Black Grape
There was no lack of media interest in the post-Happy Mondays pursuits of singer Shaun Ryder (b. 23 August 1962) and "dancer" Bez (b. Mark Berry). However, save for a solitary guest appearance with Intastella, by the end of 1994 it appeared that Ryder had lost his muse permanently. The ecstatic reviews that greeted Black Grape's debut album, It's Great When You're Straight, Yeah!, soon silenced such doubts. However, the germination of Black Grape had apparently occurred only weeks after the dissolution of the Happy Mondays, with demo recordings conducted in Ryder's bedroom. The band he put together was initially named simply the Mondays, and included Kermit (b. Paul Leveridge), a veteran of Manchester hip-hop act Ruthless Rap Assassins, plus ex-Paris Angels guitarist "Wags" (b. Paul Wagstaff), second guitarist Craig Gannon (ex-Smiths) and Martin Smith of Intastella. However, by the time Black Grape had taken their new name and moved to Rockfield Studios in Wales to record their debut album, both Smith and Gannon had departed, to be replaced by Cypress Hill collaborator Danny Saber, who took on a co-writing role, Ged Lynch (drums) and Stephen Lironi (ex-Altered Images, songwriter to Rose Royce, among others, and husband of Clare Grogan).
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Albums
Top Tracks
- In the Name of the Father
- Reverend Black Grape
- Kelly's Heroes
- Get Higher
- Shake Your Money
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