Shaun Ryder expresses his desire to be a part of a benefit concert in honor of Gary “Mani” Mounfield, the 63-year-old bass legend of Stone Roses, who passed away on November 20.
Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder says he wants to be involved in a benefit gig to pay tribute to Stone Roses bass legend Gary “Mani” Mounfield.
Gene and George, 12-year-old twins Gene and George, who had already lost their mother, Mani’s wife Imelda, to bowel cancer, passed away in 2003. Mani, 63, passed away in a nursing home in Los Angeles. I’d definitely be interested in attending a concert or benefit, Shaun says. Gene and George, those twins, have something to offer. In Mani’s memory, of course.
He was “my mate,” I said. Since the 1980s, Mani and I have been friends. He was a funny, attractive man. Nobody spoke negatively about him in any negative way. Although he had been suffering for a while, it didn’t shock me much. Really, his wife Imelda left with more of a shock than anything. The boys are the subject of my thoughts regarding his two twins. They now have their father and their mother. It’s terrible.
Mani follows a sad lineage when it comes to bass players, says Shaun, referencing the death of his own brother Paul Ryder in 2022, aged 58. He explains: “It’s the curse of Manchester bass players, isn’t it? Our Paul died, The Smiths’ bassist Andy Rourke died… now Mani’s gone,” he said.
Shaun last saw his friend at one of Oasis’s string of comeback shows in July at Manchester’s Heaton Park. “Saun claims that he and I were there every night. And we actually said, “We should make some music and get together.”
Shaun is praised in large measure of the way fellow Manchester rockers Oasis dedicated Live Forever to Mani at their most recent performance in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We’re pals, he says, “Yes, we’re friends.” Noel and Liam have both been better than Liam in those reunion shows, despite what I’ve seen of them. Really tight band. They have lost none of the rawness; rock ‘n’ roll still exists, but their style is more polished. “Liam is coming off of a high above what I’ve ever seen him.”
The Happy Mondays still captivate audiences with his own music, which is renowned worldwide. In 2026, they will be making their first UK tour since their groundbreaking albums Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches.
We’ll play songs from our albums Bummed, Pills ‘n’ Thrills, and other genres, says Shaun.
We even include a song from Yes Please, my least favorite album. Today, those songs still have excellent sound. It was always rock ‘n’ roll, drugs, and sex with us. We are now left with the rock ‘n’ roll. Although we’re all in our 40s, we’re eagerly anticipating it, I’m sure of it.
The singer claims that he and his bandmate Bez once used LSD for a year and that this is because he doesn’t recall recording most of Pills ‘n’ Thrills. He has always been very open about how much of his drug use has occurred.
The legendary Capitol Studios in Los Angeles is something he will never forget. He says, “I can recall looking through Frank Sinatra pictures. I can recall consuming a lot of opium. I received a large amount of it from one of our friends who had just returned from a Grateful Dead concert.
“From what I can recall, I was writing the lyrics whenever the boys were working on a song.” I quickly wrote the entire album’s music.
We arrived in LA and planned to perform the night before, but we decided not to because Soul II Soul were playing in this tiny club, which was more crucial.
Shaun claims he is still alive and well despite his difficult-living, hedonistic past, with the exception of a myriad medical issues. He claims that my other one needs treatment because I have alopecia, an underactive thyroid, and a hip replacement. I also have ADHD. As a youngster, I started taking heroin to self-medicate to make me feel normal.
“I now understand why I was a young addict when I first started drinking and using drugs. And I can concentrate now that I’ve been taking the medications for a while. Five of my six children are autistic or have ADHD.
On March 13, the Happy Mondays’ 2026 tour of O2 City Hall in Newcastle will begin.
