HAPPY MONDAYS – Conclude This Year’s Blackpool Live Series Next Weekend
Madchester icons HAPPY MONDAYS will conclude this year’s Blackpool Live series with an epic finale in November.
Presented by Scruff of the Neck, this brand new live music series will be bringing some of the nation’s best loved alternative acts to Blackpool’s iconic Winter Gardens.
In the North-west – HAPPY MONDAYS – are nothing short of royalty. Original pioneers of the “Madchester” sound after signing to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records in the late ‘80s, the nation has fallen time and again for the Mondays’ signature blend of funk, rock, psychedelia, rave and house. While formed in 1980, the band’s landmark moment arguably came with the release of 1990’s seminal ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills And Bellyaches’ album, which saw them cross into the mainstream, securing a #4 in the UK Albums Chart. The soundtrack to a new generation, it remained on the albums chart until the end of May 1991, establishing itself as one of the decade’s defining albums. Fast forward to 2026 and Shaun Ryder, Bez (freaky dancing and percussion), Mark Day (guitar), Gary Whelan (drums), Dan Broad (MD/guitar/keys) and Firouzeh Berry (backing vocals), AKA Happy Mondays, have been out on a special tour in honour of its 35th Anniversary. Book-ending the year with an unmissable celebration at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, expect ‘Pills’n’Thrills…’ highlights, including the massive hit singles, ‘Step On’, ‘Kinky Afro’ and ‘Loose Fit’, in addition to other hits and fan favourites, such as ‘24 Hour Party People’, ‘Hallelujah’, ‘Judge Fudge’ and ‘W.F.L.’.
Earlier in the evening, the Mondays will be joined by fellow pillars of the Madchester scene: INSPIRAL CARPETS. Formed in Oldham in 1980, the band also wooed the mainstream with a run of 3 Top 10 albums (‘Life’, ‘The Beast Inside’ and ‘The Revenge of the Goldfish’) and 11 Top 40 hit singles to their name including ‘This Is How It Feels’, ‘Saturn 5’, ‘Move’, ‘Caravan’ and ‘She Comes in the Fall’. One of the era’s most celebrated acts, the band returned to live stages in 2023 following a hiatus for a run of jubilant live shows that proved their enduring popularity. Reacquaint yourself with not just one, but two of Manchester’s finest musical exports at this Blackpool takeover this Autumn.
Plus, kicking off the evening, don’t miss London-based indie/psychedelic-pop risers COMMON GOLDFISH slotting right in with their bewitching brew of feel-good sounds.
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Blackpool Live brings together an exceptional programme of live music at the iconic Winter Gardens, pairing some of the UK’s most celebrated guitar bands with one of Britain’s best-known seaside destinations. Following in the footsteps of Jimi Hendrix, The Stone Roses and many more iconic bands, the highest calibre of artists will return to this legendary venue.
Across seven major headline events with a combined 17,500 capacity, more than 27 artists will perform at the Winter Gardens during the inaugural Blackpool Live season.
Amongst the other acts announced so far are Feeder, The Fratellis, The Enemy, Cast, Doves, and Pigeon Detectives, alongside stellar supporting sets from The Futureheads, A, The Rifles, The Lilacs, We Are Scientists, Alex Spencer, Sleeper, Echobelly, Shambolics, Pastel, IST IST, Bank Holiday, ALRIGHT, and M60. It’s a programme designed to appeal to lifelong music fans while championing the next wave of emerging artists.
Catch Happy Mondays with special guests Inspiral Carpets, and Common Goldfish at Blackpool Winter Gardens on Saturday 14 November.
