Is it just me or were the Mondays never quite afforded their rightful place in rock’s great canon, whereas fellow Mancunians The Smiths, Stone Roses, New Order etc are cited as influences by the world and his Gran? Sure, they’re loved for employing one of their mates to get completely toasted and dance to their tunes on stage, for releasing an album that caused people to casually mention how they just got Bummed and for Shaun Ryder living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle so vigorously that he has in the past required onstage cue cards to remind him of his own lyrics. 

This, however, seems to be more of a pat-on-the-back, working-class-oiks-done-good kind of affection than an affirmation of genuine musical greatness, as if the Mondays exemplified the 'Madchester' age with their hedonism and iconography (think Bez silhouetted on stage, maracas weaving patterns through the dry ice) rather than their records, ultimately blagging it with, in bluntest terms, a singer who couldn’t sing and a dancer with no musical ability or input, however much of a figurehead he may have been.

If so, permit me to render this ugly premise defunct. Formed in the early 80s as delinquents who couldn't play their instruments, the Mondays developed in isolation away from the vagaries of fashion, music papers and scenes, without agenda or careerism. Not particularly of their time or any other, you couldn’t quite tell what they had been listening to, but it clearly wasn’t just spotty white boys with guitars.

Indeed, the resourceful playing of Mark Day (funky, melodic and ego-free guitar), Paul Ryder (pulsing bass thrillingly loud in the mix) and Gary Whelan (purveyor of fine, eminently danceable beats) merits a closer listen. Their collective ability to create music that would bestow a Young Conservative with a sense of rhythm is showcased here in their debut, years before Paul Oakenfold sprinkled his magic dust over their most celebrated work, Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches. There was no way Bez was going to struggle to gyrate to these songs on stage, though chemical assistance may have been taken regardless (just to be on the safe side, you understand.) 

At the forefront, of course, is Shaun Ryder, spitting out his words in that nasal Salford brogue, (rhyming “long” with “furry tongue”) and shouting down any naysayers with his sneering, menacing extemporisations that are a damn sight more punk than funk. Even providing a comic interlude via his hilarious attempts at falsetto on Little Matchstick Owen, Shaun has the approach of a man eschewing textbook ennui for what seems like a sometimes-nonsensical stream of consciousness and sounding all the better for it.

The band are tight, providing Shaun with often melodic and always funky backdrops without ever straying into Level 42 territory. Olive Oil is by far the prettiest tune on the album, driven by irrepressible bass overlaid with guitars so sugary sweet you feel a trip to the dentist is in order. Even Shaun softens his approach, almost singing indeed with some of the abrasion missing from his voice, though typically he subverts the occasion with lyrics such as “everybody on this stagecoach likes robbing and bashing” and references to “smoking miles and miles of hash”, the rotter. 

Elsewhere, opening track Kuff Dam swaggers out of the starting blocks as if it’s going to demand some fags, whilst 24 Hr Party People, with Paul Davis’ staccato keyboards reminiscent of a Stax horn section, was deemed anthemic (and definitive) enough to lend its title to the 2002 Factory Records biopic of the same name. Shaun’s lyric of “press the pause off the self-destruct” is telling and needs no further explanation from me.

I should point out that this album isn’t perfect. Shaun is still finding his feet as a lyricist at this stage (“that’s not made from cheese and it doesn’t get you free” anyone?) and the overall sound changes very little over the course of the album. However, it shows that from inception the Mondays were cultivating their fusion of Shaun's twisted real-life observations with the band’s irrepressible grooves. Within the fresh, almost-live dynamics of this record, the excitement so prevalent at this stage of a band’s career is evident; the boys are burgeoning hopefuls for whom things are just beginning to happen, still wide-eyed with wonder and able to remember why they got in a band in the first place. It would all end, of course, with bitter, drug-fuelled acrimony but for a while at least, via Bummed and then on to the majesty of Pills ‘n’ Thrills, things got even better from here.

Release date: 27/04/87
Artist website: Official MySpace site
Label: Factory

Comments:

Happy Mondays - Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile White Out thommo    April 7th, 2007 - 10:37 AM Great review that Andy.  The real unsung hero of the Mondays was Paul Ryder for me, his bass playing was superb and very Northern Soul influenced, even at a very early stage in his/their career on this album - check Tart Tart for details. Oh, and in Kuff Dam they have possibly the most unsubtle of a palindrome for a title in the whole of music history.

Happy Mondays - Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile White Out Andy Smith    April 7th, 2007 - 11:41 AM Cheers! I agree regarding Paul Ryder, he's fantastic, but thought that Mark Day was just as important - his fusion of funk, rock, blues, slide etc just doesn't sound like anyone else and I often think "how is he doing that?" You can tell there's a lot of thought gone into his guitar parts and he's playing what's right for the song rather than showing off his technical skills. He seems to have disappeared off the planet circa 1992 when the Mondays split for the first time....? Re Kuff Dam - true, though at least they changed a couple of letters!

Re: Happy Mondays - Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile White thommo    April 7th, 2007 - 11:58 AM Quote from: Andy Smith on April 07, 2007, 11:41:03 AM Cheers! I agree regarding Paul Ryder, he's fantastic, but thought that Mark Day was just as important - his fusion of funk, rock, blues, slide etc just doesn't sound like anyone else and I often think "how is he doing that?" You can tell there's a lot of thought gone into his guitar parts and he's playing what's right for the song rather than showing off his technical skills. He seems to have disappeared off the planet circa 1992 when the Mondays split for the first time....? Re Kuff Dam - true, though at least they changed a couple of letters! He, along with Paul Davis, was absolutely hated by Shaun Ryder. Along with the nickname's 'Horse' and 'Cow' for Paul R and Mark, Paul D had the nickname of 'Knobhead'. So I think both boys' chances of being involved in a reunion were very remote.  I think Mark Day fell into the serious drugs trap.  The last I recall hearing about him was Ian Brown mentioning that he ran into him/heard he working somewhere (possibly the market) and struggling to raise the money to buy a cot for then newborn daughter.

Re: Happy Mondays - Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile White Andy Smith    April 7th, 2007 - 12:35 PM It is indeed a shame if that's the case. I remember reading that one of Shaun's conditions when they reformed in 1999 was that Mark Day and Paul Davis weren't involved... Apparently some of the Mondays musicians were in a 'supergroup' with Andy Rourke of the Smiths for a while, might have been worth hearing. If they'd have got Reni out of retirement to play drums too that would have been great!

Re: Happy Mondays - Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile White wowiezowie    April 14th, 2007 - 11:32 PM Quote from: Andy Smith on April 07, 2007, 11:41:03 AM Cheers! I agree regarding Paul Ryder, he's fantastic, but thought that Mark Day was just as important - his fusion of funk, rock, blues, slide etc just doesn't sound like anyone else and I often think "how is he doing that?" You can tell there's a lot of thought gone into his guitar parts and he's playing what's right for the song rather than showing off his technical skills. He seems to have disappeared off the planet circa 1992 when the Mondays split for the first time....? Re Kuff Dam - true, though at least they changed a couple of letters! I completely agree, Mark Day's guitar playing is fantastic. For me he remains one of the most interesting guitarists of the 80's/90's. I've always wondered what he's been up to since he left the Mondays and if the stories in the above posts are true then it's really a shame. If anyone knows any way of contacting him I'd be very interested in talking to him about his guitar playing and his influence on the myriad of 'indie' bands that came in the Monday's wake. I've recently picked up white label copies of Squirrel And G Man and the Tart Tart 12" from Paul Davis's own collection with homemade graffiti drawn by the band on the labels

Happy Mondays - Squirrel And G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile White Out Boggy    July 14th, 2007 - 3:32 PM Heres a question for ya... Seeing as ya recently picked up a disk from Paul Davis, can you get a message to him for me??? Ive been trying to track him down for around 10 years and always just miss him... Last time being outside of Tesco in Walkden, Salford... Paul was one of my best mates growing up in Little Hulton & school (Wardley)... I keep meaning to ask his dad whenever I see him walking in Worsley with his wife... And also... Mark Day, has he got a younger brother who was in same year at school as Paul Davis and Gary Whealen??? Tall lanky lad, blonde hair and always wore the same old 'orrible mod parka... Hope you can help... Thanks... Boggy... http://www.freewebs.com/boggys-site

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