Happy Mondays - O2 Academy 26/10/2019

The legendary Madchester band return to Glasgow, with a celebrity guest

In the late 1980s a new music scene was rising in Britain, combining alternative rock with acid house and dance, this became known in the media as the "Madchester" scene. Some of the most successful bands of this era were The Stone Roses, New Order, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets and of course, Happy Mondays, who announced a Glasgow show as part of their Greatest Hits tour.

Happy Mondays were formed in 1980 in Salford and consists of Shaun Ryder, Mark Day, Paul Ryder, Rowetta, Gary Whelan, Dan Broad and of course the star of them all, Mark "Bez" Berry, their commercial peak began with the releases of Bummed, Madchester Rave on and Pill n Thrills and Bellyaches before the Madchester scene began to decline in popularity. They have disbanded on several occasions, having reformed for the 4th time in 2012.

Opening up for the legendary band was Fat Cops, a new emerging unsigned act from Glasgow featuring Al Murray, Robert Hodgens and Neil Murray. They played a mixture of indie, punk and garage before the main act were about to come on.

Happy Mondays came on stage to a rapturous welcome from the crowd, performing their best known hits such as Loose Fit, Donovan, Hallelujah, Kinky Afro and 24 Hour Party People. Bez was obviously being the most mobile with his trademark dance moves and shaking maracas with Rowetta, wearing a tartan skirt, also getting the grove on. Shaun Ryder however was particularly reserved at the concert, standing at the very back wearing a baseball cap, like if he was trying to avoid something. Nonetheless they were on fire and the crowd were loving every bit of it.

The biggest surprise of all was that there was a celebrity guest in the crowd, former model and television personality, Gail Porter, she posed for selfies with the Glasgow crowd and later got to meet the band backstage. The next day, chuffed fans on Twitter shared their pictures of them with Gail at the concert.

A great night all round and a trip back to memory lane.

You can view a complete photo gallery of the concert by clicking the link below, all photographs courtesy of Stewart Fullerton Photography.

http://www.glasgowmusic.co.uk/viewAlbum.php?albumId=72157711510454461

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