The surreal imagery and disjointed narrative mirror the confusion and disorientation that come with being high, while the repeated refrains suggest a sense of desperation or even panic.
Line by Line Meaning
This one's a concrete eater, man
She's a drug addict who uses a unique term 'concrete' to describe her addiction
Stoned with nasty mouth
She is under the influence of drugs and is speaking in a vulgar manner
She's eating concrete, man (x2)
Repetition of the first line to emphasize her addiction to drugs
And that's not rats they got wings
The situation is not what it appears to be
Well that's some Prada bashing something
The singer is confused about the situation
to sing...
Looking for an explanation to the confusing situation
Well that's not people north & south
An observation that the situation is not about people or geography
Like a ripped up tear, put, on my mouth
The singer is feeling emotional or physically hurt
That don't hurt, em' they got wings
The situation did not affect the people involved
Rip it, smash it, break it, smash it again
The singer is venting frustration and anger
Well I've got people Noth & South
The singer is still observing the situation
Rip up, pull out the chair & pull out the revival
The singer is calling for an end to the situation
Slow down & take the jollee off (x4)
A recommendation to relax and be calm
Lice with people they got wings
People around the drug addict have a tendency to escape from reality
We'll ask her prodly, nicely, kill 'er teach her to sing
The singer thinks that the situation calls for a radical solution
Thats not rats, they got wings
A repetition of an earlier idea
We'll ask her prodly, nicely, kill 'em teach her to sing
A repetition of the earlier statement about a radical solution
Well I got horses they got wings
The singer is using a metaphor to emphasize how the situation is complicated
I can ask 'em Rip it, smash it, break it, smash it again
The singer is expressing frustration with the situation
Well I got people North & South, that can
An observation that the situation concerns people
Rip it, dig it, leg it rip it dig it out.
The singer is expressing anger and frustration towards the situation
She got gear,
The drug addict has access to drugs
Pissing on ceiling
The drug addict is behaving in an erratic manner
She pissing when kneeling
The drug addict has lost control of bodily functions
Pissed on fire,
The drug addict is being reckless in her behaviour
The flames were hot
The reckless behaviour of the drug addict has resulted in a dangerous situation
So she pissed in a cup
The drug addict has resorted to using a cup for urination
The Fuck cup wrong
The drug addict has made a mistake while using the cup for urination
She pissed on the mat
The drug addict has made a mess
Folds of fat, fat, fat...
The drug addict has gained weight due to unhealthy living
She sat on a trap
The drug addict has put herself in danger
The cup was round
An observation about the shape of the cup being used for urination
So she pissed on the ground
The drug addict has made a mess on the ground
It better be concrete
The singer is expressing disbelief
She's eaten concrete (Not in my world)
Repetition from an earlier line to express disbelief
She's eaten concrete (Not in my world)
Repetition from an earlier line to express disbelief
She's eaten concrete
Repetition from an earlier line to express disbelief
She's eaten concrete (Not in my world)
Repetition from an earlier line to express disbelief
She's eaten concrete
Repetition from an earlier line to express disbelief
Writer(s): Kav Sandhu, Gary Kenneth Whelan, Shaun Ryder, David Nathan Parkinson Copyright: Universal Music Publishing Pgm Ltd., William George Entertainment Ltd.
Contributed by Levi W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Neil McGuffie
Thanks for this album. 👍🏼
HamptonInjuryLawyer
glad to oblige
Kodak Kid
Funny, I once had a dream that I was at a laboratory where the scientists created rats with wings. Wasn't pretty.