Iconic Madchester party-starters Happy Mondays are making a rare visit to Perth as part of a massive Australian tour, playing their popular 1990 album Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches in full at the Astor Theatre on Saturday, March 2, 2019.
Fans will be relishing the chance to catch the biggest hits from the group, especially after their last visit was cancelled in 2013 due to health issues relating to drummer Gary Whelan. The announcement also comes just days after the group’s famed percussionist and dancer Bez made a special appearance at Badlands Bar for Manç 88-94.
The visiting line-up includes all the members you hoped for, with Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, brother Paul Ryder on bass, Mark Day on lead guitar, Bez (percussion and dancer), Gaz Whelan (drums), Rowetta (vocals) and Dan Broad (keyboardist and musical director).
Happy Mondays formed in 1980 in Salford, Greater Manchester. The group’s work bridged the Manchester independent rock music of the 1980s and the emerging UK rave scene. 1987 saw their first album Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile and this was followed by the classic album Bummed in 1988.
But it was 1990’s Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches which saw the band break big time and go platinum in the UK selling more than 350,000 copies. This put the band firmly on the map as one of the most influential bands to come out of the UK in the early 1990s. Singles Step On and Kinky Afro from the album both reached number 5 in the UK singles chart. The group have disbanded and reformed multiple times in their history, but have now been touring and performing consistently since 2012.
Happy Mondays perform Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches at Astor Theatre on Saturday, March 2, 2019.
