Music legend ‘not anticipating honour’ from Andy Burnham as he makes outrageous joke about PM
With the “King of the North” on his throne in Albert Square, we’ve officially entered the Age of Manchester. And who better to elaborate than the city’s original High Priest, Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays?
Only – as Shaun is quick to stress – the Mondays are actually from Salford. Which is not Manchester. Here Meg Jorsh drags him out of bed for a chat about his latest shenanigans…
When asked about Andy Burnham, Shaun Ryder’s first response is to make a joke so outrageous, it’s absolutely unprintable. In fact, it nearly gave the Daily Star Sunday’s legal department a heart attack.
Shaun Ryder is fond of the new PM(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
“I’m joking! I’m joking,” he laughs. “I like Andy, Andy’s great. He’s a nice bloke. As far as politicians go, I think you get a pretty straight answer out of him.”
What you won’t get from us is a straight answer about what Shaun said. He may have implied the new Prime Minister owed him money following a transaction, which he later confirmed Mr Burnham most certainly does not.
And with that kind of cheeky sense of humour, is it any wonder the Madchester icon isn’t hoping to make Andy’s honours list? He’s been a vocal supporter of the Labour leader for years. But as he points out, they’re not even from the same city.
“I’m actually Salford,” he says. “We’re Salfordians, our band. Back when we first started in the early 80s, it had to be Manchester because most people didn’t know Salford. But now we’ve got MediaCity you can say ‘we’re Salford’ and people know now.”
Andy Burnham wants to bring “Manchesterism” to the wider country(Image: Getty Images)
He’s talking about the broadcasting hub, opened in 2011, that’s home to the BBC and ITV’s northern operations. It’s interesting to think about, following the launch of No.10 North in central Manchester.
Not that Shaun spends a lot of time pondering local politics. When he answers the phone at 2pm on a Tuesday, he admits he’s only just got out of bed.
“Sorry, I’m still waking up,” he says. “I’ve just got back from Ireland. We had a Black Grape show – it was great, really good.”
In fact, the 64-year-old seems busier than ever. This year he’s flitting from Mondays gigs to shows with Black Grape, their dancier side project, and even a speaking tour, coming up next month.
On Saturday (August 1), he was performing with the Happy Mondays for tens of thousands of fans at the Y Not Festival in Pikehall, Derbyshire.
The Happy Mondays were pretty wild back in the 90s(Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)
It sounds like a fairly rock n’ roll lifestyle, as much as his days of drug-fuelled excess are long gone. “Really?” he scoffs. “My girls wouldn’t say that! Bleeding hell, I’m just boring Dad.”
Famously a former crack, heroin and methamphetamine addict, the father-of-six also had a taste for booze, cocaine, ecstasy and weed at the height of his Madchester fame. But he’s now been clean since the early 2000s.
He’s previously credited his recovery to the support of wife Joanne – the mum of daughters Pearl and Lulu – and a hardcore fitness regime.
Shaun says: “I’ve been off drugs for over 20 years, you know what I mean? I’m 64, so life is better now and more interesting. I would not want to go back to being in my 20s or teens or even 30. I’m happy where I am.”
His new lifestyle has come with some wholesome hobbies, he adds. “I go canoeing with my girls.” In recent years, he’s also been diagnosed with ADHD and autism, which may go some way to explain his relentless creativity. “I suppose so,” he says. “I mean, people say it’s a superpower.
Shaun’s bromance with bandmate Bez (L) is still going strong(Image: Redferns)
“Anyway, I’m just me mate. You know what I mean? At least now I know why I’ve been so f***ed up all my life.” That’s not to say there isn’t still interest in his wilder stories, many of which are included in his latest memoir. 24 Hour Party Person, released in March, covers everything from “dodging bullets in Jamaica” to watching Watership Down on acid with bandmate Bez.
Is there anything he’s still holding back for a sequel? It’s hard to say, really. “These books that come out, it’s through me talking to people who were there,” he says.
“When we did the Gorillaz the other week, Johnny Marr and my dressing rooms were next door to each other. And Johnny keeps telling me all this s*** that I didn’t even have a f***ing clue about.
“I went to bed and then I woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly remembered all this stuff he’d been talking about. Like, I didn’t even know that happened, but I did when I thought about it.”
So, what did happen? “Oh, I’m not telling you,” he laughs. “You’ll have to wait for the book.” And with that, Shaun heads back to bed for another hour of kip.
· Super Early Bird tickets for the. Y Not Festival 2027 go on sale on Friday, August 7. Head to ynotfestival.com for details.
