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
W.F.L.
Happy Mondays Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They sent me you
I sent for juice
You give me poison
I hold the line
You form the queue
Try anything hard
Well, not much, I've not been trained
I can sit and stand, beg n' roll over
I don't read, I just guess
There's more than one sign
But it's getting less
And you were wet
But you're getting dryer
You use to speak the truth
But now you're liar
You use to speak the truth
But now you're clever
And I wrote for luck
And they sent me you
And I sent for juice
You give me poison
I hold the line
You form the queue
Try anything hard
Is there anything else you can do?
And you were wet
But you're getting dryer
You use to speak the truth
But now you're clever
You use to speak the truth
But now you're clever
And when it's hot
You start to melt
'Coz you're not made of jean
You're made of chocolate
And when it's cold
You tend to crack
You keep on piling out
Not puttin' back
The lyrics to Happy Mondays' W.F.L. (Wrote for Luck) are a somewhat ambiguous reflection on the ups and downs of relationships and the unpredictability of life itself. The song begins with the singer proclaiming that he wrote for luck and was sent someone (presumably a lover) in response. However, what he received in return was far from what he expected. Instead of love, he was given poison. The second verse is a bit more cryptic. The singer explains that he holds the line while someone else forms a queue, which could represent a power dynamic where he is subservient to someone else. He then asks, "Is there anything else you can do?" which implies that he's uncertain about his own abilities and doesn't think they're being put to good use.
The chorus becomes a bit more straightforward, with the singer reiterating that he wrote for luck, was given someone who wasn't what he expected, and then received poison in return. The second verse repeats, and the singer insists that the other person used to speak the truth but is now clever (which could be a euphemism for deceptive or manipulative behavior). Then the song takes an unexpected turn, with the lyric "And when it's hot, you start to melt 'cause you're not made of jean, you're made of chocolate." It's unclear what this metaphor represents, but it seems to imply that the other person is susceptible to pressure and can't handle intense situations. The song closes with the assertion that the other person tends to "keep on piling out" and not "putting back," suggesting that they're not contributing much to the relationship or perhaps even society as a whole.
Line by Line Meaning
I wrote for luck
I tried my luck by sending out a request
They sent me you
They responded to my request by sending you
I sent for juice
I asked for something refreshing
You give me poison
But you gave me something harmful instead
I hold the line
I am patient, waiting for something
You form the queue
But you are impatient and try to push ahead
Try anything hard
You attempt everything with difficulty
Is there anything else you can do?
Is there no other way you can succeed?
Well, not much, I've not been trained
I don't have the skills to do much
I can sit and stand, beg n' roll over
But I can do some basic actions
I don't read, I just guess
I don't have enough information, so I make assumptions
There's more than one sign
There are multiple ways to interpret the situation
But it's getting less
But my options are becoming fewer
And you were wet
You were once vulnerable
But you're getting dryer
But you are becoming more callous
You use to speak the truth
You were once honest
But now you're a liar
But now you are dishonest
You use to speak the truth
You were once honest
But now you're clever
But now you are cunning
And when it's hot
When things get difficult
You start to melt
You begin to crumble under pressure
'Coz you're not made of jean
Because you're not strong enough to handle it
You're made of chocolate
You may have a sweet exterior, but you aren't tough
And when it's cold
When things get tougher
You tend to crack
You become more brittle and breakable
You keep on piling out
You continue to take from others
Not puttin' back
But you don't give anything in return
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GARY KENNETH WHELAN, MARK PHILIP DAY, PAUL ANTHONY RYDER, PAUL RICHARD DAVIS, SHAUN RYDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@zetetick395
So, was this era really that good?
Yes,
yes it really was!
💖 💖 💖
- There's been loads of good stuff happened since,
but nothing truly even comes close to the wild, crazy all-nighters we had then
'88 ---> '92 Was a for real land-wide cultural underground party youth movement, and it was fkn glorious! \😸/
@craigleith100
wrote for luck
They sent me you
I sent for juice
You give me poison
I hold the line
You form the queue
Try anything hard
Is there anything else you can do?
Well, not much, I've not been trained
I can sit and stand, beg n' roll over
I don't read, I just guess
There's more than one sign
But it's getting less
And you were wet
But you're getting dryer
You use to speak the truth
But now you're liar
You use to speak the truth
But now you're clever
And I wrote for luck
And they sent me you
And I sent for juice
You give me poison
I hold the line
You form the queue
Try anything hard
Is there anything else you can do?
And you were wet
But you're getting dryer
You use to speak the truth
But now you're clever
You use to speak the truth
But now you're clever
And when it's hot
You start to melt
'Coz you're not made of jean
You're made of chocolate
And when it's cold
You tend to crack
You keep on piling out
Not puttin' back
✌💙👍 from Scotland 👋
@chipsnpeasifuplz
I wrote for luck, they sent me you
I sent for juice, you give me poison
I order a line, you form a queue
You're trying so hard is there anything else you can do?
Well, not much - I've not been trained
I can sit and stand, beg n' roll over
I don't read, I just guess
There's more than one sign, but it's getting less
And you were wet, but you're getting dryer
You use to speak the truth, but now you're liar
You use to speak the truth, but now you're clever
And I wrote for luck and they sent me you
And I sent for juice, you give me poison
I order a line, you form a queue
Try anything hard, is there anything else you can do?
And you were wet, but you're getting dryer
You use to speak the truth, but now you're clever
You use to speak the truth, but now you're clever
And when it's hot, you start to melt
'Cause you're not made a king, you're made of chocolate
And when it's cold, you tend to crack
And keep on piling out, not pulling back
@andyj639
Over 50 now but listening to Happy Mondays tracks still brings a huge smile on my face and lifts any lingering downbeat mood.
@BaldricksTurnip1
Cheer up mate 👍🥰
@daveshaw5293
Absolutely mate same here beautiful crazy crazy era 😎🙃😁😁
@naturalmystery
RIP Paul Ryder. thank for the bass lines and for starting this crazy crew/band!
@kaykaysatc9703
What😢???
@joanofarc708
When did he die
@jonathancoombes1495
@Joan Of arc 15th July, 3 days after his Covid booster.
@SofaKingShit
Damn l hadn't yet heard until now. Shit.
@prasiet1
Shaun?
@ryanmcdonald8741
Canny be overstated how good this is. E's dropping like spare change, not enough said about the lyrics and Mark Day's contribution. RIP Horse.