Bummed? Noooo. Style gets on the blower to Shaun Ryder

Brring brring! By lucky chance, Style has grizzly old 24 hour party person Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, on the line. Mr Ryder, who has a new album out, and whose seminal albums Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches, and Bummed are re-released as collector's editions* this week, is sitting out his post-1990s comedown in the Peak District. The conversation goes thus:

Hello Shaun, how you are doing? I'm doing well mate. I'm watching Danny Boyle's Sunshine with a cup of tea.

Are you proud of your new album? It's pretty good, yeah. But I'm not going to talk about it. I don't sell cars, I only make 'em.

And you've got two of your best re-released this week. What do you think of them these days? I listened to "Bummed..." only the other week. I hadn't heard it since '88. I thought it sounded alright. I couldn't believe what I was writing about then though. I think about exactly the same stuff but I wouldn't write about it now.

Everyone's on about nu rave these days. Could old rave happen now? Well it was all about youth and ecstasy and they're still around so ... yeah. 

You're 45. Do you feel old yet? I still feel young. I'm trying to grow up! Something in my genes won't let me. It's all in the mind, it's how you feel. My old bloke is 65 but he acts like a child, and Bez still thinks he's 19 even when we say, you old bastard, you look 90!

What's the most middle-aged thing you ever do then? I watch the news all the time. And snooker.

What do you think about hard partying stars like Amy Winehouse getting such a hard time from the press? It's terrible! It's outrageous! They get called junkies, not musicians. There's nothing going on with musicians now that hasn't been happening since musicians played in Sherwood Forest, know what I mean?

I take it you aren't a rehab fan ... It's big business, in't it? And it's all a load of bollocks. There are some tricks you can learn but if you're going to kick all that shit, you just do it, don't yer?

Thanks Shaun. It's been fine talking to you.

* Ryder knew nothing of the re-releases until the record company who own the original recordings mentioned it in passing a few weeks back. You suspect Ryder won't be seeing much of the treasure.   

(Picture via Shirlaine)