by SimonSpence (Author)
'Their story is a vindication for every northern hooligan rock band out there. Happy Mondays sparked a British guitar pop renaissance.' Alan McGee
In 1985, when the Happy Mondays exploded onto the Manchester music scene like a Molotov cocktail, no one had heard anything like them before. As they developed into the face of the Acid House ` Madchester' movement, critics ranked them alongside The Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols as cultural lightning rods, and that was just for the music.
The stories of their excesses are the stuff of rock ' n' roll legend: the overdoses, fights on stage, the death threats, the gangsters, the stabbings and shootings in the studio. Yet this seemingly unhinged and uncontrollable band - encouraged by their equally crazed benefactors at Factory Records - transformed British music forever, leaving behind five infectious albums of unparalleled dirt and delight.
Twenty-five years after their breakthrough appearance on Top of the Pops, in November 1989, Simon Spence, the acclaimed biographer of The Stone Roses: War and Peace, tells the story of how the Happy Mondays came to provide the soundtrack to Britain' s last great youth movement. Based on extensive interviews with the band and key associates, he reveals the truth behind the mythic stories that have ensured their outlaw reputation, and unravels the chaos that led to the group' s ultimate implosion and the tragic collapse of Factory Records.
A riotous mix of pills, thrills and joyous chart hits, this is the untold story of Britain' s greatest rock ' n' roll gang.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd
Published: 04 Jun 2015
ISBN 10: 1781314993
ISBN 13: 9781781314999
'An amazing musical narrative compellingly told.'
`Excess All Areas earns another gold star for the author: meticulous, revealing and continually treading new ground, it's both a great read and a great music read, regardless of your level of interest in the group. A nigh-on impossible task.'
`a well-researched, well-written, honest history of the bandEURO | the stuff of rock `n' roll legend.'
` a must read for all Happy Monday fans.. surely the Mondays biography we' ve all been waiting for'
'There wasn' t a Mondays book out there which was correct, not until Simon came along.'
` a well-researched, well-written, honest history of the band... the stuff of rock ` n' roll legend.'
'made me want to go back and listen properly for the first time in 20 odd years... pick up this excellent book'
'The explosive rise and spectacular fall of one of Britain' s most influential and deranged bands.'
'An amazing musical narrative compellingly told.'
'Witty and gritty'
` Excess All Areas earns another gold star for the author: meticulous, revealing and continually treading new ground, it' s both a great read and a great music read, regardless of your level of interest in the group. A nigh-on impossible task.'
SIMON SPENCE is a music journalist with first-hand experience of the 'Madchester' scene. He joined the NME in 1989, when the Happy Mondays were at the height of their powers, and has written for, amongst others, The Face, Dazed & Confused, I-D and the Independent. His most recent book is the acclaimed The Stone Roses: War and Peace (Viking, 2012; St Martin's Press, 2013). Prior to that he had ghosted Rollings Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham's memoirs, Stoned and 2Stoned (both Vintage, 2001 and 2003).
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