Happy Mondays announce headline Royal & Derngate gig

Legendary Manchester band Happy Mondays will return to Northampton in March as part of a 16-date UK tour.

The band will headline the Royal & Derngate on Thursday, March 28, where they will be joined by Inspiral Carpets and Stereo MC’s.

Billed as ‘The Been There Done That Tour’, it is the Manchester legends’ first headline tour in five years.

Happy Mondays comprise of front man Shaun Ryder, dancer and percussionist Bez, singer Rowetta, guitarist Mark Day, drummer Gary Whelan and guitarist and keyboard player Dan Broad.

Ryder said: “We’re really looking forward to the Happy Mondays’ first headline tour for five years.

“We’ll be playing all the hits for everyone, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. See you there.”

Bez said, “Can’t wait to get out on tour with Happy Mondays. Shake your maracas in the air like you just don’t care.”

Rowetta added: “Me and my voice can’t wait to sing all across the UK for a tour to remember.”

The band will be playing their classic hits including 24 Hour Party People, Step On, Hallelujah, Loose Fit, Judge Fudge, W.F.L. and Kinky Afro.

Happy Mondays became the pioneers of the Madchester sound after signing to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records in the late ‘80s, blending their love of funk, rock, psychedelia and house with the sounds of the UK’s emerging rave scene.

The band became icons of Britain’s biggest cultural phenomenon for a generation when they crossed over into the mainstream with the release of their third album, 1990’s platinum-selling Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches.

The Happy Mondays’ reputation as one of Britain’s most influential and loved bands was recognised in 2016 when they won the Ivor Novello Inspiration Award.

Alongside Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets were one of the most popular bands to emerge from the late-'80s/early-'90s Madchester scene.

Following their 1989 Indie Chart-topping singles Find Out Why and Move, the band released their breakthrough hit This Is How It Feels, which began a run of four UK Top 20 albums, Life, The Beast Inside, Revenge of The Goldfish and Devil Hopping.

Nottingham’s Stereo MC’s first achieved mainstream success when their 1992 single Connected became an international Top 20 hit.

Taken from their smash hit Top 10 album of the same name, Connected was followed by hit singles Step It Up, Ground Level and Creation, firmly cementing Stereo MC’s place in hip hop / electronic dance history.

Tickets for the Happy Mondays’ Been There Done That Tour go on sale at 10am on Friday, October 6, via www.alttickets.com and www.happymondaysofficial.co.uk

The full list of tour dates is as follows:

14th March Glasgow Barrowland

16th March Nottingham Rock City

22nd March Newcastle O2 City Hall

24th March Bristol O2 Academy

28th March Northampton Royal & Derngate

29th March Leeds O2 Academy

30th March Birmingham O2 Academy

31st March Bournemouth O2 Academy

4th April Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse

6th April London Troxy

7th April Southend Cliffs Pavilion

11th April Cambridge Corn Exchange

12th April Sheffield O2 Academy

13th April Liverpool Mountford Hall

14th April Brighton Dome