Paul Ryder, the founder, and bassist of Happy Mondays, died on July 15 at the age of 58. The news was verified by the band on Facebook. However, no information about the cause of death was released on social media. Ryder was a founding member of the band Happy Mondays in the early 1980s. During Ryder’s stay, the band issued many hit albums, including Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches. Ryder was involved in films such as The Ghosts of Oxford Street, Losing It, and 24 Hour Party People. He was also noted for writing music for a number of television series.
The band said in a statement:
“The Ryder family and Happy Mondays band mates are very saddened and horrified to announce the death of Paul Ryder this morning.” A great trailblazer and icon. He will be greatly missed. We appreciate your consideration for everyone’s privacy at this time. His funk x will live on.”
Emotional condolences flood Twitter as Paul Ryder pass away
Several musicians paid their condolences to the late bassist on social media. Ian Brown, vocalist of The Stone Roses, Andy Bell, former Ride guitarist, and Paul Arthurs, former Oasis guitarist, were among others who paid tribute to the late musician on social media. The Happy Mondays were recently on tour and were set to headline the Kubix festival in Sunderland on Friday, July 15.
The festival’s organizers said in a statement:
“Following the devastating news of Paul Ryder’s death this morning, The Happy Mondays will no longer be performing tonight, and our sympathies are with the band and Paul’s family during this difficult time.”
The band was also supposed to headline next week’s Kaliedoscope event in London.
Happy Mondays were created by Paul Ryder.
The Happy Mondays were created in 1980 by Paul Ryder, his brother, and singer Shaun Ryder, drummer Gary Whelan, pianist Paul Davies, and guitarist Mark Day. Later, dancer and percussionist Mark “Bez” Berry joined the ensemble. Rowetts joined as a second singer in 1990. The band signed with Factory Records and released their self-titled first album in 1987, followed by Bummed in 1988 and Rave On in 1989. Pills n Thrills and Bellyaches was certified platinum in the United Kingdom in 1990. They split in 1993 due to internal disagreements.
However, the band reformed in 1999 and played to large audiences. During this time, Happy Mondays produced an instant smash rendition of Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town. Paul departed the band once again, this time owing to a disagreement with his brother. When Happy Mondays reformed in 2004, he did not return. Meanwhile, Paul established another band called Big Arm and played performances with Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club. However, Paul began appearing with Happy Mondays again in 2012. He started actively touring with them, and the trio had numerous gigs planned for this year.