The Happy Mondays were a fun dance band from the late 80's and early 90's. They were one of the leaders of the Madchester scene, a style of music that mixed rock and rave culture. Unlike The Stone Roses, who put simple pop to understated beats, the Mondays stole hooks and melodies, much like hip-hop samples. Also unlike the Roses, the Mondays were thugs, with lyrics about hard drugs and kinky sex. Lead singer Shaun Ryder gained fame with their second album, Bummed, but they hit their stride and peak with the 1990 masterpiece, Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches. After that, they moved to Barbados, and Ryder smoked around 50 crack rocks a day, stole the master tapes, and then released them. That album was Yes Please!, which was dull, sluggish dance-pop, and it didn't help that Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz stripped away Ryder's thuggish edge, whereas Paul Oakenfold merely stuck with funky collage on Pills.... Ryder broke the band up, and surprisingly enough, reappeared fit and healthy in Black Grape, another dance band.

Teiresias says re: Happy Mondays: Might be worth pointing out that Ryder held the Yes.,Please masters to ransom as he'd run out of cash, he demanded £20,000 for more crack, or he'd burn them .... it worked though

Wild stuff, kids!

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