Shaun Ryder

Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Black Grape with former Happy Mondays dancer Bez. He was the runner-up on the tenth series of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!".
Early life.
Shaun William George Ryder was born on 23 August 1962 in Little Hulton, Lancashire, the son of nurse Linda and postman Derek (who would later become Happy Mondays' tour manager). By the age of 13, he had left school to work on a building site.
Musical career.
Happy Mondays.
As Ryder was singer for Happy Mondays, his struggle with drugs led to the band's initial break-up in 1992. The film "24-Hour Party People" featured the (semi-fictional) story of Ryder's youth and the life of Happy Mondays whilst signed with Factory Records in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the film, Ryder is portrayed by Danny Cunningham.
Ryder has taken part in two reformations of Happy Mondays (1999–2000 and 2004–present). He has also released a solo album, "Amateur Night in the Big Top", to a mixed critical reception.
In 2000, following the Big Day Out Festival in Australia with Happy Mondays, Ryder stayed on in Perth, Western Australia with Pete Carroll, who had a record label called Offworld Sounds. While in Perth he recorded "Amateur Night in the Big Top", an album of punk electronica with Carroll, Shane Norton, Stephen Mallinder from Cabaret Voltaire and Lucky Oceans from American country band Asleep at the Wheel. "UnCut" called it, "exhilarating stuff. Another wildly implausible Ryder comeback" while Ministry of Sound said it was "A remarkable album. The most vitriolic lyrics this side of Dylan's 'Ballad of a Thin Man' and Sex Pistols 'EMI. The album was recorded quickly during a few late night sessions in Carroll's garage studio during an extremely hot Perth summer. The album was subsequently released on Offworld Sounds.
In 2004, Happy Mondays reunited to play a comeback gig called "Get Loaded in the Park" on Clapham Common, with only original members. Two years later they released the single "Playground Superstar", featured in the football film "Goal", which was released after Bez had won "Celebrity Big Brother". In 2007 Happy Mondays produced the album, "Uncle Dysfunktional". In 2009 he made a cameo appearance (Ryder later revealed that it was also a non-speaking role) as himself in Channel 4 drama "Shameless".
Black Grape.
In 1995 Ryder launched his new project, Black Grape. Its first release, "It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah", topped the British album chart for a week. However, the follow-up album, "Stupid Stupid Stupid", did not achieve the same critical nor commercial success, and the group split in 1998. The group reformed briefly in 2010, and released a single in 2015. In August 2017, the group released "Pop Voodoo", their first full album since 1997.
Other work.
Ryder collaborated with Intastella in 1993 and in 1996 he worked with Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz on "No Talking, Just Head".
He appeared on British tenor Russell Watson's 2001 debut album "The Voice", lending his vocals to a cover version of the Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé song "Barcelona".
In 2004, Ryder had a voice acting role in the video game "" in which he played Maccer, a washed-up, masturbation-addicted musician who was planning a major comeback tour.
Ryder appeared in Peter Kay's "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" charity music video in 2005. Also in 2005, he collaborated with Gorillaz on "Dare", a song on their "Demon Days" album. Chris Evans stated at the 2006 Brit Awards that the song was originally called "It's There", but was changed as Ryder's thick Mancunian accent made him pronounce the word "there" as "dare".
In 2010 he supported The Charlatans on a UK tour, as well as one-off headline show at the Assembly, Leamington Spa. In November 2011 Ryder played saxophone onstage at the Barbican in York as a special guest in Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra for the Sky television series "First Love".
Other work.
Writing.
Ryder wrote a column for the "Daily Sport", in which he commented on current events and celebrities.
In 2011, Ryder published his autobiography, "Twisting My Melon". It was optioned by Granada Television and writer Danny Brocklehurst enlisted to write the screenplay.
Television.
In 2004 he was the subject of Richard Macer's BBC3 documentary "Shaun Ryder: The Ecstasy and the Agony".
Ryder was a contestant on the tenth series of ITV's reality game show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" in 2010, where he finished second behind Stacey Solomon. In January 2011 Ryder appeared on the first series of the ITV programme "That Sunday Night Show", and again on the second series in September 2011. He collaborated with fellow "I'm a Celebrity" contestant Stacey Solomon at the 2011 National Television Awards.
In 2013, Ryder hosted the television show "Shaun Ryder on UFOs" on The History Channel UK. He has a lifelong interest in UFOs and claims that he has personally encountered space aliens, stating that he saw a UFO for the first time in 1978.
Two years later, Ryder has appeared repeatedly on the panel of RT UK's "News Thing". In October 2016, he appeared on "Would I Lie to You?". In 2017 Ryder appeared on "Celebrity Juice" as a member of Fearne Cotton's team. The next year he starred in ITVs "100 years younger in 21 days" and appeared on "Celebrity Mastermind", with the specialist subject of Manchester.
In August 2020, Ryder appeared in BBC Two comedy "Mandy" created by Diane Morgan in which he portrayed a fictional version of himself.
Personal life.
Ryder has six children. For some time, he was addicted to heroin, saying he overcame it by taking up cycling.
Ryder contested contracts he drew up with his Black Grape management team, compiled in 1993. Following his dismissal of the company, they sued him for £160,000. The income from his £30,000 a year "Daily Sport" column, went solely to cover his costs. His appearance on "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" (2010) and a £130,000 book deal, financed Ryder out of the contract.
Ryder was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia later in life, saying in the 60s and 70s there was "no such thing as learning difficulties". "When I was at school they didn't know about ADHD, there were just four sets, one being the brightest and four being crowd control"... so "for the first 40-something years of my life I didn't know I had it [ADHD]".
In 2021 he took part in stand up and deliver; mentored by Jason Manford, he developed his own stand up set. Manford explained in an interview “Shaun’s got severe ADHD, so remembering things, collecting information and taking on new thoughts, it’s been a real challenge."
Ryder left school unable to read the alphabet. “But, y’see, there’s different ways of learning. I was 26 years old when I learnt the alphabet. My girlfriend at the time taught it to me through singing, and I learnt it in five minutes. “It also helps me to learn when I have a stress ball in my hand, it’s called fiddling. When I have nothing in my hand, I can’t take anything in. I can’t retain any information.”
Discography.
Happy Mondays
Black Grape
Solo
Compilation
Videography.
Solo