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.
- - - - - -
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
Tokoloshe Man
Happy Mondays Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pray into the sky
Close the window close the door
Makes no difference if you're rich or poor.
Get on your knees scream please
That man just love to tease.
Try to run
Get a gun
Hard like rock ain't got no soul
He can make the sun feel cold.
Put an eclipse on the moon
Make a little cloud forty day monsoon.
Don't recognize no hawk
Don't recognize no dove
Bad tokoloshe man
He don't even recognize love
And it makes no difference
If you're yellow or you're red
When that bad man say
Tonight is the night you are dead.
And it makes...
Only thing I can say to you is
You gotta be good an'you gotta be true
Think about Jesus Christ.
And it makes...
The Happy Mondays' song Tokoloshe Man is a track about a mythical African creature called a Tokoloshe, which is essentially a malicious spirit that can curse and harm people. The lyrics of the song warn about the dangers of the Tokoloshe and the havoc it can wreak upon its victims. The song starts with an instruction to make the bed up high and to pray into the sky, portraying a sense of helplessness against the creature's power. It goes on to explain that it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, the Tokoloshe Man will not discriminate and will harm anyone he pleases. The lyrics also highlight the creature's cruel sense of humor, enjoying teasing and making fun of his victims. The song advises people to be good, true, and think about Jesus Christ in order to protect themselves from the Tokoloshe.
Line by Line Meaning
Make your bed up high
Raise your bed high to avoid the tokoloshe man reaching you while you sleep.
Pray into the sky
Seek protection from the tokoloshe man through prayer.
Close the window close the door
Shut all entry points to keep the tokoloshe man out.
Makes no difference if you're rich or poor.
The tokoloshe man can attack anyone regardless of their financial status.
Get on your knees scream please
Beg and plead for mercy from the tokoloshe man.
That man just love to tease.
The tokoloshe man enjoys taunting and teasing his victims.
Try to run
Attempting to flee from the tokoloshe man.
Get a gun
Trying to defend oneself by obtaining a firearm.
He just laugh it make it more fun.
The tokoloshe man finds it amusing when his victim tries to resist him.
Hard like rock ain't got no soul
The tokoloshe man is emotionally hollow and devoid of empathy.
He can make the sun feel cold.
The presence of the tokoloshe man can instill a feeling of dread in anyone.
Put an eclipse on the moon
The tokoloshe man is said to have the power to cause anomalies in nature such as an eclipsed moon.
Make a little cloud forty day monsoon.
The tokoloshe man can control the weather and cause heavy rainfall for a prolonged period of time.
Don't recognize no hawk
The tokoloshe man does not acknowledge any higher power or authority.
Don't recognize no dove
The tokoloshe man does not recognize peace or tranquility.
Bad tokoloshe man
The tokoloshe man is evil and malevolent.
He don't even recognize love
The tokoloshe man does not acknowledge love or compassion.
And it makes no difference
It does not matter.
If you're yellow or you're red
Irrespective of one's skin color.
When that bad man say
When the tokoloshe man makes a threat.
Tonight is the night you are dead.
The tokoloshe man is a harbinger of death and his presence signifies imminent danger.
Only thing I can say to you is
The only advice I can offer is.
You gotta be good an'you gotta be true
One must be morally upright and sincere to evade the tokoloshe man.
Think about Jesus Christ.
Call upon divine intervention to ward off the tokoloshe man.
Contributed by Mila I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Roger
How wonderful! I love the live version but this is great too! I really like the ( what sounds like) sleigh bells. Great song great band.
Jason The Film Guy Waters
Is Shaun singing "Batman just loves to tease"? Lol gotta love the Mondays
chembleton
as much as I'd love to think it was Batman, visualising what he's doing, I think he says "that man", either that or "bad man"
Jenn Knox
John Kongo's lyrics.
The_egg_man
It’s bad man
Anna Plank
Badman just loves to tease
Starsright
John Kongos's Tocolshe Man remember it well School Disco 1971 Way
Ale Ksanth
Στην λευκη με αγαπη αλεξανδρος 1991 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
megamollie9
Thanks mate ...subbed
Andy B
Yeah homez 💊