Happy Mondays Get Loaded in the Park Clapham Common 22/8/04

[Shooms]

Worrrra day

Been looking forward to this for aaages

Happy Mondays 1 day festie with assorted supporting bands & Djs at clapham common....

Excuse the rambling & that but I am well pissed lol

Right I travelled from Pompey up to London & met mates of mine at our hotel on the Fulham Road... after a few (all right lots lol) cheeky vod redbulls & pints (watched the 2nd half of the Villa game in a local boozer) we walked up up the Fulham road to find a bus to get to the common.... feeling scampish I took great delight in stumbling into Chelseas finest wine emporiums & asking the cravat-collared snobby owners if they had any White Lightning or even some 20/20 lol

Found a local sainsburys & got loaded up with wife beater.. found a bus & duly arrived @ clapham common..

Spent a very merry hour chilling in the sun drinkin stella outside the entrance & worrying about where to put the pills... lol

In the end neednt have bothered worrying - friendliest security on the door in the world cursory search (mainly for cans/weapons) before being invited inside to have "a wicked time mate"

absolutely bang on & sorted inside... no queing for beer or toilets there were some mini tents around with shouty bands but didnt go there much lol

The day was sunny sunny sunny & everyone was loungin around by the main stage getting twisted every fecker skinnin up, drinking & grooving to the tunes being pumped over the soundsystem... nice mixture too from cure - love cats to Shauns later stuff (loved clowwwwwwns - big floppy shoes) to Santana, New Order etc.... Clint Boon DJin & compering.... class quote "Theres been a vicious rumour that back stage Shaun has been spotted eating some mung bean salad"...

Bout 5ish the tempo was upped with Arthur Baker on the 1s & 2s... class tunes bout this time we decided to start with a cheeky half

Couldnt have timed it better... as soon as I was comin up the man like Graeme Park came on & worra set !!!! When Voodoo Ray is the opening tune you know that its gonna be good

He played pure classics... Jungle Bros, One & only true love, Dreams of Santa Anna, Uh Uh ooh ooh etc etc etc Got dancing with our festie neighbours who well & truly knew the score & the fact that they were 30 somethings fit lasses made it even better (especially the really fit half caste lass with nips like cobblers thumbs lol )

Well & truly vibing now & getting down the front - up next was Tony Wilson... cue loads of well meaning abuse thrown at him as in from 24 hour party people (oi wilson you cnut !) lol... he gave the boys a well & truly spectacular buildup... on came Uncle Shaun & Sir Bezwick

To be honest I was expecting a shambolic affair (but still looking forward to it)... actually the were tight as fuck... really got the crowd going (who were mainly right on one)... I was comin well up on one & was lovin it...

Started off with Step On & then went thru pure classics (Pills, Bummed, 24 hour party people) wicked renditions of Hallelujah, Gods Cop, Kinky Afro, some Stones covers thrown in (Jumpin jack flash) & also a real treat in Black Grape tune In the name of the Father... our dancing neighbours from earlier came up by us & hugs a plenty... sorted

WFL b-line came on & that was it... fuckin place went mental

Never wanted it to end but as all things do it did but I rate it as one of the best days out I've had... proper smiley people, no trouble, top atmosphere, top additionals, top performance by shaun & the boys... & 1% of all money raised went to Big Issue

Really hopin to see the Mondays touring again coz they certainly still have it

[Northern Star]

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..... ...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im absolutely GUTTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like it was mint babes....so glad u had a top time im just really very disappointed i missed this....i wish i had fekked work off now as that sounds like a one off event never to happen again.... i feel sick to the stomach that i have missed this i can tell you!

[Konspiracy]

Gutted I missed this, sounds like you had a top one fella

My best mate went with quite a few people I know, lol got about 3 phone calls on Sunday evening, the last one when he was off his box..

"Listen to this..."

and it was Wrote For Luck, and this finishing with 24 Hour Party People..

Tony Wilson got some stick, and rightly so..

[Danny]

nice review shooms fella sounds like a damn good day

cant believe i'm not goin to the hacienda reunion now specially after parky's giving us appetizers like that ..... god only knows what rare/underground/classic beasts he'll be playin at sankeys .....

[WAFC]

where both ryder brothers there or just shaun?

[Man Alive]

One of my mates went & loved it too.


http://www.virtualfestivals.com/fest...rticleid=1327#

Check out the Shaun masks!

['Shabba']

Awwww buddy, so glad you had a good time, i knew you would. I saw the mondays many years ago and they were fuckin top, everytime bez danced to the front of the stage everyone cheered, the mans a legend!!!!!!I saw Black Grape too and that was pretty good too!!!

:rolf: @ Shaun Ryder eating mung bean salad!!!!!!!! I bet it was washed down with 8 pills and a litre of vodva though...........extreme mung bean salad eating!!!!!!

[sweet sensation]

Class review that, it gave me goosebumps reading it !!!!

I wish Id gone to this, gutted is not the word wfl and hallelujah 2 of me faves

Really glad you had a great time shooms and am looking forward to having another mad one with you this w/e

Fancy a cheeky half !! lol

[Crystal]

I too am really gutted I did not get to go to this - it sounded amazing!!!!

Glad you had a top time and see you at the weekend hun

Love Cookie x

[Dj M Jaxx]

Great review shoomie.....and a day i cant understand why the hell i missed it

[special kid]

went to this as a warm up to the sankeys soap hacienda reunion the week after.

thought it'd be good, but jesus! how great were the band? the line up, far as i could tell was shaun, bez, gaz and a load of new dudes. shauns obviously kept his skill of finding talented musos to back im up, cos what they'd done to them tunes was mega. they were kind of housed-up, slinky, mellow, and once they hit a groove, they rode it to death. every time. seriously!

normally, you get a bit of a shambolic effort with the mondays - and they didn't disappoint - when they came on they must have been arsing around findin wires and plugging in and shit for at least 10 minutes between the huge roar when they came out, and the first note. funny. then shaun comes out and goes 'FUCKIN ELL I'M SHITTIN MESELF!'.

don't ask me what order they played stuff, it was all going woozy by then, but stand-outs were 'donovan' 'bobs yer uncle' and 'wfl'. we were in the crowd looking at each other going 'fuckin ell' beautiful, rhythmic music coming over.

these great arrangements, all working to drum machines and pulses were only interupted by shaun after each of the first 5 or so songs: 'FUCKIN 'ELL WE GOT ONE RIGHT!' then 'FUCKIN TWOOOOO RIGHT!' and 'THREE IN A ROW!' like some demented bingo caller.

anyway, hopefuly since it wasn't a nostalgia show, shaun, bez n gaz are gonna keep it goin on.. it was nothing like the last time they reformed when they'd obviously just got tax bills and did it for the bread (not that there's anything wrong with that). these guys sounded hungry and up for it!

laters!