Paul Ryder, bassist with Manchester band Happy Mondays and brother of singer Shaun, has died aged 58.
A statement said the group and family were “deeply saddened and shocked to say that Paul Ryder passed away this morning”.
They said he was “a true pioneer and legend,” adding: “He will be forever missed… Long live his funk x”
The band found fame in the “Manchester” era of the late 1980s and early 90s with hits like Step On and Kinky Afro.
They personified the city’s intoxicating acid house scene, with a mix of funky rock grooves with dance rhythms that appealed to clubbers and indie fans alike.
Formed in Salford with Mark Day and Gary Whelan in 1980, the band signed to Factory Records and released their debut album in 1987, followed by 1988’s Bummed.
They reached greater heights of fame when 1990’s Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches rode the wave of a drug-fuelled music scene that blurred the boundaries between indie and rave.
“The grooves I played in the Mondays came from Northern soul and disco,” Ryder once said in an interview.
“I can’t read music, so I just copied the basslines, but I could never get them spot-on so they turned into my own basslines.”
A Brown, frontman with The Stone Roses, one of the city’s other biggest groups at the time, was among those paying tribute.
Credit: citinewsroom.com
