Cracking Sunday with the Happy Mondays
Wind and rain - it felt just like Manchester. But with Bez dancing at the front, everyone lit up at Sportbeat Festival on sunday night. Madchester had just come to Gloucester. The place went electric as Bez, Shaun Ryder and Rowetta came on stage, as they reeled off hit after hit from their great albums, Bummed and Piils'n'Thrills and Bellyaches. Wind back almost 30 years and you could be with the 24 Hour Party People.
Back together again with Paul Ryder, Gary Whelan and Mark Day, this was classic Mondays. The band was tight, Rowetta's vocals soaring, Bez was manic and Shaun was well, just himself. You can see why playing this great music was much more preferable to signing on at the dole queue in the 1980s. Some of the audience weren't even born, when the Mondays were here first time round - including the promoter's daughters. The crowd were dancing all night to Kinky Afro, Dennis and Lois. Finishing with Step On, the sunday night crowd would certainly look forward to another Happy Monday.
